With the classic season a matter of history, Thunder Blitz can concentrate on making his mark in the remaining events for the 3-year-old division. He will begin here at Monmouth Park on Sunday in the $100,000 Long Branch Breeders' Cup at 1 1/16 miles.

NEW YORK - Do horses bounce? Is boing-boing-boing the dominant sound of Thoroughbred racing, with races regularly being decided by who's bouncing today? Or is it the sound that believers of this theory make as they bounce off the walls of their rubber rooms?

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Imagine what it takes to get a street named for you in a place like downtown Chicago. It's probably a cinch if you answer to Halas, Ditka, Jordan, or Banks. Sandberg would rate. So would Dreiser. Maybe even Bill Murray.

In the case of Sid Port, though, it was only fair. After all, he once named a horse after Chicago.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Gaviola, a glittering jewel of a competitor distinguished for her consistency, attempts Saturday to return to her winning ways, at Belmont Park in the $250,000 New York Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles on the turf course.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - When it comes right down to it, the management of a racetrack has very few responsibilities. Open the doors. Clean the bathrooms. Run the races on time. Count the money. Just about everything else is either a variation on the theme, or busy work.

Then there is the most important responsibility of all - the racing surface. If a racetrack gets that wrong, the game is over. No amount of public relations can cover for bad ground.

ELMONT, N.Y. - "Good days and bad days?" Braulio Baeza reflected on the question with a little chuckle. "There were plenty of both. One of the good days was the Kentucky Derby of 1963. I was riding Chateaugay for Darby Dan Farm. He was 9-1, but all the pieces began to fall into place. We needed speed in front of us and it developed nicely, thanks to Never Bend and No Robbery. Everything worked out perfectly and he was a comfortable winner.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Greg Avioli, the deputy commissioner of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, will testify Thursday before a House of Representatives subcommittee about the threat that would be posed to racing by the prohibition of Internet wagering.

- news item in July 12 Daily Racing Form

Chairman: Thank you for coming Mr. Avioli. I hope I pronounced your name correctly?

Greg Avioli: Perfectly, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for this opportunity.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - By major league standards it was small potatoes, just a $109,900 race on the grass for fillies and mares, over and done with in less than 95 seconds. But it was also history in the making, with a result that was heard literally around the world.

About the same time Kalatiara was beating favored Dianehill by a head in the Royal Heroine Stakes at Hollywood Park last Saturday afternoon, the Harvey boys - father Rob and sons Todd and Clint - were deep into another day of work at their training stable not far from the town of Perth in Western Australia.

WASHINGTON - Scott Lake has won more races than any other Thoroughbred trainer in the last two years, and he has scored many of those victories by claiming horses and improving them dramatically. But none of his feats can match the performance by B Flat Major at Delaware Park last Tuesday.

ELMONT, N.Y. - The leader board on page 2 of this newspaper pretty well tells the story.