INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The long knives are out again, slashing at the throat of the Triple Crown before the poor thing even has a chance to catch its breath.

Pat Forde of ESPN.com says, "We have to accept the reality that modern 3-year-old horses, trained for speed and built for brief windows of brilliance, cannot withstand the rigors of three long races in five weeks at an early stage of their development."

When asked, Wayne Lukas of Wayne Lukas Has Won 13 Triple Crown Races is renewing his call for more time between the events and a shorter Belmont Stakes.

NEW YORK - It is becoming a rite of the last days of spring. Another Derby, Preakness, and Belmont go by without a Triple Crown winner, and the critics who drop in on racing for five weeks a year issue a manifesto on their way out the door: The Triple Crown, they demand, must be changed.

It's too hard to win. The races are too long. It's not fair. Three races in five weeks is too many. The dates and distances have been changed before (albeit not for more than half a century), so why not do it again to make it easier to win?

TUCSON, Ariz. - Rebellion and racing normally live in separate worlds, whether on television or in real life. Palace revolts and insurrection and anarchy usually have little to do with racetracks and the people and horses that frequent them.

The two collided last week in Albany, N.Y., where incredible things happen regularly in the New York legislature. This happening, however, was so remarkable that the Albany Times-Union, accustomed as it is to the subterfuge and shenanigans of the august body that meets in its city, called it "a political coup for the history books."

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Tiffany & Co., makers of fine doodads, has gone another year without selling one of those handsome, three-cornered Triple Crown trophies. They'll survive.

The last one issued, in 1978, is still safely in the possession of Patrice Wolfson, who bred and raced Affirmed with her late husband, Louis Wolfson. It is also to Affirmed's everlasting credit that he went on to be a better 4-year-old than a 3-year-old, if that's possible, and one of the trophies from his 1979 collection came from an inspirational piece of work in the Californian, at Hollywood Park.

Just for a moment, let's pretend this is the way it works all the time.

During the summer of 2007, a 6-year-old swaybacked gelding named Storm Legacy was turned over to trainer Pete Tardy at Penn National, who was told by the owner, "You don't have to train him. Just board him." Then, in early 2008, the owner tossed Tardy the keys. "He's yours if you want him," was the message.

Let's face it. The 2009 classic season was played for underdog drama and good-hearted laughs, along with a brief interlude of genuflection. It also will be remembered as the moment that Thoroughbred racing, like the NFL, attempted at least a suggestion of parity.

The last time Jerry Hollendorfer made an impression in New York, the first George Bush was in the White House and MC Hammer was a recording star. This is significant, because Mr. Hammer was the high-profile owner of Lite Light, winner of the 1991 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs and then later the Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont Park.

NEW YORK - If a bird in the hand is truly worth two in the bush, then Mine That Bird is a very square bet at 2-1 to win the 141st Belmont Stakes: He's a known quantity with two strong efforts in the Triple Crown already to his credit, while his nine opponents are unproven colts of uncertain quality.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Consider this column a preemptive strike. The last thing you want is to be ambushed by Nick Zito in the Belmont Stakes. Again. He never rubs it in, but then again, with his record only a fool would fail to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

It happened in 2004 when Zito brought Birdstone down from his Saratoga Shangri-la to catch the weary Smarty Jones in the final yards, ending the Triple Crown fairytale in the process.

To hear the hallelujahs over Calvin Borel's ride on Mine That Bird in the Kentucky Derby last month, a fellow would be led to believe it was the first time a jock ever busted through along the rail to get the job done in a big one.

"That was a great ride," said Laffit Pincay Jr., who was there that day. "An unbelievable ride. He stayed inside and came flying with that horse. I was very impressed."