ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The unsettled nature of this year's dirt horse division had an appropriate final act on Saturday, when the longshot Volponi crushed Horse of the Year candidates Came Home, Medaglia d'Oro, and War Emblem in the $4 million at Arlington Park.

Volponi, at 43-1 the longest shot in the 12-horse field, blew open the race with a quick turn of foot at the top of the stretch and went on to score an emphatic 6 1/2-length victory over favored Medaglia d'Oro, leaving the crowd of 46,118 stunned. It was the largest margin of victory in Classic history.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - He has been called lazy and described as a superstar. On Saturday, in the $2.42 million , High Chaparral found time to be a little of both.

The winner of the English and Irish derbies this year, High Chaparral overcame a spot of trouble to win the richest turf race in the United States.

Along the way, jockey Michael Kinane knew he had to keep High Chaparral's attention to have any chance of winning. "He is lazy," said Kinane. "You really have to get after him."

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Satish Sanan feels vindicated indeed.

Vindication, so named because of lingering doubts about the colt's physical durability, established himself as the leading contender for next year's Kentucky Derby with a convincing 2 3/4-length victory in Saturday's $1.07 at Arlington Park.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - D. Wayne Lukas took an uncharacteristic backseat coming into the 2002 World Thoroughbred Championships, with starters in only one of the eight races on the card. What Lukas lacked in quantity he made up for in quality, though. Orientate gave Lukas his record 17th Breeders' Cup victory after rallying to a half-length victory over longshot Thunderello and 11 other speedballs in the

$1.14 million .

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Bobby Frankel finally shook his long Breeders' Cup training jinx last year when Squirtle Squirt won the Sprint, but as an owner, the wait was a lot shorter. Starine, trained and owned by Frankel, scored a surprisingly easy win Saturday in the , beating another Frankel-trained horse, Banks Hill, who narrowly held second in a roughly run edition of the race.

Even with Squirtle Squirt, Frankel was only 1 for 42 in Cup races, and after Beat Hollow's disappointing sixth-place finish in the Mile, Frankel wondered if a new streak had begun.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Domedriver, a French colt overlooked at 26-1, got first run over heavily favored Rock of Gibraltar and won an eventful 19th running of the $1 million .

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - With her talent and her determination, Storm Flag Flying kept a family tradition going Saturday, coming back in deep stretch after relinquishing the lead to win Saturday's $1 million by a half-length at Arlington Park.

Composure, who had a half-length advantage over Storm Flag Flying inside the eighth pole, settled for second, 9 3/4 lengths ahead of her stablemate Santa Catarina.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Azeri completed her brilliant year and made a bid for Horse of the Year with a dazzling five-length victory in the $2 million , the first Breeders' Cup race Saturday at Arlington Park.

As she had done in her recent races in California, Azeri leaped to the front out of the gate, turned back a pace rival while setting quick fractions, then drew off stylishly. This field, though, was the toughest she had faced all year, and her impressive victory - her seventh straight and eighth in nine starts this year - surely had to impress whatever doubters remained.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Sky Mesa, who was the morning-line favorite for Saturday's Breeders' Cup Juvenile, was scratched from the race Friday morning because of swelling in his right front ankle.

"This morning in his stall he was a little light on the right front. We took the bandages off, and he had filling on the inside and outside of the right front ankle about halfway up the cannon bone," trainer John Ward said. "X-rays show that it wasn't any fractured cannon bone or anything at this point. We've got guarded optimism it's only the result of a sprain."

Hawk Wing has emerged as one of the best horses in Europe with one-two finishes in all six of his Group 1 starts. Can he handle dirt? Before his 2002 debut in May, he worked on the all-weather Lingfield track and smoked around the layout. Bottom line? He's the best horse in a weak race.