TUCSON, Ariz. - Integrity was much in the news in recent days and weeks, some developments forceful, some more modest, some surprising.

Among the surprises were suspensions for use of prohibited substances of the trainers for the Queen of England as well as the prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, the hero of American Thoroughbred horse sales, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. He was making racing headlines here again this week as the star of the opening session of the Fasig-Tipton sale at Saratoga.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Jerry Moss compared each appearance of Zenyatta to the debut of a new album by The Police, and he should know, since he has owned them both - or at least, in the case of The Police, owned the company that produced their records.

"We actually released only five albums, and after the first one, each time was huge," Moss said. The third of the five was Zenyatta Mondatta.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There are six Grade 1 races from coast to coast Saturday: the Test and Whitney at Saratoga; the Arlington Million, Beverly D., and Secretariat at Arlington Park; and the Bing Crosby at Del Mar. That six-pack constitutes the most Grade 1 races run on a single day so far this year.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Did you know that every time Jonathan Sheppard checks Just as Well's teeth he is looking a gift horse in the mouth?

I am so sorry I wrote that, and not only because it's a lame play on words and an offhanded insult to equine dentistry. It is because Just as Well deserves a little more respect than that, and he may get it in spades on Saturday when he submits his growing reputation for inspection in the 27th running of the Arlington Million against a field that includes Einstein, Gio Ponti, Presious Passion, and three dangerous Europeans.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Late one lazy morning, during the summer of 1991, a groom led a horse from one barn to another at Hollywood Park. There had been a trainer change. These things happen.

The horse was coming from a respectable outfit. No national headlines, but respectable, and the horse had unquestionable talent. As the groom handed him off to the crew at his new home in the Ron McAnally stable, he fired a closing shot at McAnally's assistant, Eduardo Inda.

"This is the best horse you guys gonna have," said the groom. "Take good care of him."

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Next to the weather, perhaps the dominant topic of non-racing discussion during this opening week of Saratoga has been the offtrack betting system in New York. It remains to be seen whether the latest round of talking about OTB will do anything more to change it than complaining about the weather will produce a fast track, but the debate is heating up:

* On the eve of the meeting last Tuesday, the top officials of the New York Racing Association made their most withering public comments to date about OTB.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Well Armed and Mr Napper Tandy used to live right around the corner from each other in Barn C at Del Mar. Last year, they both had a good day in the San Diego Handicap, when Well Armed won as expected, and Mr Napper Tandy finished a promising fourth, with trouble, at odds of nearly 60-1.

After that, Well Armed went on to win the Goodwood during the 2008 Oak Tree meet and then lit the desert sky with an unprecedented 14-length victory in the $6 million Dubai World Cup last March.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - What a first weekend of August for racing: The gelding, filly, and colt who won this year's Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes are all in action, heading for a possible showdown in the Travers; the 15-length winner of the world's richest race, the Dubai World Cup, makes his return to American soil; it's opening weekend at Saratoga, and the second weekend at Del Mar, the two biggest race meetings of the summer.

DEL MAR, Calif. - During the first nine days of August, the three most powerful weapons in the U.S. racing arsenal will be activated at three different sites around the country.

On Saturday afternoon, Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird will grace the $750,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park with his Cinderella story. His primary opponent, Big Drama, is a fast, classy colt who has the speed to steal the show, but he won't.

DEL MAR, Calif. - In this era of overblown bombast, when rock stars get send-offs like heads of state, it is no surprise that a filly who has done what Rachel Alexandra has done is being anointed as the second coming of Kincsem.

Make no mistake, the game is much better off for her presence, and her race at Monmouth Park on Sunday, the Haskell Invitational, against 3-year-old males should be a treat. But even if she wins, she'll still need to beef up her historical resume.