INGLEWOOD, Calif. - In case you missed it, the online auction of official Charlie Whittingham memorabilia - offered by his son, Michael - has dwindled down to a precious few items. There are still some photos, a halter, a schooling pad. But if you'd gotten in early, you could have snagged a Whittingham tie, a Whittingham hat, or even the shirt off Whittingham's back.

WASHINGTON - Trainer Bob Baffert describes the Belmont Stakes as "a goofy race," and he surely has applied other adjectives to it as well. In the last four years he has watched both Silver Charm and Real Quiet bid for the Triple Crown, take the lead in the long Belmont Park stretch and get caught at the wire, blowing a $5 million bonus.

So even though his colt Point Given is the favorite Saturday, Baffert is keenly aware of the pitfall in his path. All of the other trainers know, too, that they are facing the great unknown: the 1 1/2-mile distance of the Belmont Stakes.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Blame it on Bob. When the ratings tumble, when the game goes south, when America turns its back on racing and runs home to Nascar, Baffert takes the rap. After all, he trains Point Given, and Point Given blew the Derby.

That was pretty much the message after the Preakness. Every microphone shoved Baffert's way came with an accusation attached. Explain the Derby. Apologize for the Derby. Get on your knees and beg forgiveness for the Derby. How could you let us down?

ELMONT, N.Y. - "Woody, Woody, Woody . . ."

It was a chant of affection and admiration for an outstanding man who accomplished an outstanding feat and it went on for the better part of 10 minutes, with a large segment of the crowd joining in, after Woody Stephens saddled his fifth consecutive winner of the Belmont Stakes in 1986.

WASHINGTON - Trainer Wayne Lukas once observed, derisively, that the tenets of his profession are "chiseled in stone" and that the accepted methods of managing a Thoroughbred change little from generation to generation.

Because it is so rare to see trainers depart from orthodoxy, John T. Ward Jr. has been the cynosure of the 2001 Triple Crown campaign.

Ward confounded most experts by the way he got Monarchos ready to deliver his smashing victory in the Kentucky Derby. His judgment is once again being put to a test as he prepares the colt for Saturday's Belmont Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Everybody recalls that Go and Go came from Ireland to upset the Belmont Stakes of 1990 at more than 7-1. Somewhat less celebrated but perhaps as significant was the second-place finish in the Belmont of 1992 of My Memoirs, who came from England and was beaten less than a length at 18-1 by A.P. Indy.

My Memoirs raced for Team Valor, a syndication organization that made a splash in the classics of 1997 with Captain Bodgit. Team Valor is back for Saturday's 133rd Belmont Stakes with Dr Greenfield, who flew here from England Tuesday on a mission: win the Belmont.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Those who achieve their greatest success before the age of 30 can be forgiven if life seems to drag thereafter. Still, there is something to be said for setting a high standard right off the bat. It tends to focus the attention. When Craig Dollase won the 1998 Breeders' Cup Sprint with Reraise, he was one month shy of his 28th birthday. He had been training on his own for less than a year.

WASHINGTON - I have maligned a horse, and now his feelings are hurt.

At the outset of the Triple Crown series, I wrote that the colt Dollar Bill was "as phony as a three-dollar bill." Such an observation ordinarily would go unrebutted, since horse racing is one sport in which the participants don't read. Or at least most of them don't.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Eloquence is a lost art these days, particularly in the broadcasting and telecasting of horse racing.

The most eloquent voice of all - Heywood Hale Broun - is not heard at all, and his closest successor, Jack Whitaker, is heard far too seldom. Today's producers opt instead for two guys batting .198 in handicapping and joking between themselves, or for commentators who can ride while holding a microphone in one hand asking a jockey when he knew he had it won, or if he had a good trip.

ELMONT, N.Y.- Nine of his last 10 and counting.