PARNELL, Mo. - The original Horace Jones was a Civil War veteran working his way west from Iowa when a ferocious blizzard drove him to seek shelter with a family living near a bend in the Platte River, about eight miles south of the Missouri state line. Grateful for the hospitality, he stayed, acquired land, and founded the town of Parnell.

ELMONT,N.Y. - Whatever they were, The Grand Senor was always ready for the contingencies, for the unexpected.

Horatio Luro was more than a trainer of Thoroughbred horses. He was an outstanding artist and his greatest canvas, beyond a doubt, was Northern Dancer. The dandy little Canadian colt, Northern Dancer was the world's top sire of the 20th Century, and through his sons and grandsons, his influence continues. Just last weekend, his offspring Sadler's Wells had the winner of the Epsom Derby, Galileo, and the Oaks, Imagine.

NEW YORK - Nearly halfway through the racing season, we have no idea who will be the Horse of the Year. Point Given would win if the polls closed today, but he will ultimately be judged by how he fares against his elders later this year.

There is no uncertainty, however, about the clear winner if there were an Eclipse Award for the Worst Idea of 2001: A proposal to add a new, ninth Breeders' Cup Day race that would be restricted to 3-year-olds.

PARNELL, Mo. - Jimmy Jones lifted his head from his hospital bed pillow and reached out with a speckled left hand. His handshake was firm. He held it a long time. He peppered his guest with greetings. "Good to see you. Come sit down. When did you get in? How long can you stay?"

His voice was gravelly, but strong enough so that every word was heard, and it rang like sweet music to the ears of anyone who believed the stories circulating a few weeks earlier that had the 94-year-old Hall of Famer knocking on death's door. If he was, no one bothered to answer.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Winning two Grade 1 stakes last summer at the high-performance Saratoga meeting, Dream Supreme enjoyed a highly successful 3-year-old campaign. Judging by her last start, when she raced seven furlongs in 1:20.60 at Churchill Downs on Derby Day to make light work of the Humana Distaff Handicap, she hasn't lost a step at 4.

ELMONT, N.Y. - She stood her ground.

One of the gamest performances on last weekend's stellar racing menu was the victory of the 50-1 Forest Secrets in the $200,000 Acorn Mile for 3-year-old fillies at Belmont Park. With a background of only two starts, she was always in the thick of the fight, was threatened on both sides near the finish, and turned back all challenges - some by more seasoned opponents - with obvious determination.

ELMONT, N.Y. - A brilliant performance.

We haven't seen many better efforts in Triple Crown competition than the one turned in by Point Given in Saturday's 133rd Belmont Stakes. Competing against several leading representatives of what has been judged to be a superior crop of 3-year-olds, Point Given was completly dominant. He moved when he wanted to move, steamrollered the leaders, and drew away from the closers to score by 12 1/4 lengths. Timed in 2:26.56, his mile and a half was one of the five fastest Belmonts.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The Hollywood Park promotional department will be giving away those old fashioned bobble-headed dolls later in the meet, with the images of Laffit Pincay and Chris McCarron attached.

Obviously jealous, David Flores made a pitch for a doll of his own by doing a one-man Flying Wallendas in the second race on Sunday. His mount, the 2 year-old first-time starter Gold Scammer, clipped the heels of the horse on the lead and fell like a cannonball from a tall tree.

NEW YORK - When Point Given crushed his opponents in the Belmont Stakes by more than a dozen lengths, he left no doubt that he is the dominant 3-year-old of his generation, one who would have been a worthy Triple Crown winner.

A few months ago, it looked like there would be two things to celebrate in New York racing this weekend: The winner of the Belmont Stakes and the imminent sale of the New York City Offtrack Betting Corporation.

Now there's only going to be the first celebration, which is truly a shame. No matter how glorious this year's Belmont, even if it had completed the sport's first Triple Crown in 23 years, the OTB development would have been of more lasting value and importance to the industry.