TUCSON, Ariz. - So after 135 years and all the technological wonders that Silicon Valley in California can produce, Churchill Downs decides harness racing has had it right all along, and lights and an upscale splash and night racing are the answer.

Since synthetic tracks were introduced in North America, one fact about them has become indisputable: They are different. They are less speed-favoring than traditional dirt. As a result, the style of racing on the new surfaces is different. Typically, the early pace is slower and the horses are more tightly bunched at the finish.

Speed figures are different on synthetic surfaces, too. The distinctive nature of these races has prompted a change in the mathematical underpinnings of the Beyer Speed Figures.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - There is a viral idea making the rounds that a Belmont Stakes without Rachel Alexandra will be watched by no one and attended by even fewer. This is not true. I have pre-programmed the Betamax and I promise to watch the network telecast as soon as I get home from New York. Or maybe later on.

The wave of nausea that washed over the racing world last weekend has begun to recede, leaving behind the cold reality that Rene Douglas may never walk again. There are no silver linings.

It does not help to know that Douglas, a fit 42, has a better chance than the average Joe to recover quickly from the nearly eight hours of surgery required to stabilize the several fractures in his spine, since the spinal cord itself already may have sustained irreparable damage.

NEW YORK - At some point this week, you will hear that the Belmont Stakes is an irrelevant anachronism because of its 12-furlong distance, that it rewards an outmoded virtue called stamina that breeders no longer prize, and that it's high time to shorten the race and stop making it so darned hard for horses to win the Triple Crown.

Don't believe a word of it.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Believe it or not, there are more than just those two female Thoroughbreds at large in America. In fact, a gate load of them will be on display Saturday at Hollywood Park in the 43rd running of the Gamely Stakes.

Neither Rachel Alexandra nor Zenyatta will be among them, which reduces general media interest to about zip. Still, a Grade 1, nine-furlong grass event with a chorus line that includes such tempting components as Black Mamba, Diamond Diva, Tuscan Evening, and Magical Fantasy gives players ripe choices.

NEW YORK - Will she or won't she? The question applies to both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta.

Will Rachel Alexandra try to become the first filly to win two-thirds of a Triple Crown by running in the Belmont Stakes Saturday?

Will Zenyatta step outside of her division or her California home base as she attempts to extend her 10-for-10 record?

And will they ever meet?

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Those seven months between starts for Zenyatta passed quickly, didn't they? Perhaps it was all the distractions that helped dull the pain. To kill time, Americans elected their first African-American president. Not long after that the economy was destroyed, Guantanamo was ordered closed, and the Steelers won another Super Bowl. When Tiger Woods came back from his long absence, we knew Zenyatta would soon follow. Then suddenly, it was last Saturday, and her light shone across the land once more.

NEW YORK - Last week, depending on which day it was, American racing veered from feast to famine.

On Saturday, May 16, the sport soared with a historic Preakness Stakes showdown that attracted national attention, higher television ratings, and a 29 percent jump in betting over last year.

Among the more significant things to be lost in the hurricane of Rachel Alexandra coverage last week was the death of former jockey and racing official William J. Passmore, at the age of 76, from the debilitating effects of emphysema.

As Maryland racing institutions go, Passmore ranks right up there with Sagamore, Windfields, and anything with the name Boniface attached. Of Passmore's 76 years, 38 were spent as a jockey and another 20 as a steward, leaving him little time for either the indulgences of childhood or the veneration of old age. He retired just last year.