ARCADIA, Calif. - The San Pasqual Handicap is an innocent enough race. It does not strive for classic status. Victory rarely juices up a resume, which means winning the race must be its own reward, these days amounting to $90,000 of a $150,000 purse.

Okay, so it's not "Masterpiece Theatre," or even "Knight Rider." As mainstream entertainment goes, the Bravo series called "The Real Housewives of Orange County" ranks somewhere between stopping to gawk at a grisly freeway accident and a nature show featuring large, hungry animals devouring smaller, slower animals. It gives your everyday desperate housewives a bad name.

ARCADIA, Calif. - "That's it," said Nicholas Bachalard, almost apologetically, as he arrived at the end of the seven-horse Santa Anita shed row he runs for his boss, Christophe Clement. "Not too many."

ARCADIA, Calif. - The first of 51 graded American races on the grass in 2009 open to fillies and mares with grand ambitions takes place on Sunday at Santa Anita with the 39th running of the San Gorgonio Handicap.

NEW YORK - The Eclipse ballots are due at 2 p.m. Monday, and with instant online voting available this year, it just might take me until 1:45 p.m. to be absolutely sure about a couple of these, like the male sprinter and turf horse categories. Barring any last-second changes of heart, here are the buttons I'm planning to push:

2-year-old male: 1. Midshipman 2. Vineyard Haven 3. Old Fashioned

ARCADIA, Calif. - "It's cool. No pulse."

TUCSON, Ariz. - From his heavenly throne, Art Rooney - the original Art Rooney - is casting a celestial smile this holiday season.

The Chief must be happy that his boys - his five sons Dan, Art Jr., Tim, Pat, and John - didn't let him down.

The new year comes again on wings

To bring us lots of special things

Like Derby dreams, and Triple tears,

Economic woes and fears.

All trimmed with hopes of faster steeds

To thrill us with their noble deeds,

Glad it's over? Thanks a lot.

Two-oh-oh-eight is best forgot

By those thrown underneath the bus.

And then there's all the rest of us.

Eight Belles gone, Nashoba's Key

Will live in fondest memory.

Goodbye Bay Meadows, knew ye well,

Hooray for office space to sell

ARCADIA, Calif. - After the first two days of the Santa Anita meet, the scorecard of official track veterinarian Dr. Jill Bailey included four equine ambulance calls, the application of two emergency Kimsey splints, one cut-up animal over the rail, and one euthanasia. By comparison, Day 3 on Sunday was a blessed bore, with just a single, low-key prerace scratch.

NEW YORK - Big Brown and Curlin went off to stud without ever meeting on the racetrack, and there's no real Eclipse Award race between the two colts. Curlin will be the nation's champion older horse and Big Brown the champion 3-year-old in virtual walkovers, and the Horse of the Year contest is widely viewed as being between Curlin and Zenyatta, with Big Brown a distant third.

The two colts will, however, have at least a proxy Eclipse battle next month when one of their owners is likely to prevail in an unusually interesting race to be named the outstanding owner of 2008.