DEL MAR, Calif. - Lava Man was lounging in a corner of the Del Mar backstretch, sequestered from his usual stablemates just across the road. The walls of his prefab stall still had that new-plywood smell. There was thick padding and soft bedding, a canopy providing shade from the summer sun, and just across the way he could stare into the baleful brown eyes of his pal, the pony named Charlie.

NEW YORK - When the voters of New York agreed seven years ago to permit slot machines at the state's racetracks, giddy horse owners began smacking their lips at the prospect of six-figure maiden and allowance races at Belmont and Saratoga fueled by new revenues from a racino at Aqueduct.

In a racing world where fans often feel they lack any voice, you've got to tip your hat to Curlin's principal owner for running an online poll asking how the colt should complete his season.

"Curlin, 2007 Horse of the Year, is currently training in Saratoga, New York, after a successful test on a grass course where he came in second," says the home page at . "During the downtime, Jess Jackson, majority owner of Curlin, wants to know, Where do you think Curlin should go next?"

The choices, with the voting as of Thursday afternoon, are:

1. Turf campaign - 50 percent

DEL MAR, Calif. - By now it is fairly well established that the opening-day program at Del Mar has about the same relationship to horse racing as Mardi Gras has to Lent.

Both celebrations encourage a ceremonial worship of excess before getting back to the more mundane concerns of life. In the case of Del Mar, these concerns include survival in an economy that is beginning to dent even such formerly bullet-proof diversions as parimutuel Thoroughbred racing.

From a perspective of ongoing mental health, it is probably not a good idea to treat every encounter with every good friend as if it could be the last chance to say hello and goodbye. There would be something dark and desperate in the behavior, no matter how benign the intent.

Still, as the death of Luke Kruytbosch so vividly displays, a case can be made for constant surveillance. The ranks of the talented seem to thin out without much warning. Overweight or not, stressed out or not, Luke made it only to 47. That's a great old age - if you're a bullfighter or a lion tamer.

DEL MAR, Calif. - The unspoken irony was as thick as the bedding in her stall. Bruce Headley, Brad Martin, and Emmanuel de Seroux were admiring the 5-year-old mare So Long Sonoma, a stakes-placed daughter of American Chance on the comeback trail, when an innocent bystander had the poor taste to repeat her name with intent to provoke.

"Her name is So Long Sonoma. Really."

"That's right," a poker-faced Headley replied.

"That's pretty funny, I guess," offered the visitor. "Who came up with that one?"

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Business is business, and sacrifices sometimes have to be made. Rather than spending the week enjoying the sights and sounds of the Solano County Fair in the town of Vallejo (better known as the "Jewel of the East Bay"), Northern California trainer Greg Gilchrist found himself stranded on the other side of the continent in drab, lifeless Fort Lauderdale, stuck in the tropical sun amidst a confusing array of gourmet restaurants and boring boutiques.

It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Even if he was so inclined, Eoin Harty did not have much time to feel sorry for himself after watching Santa Anita Derby winner Colonel John shuffle home sixth in the Kentucky Derby, some 14 lengths behind Big Brown. By the time Harty got back to the barn, his attention was drawn to the crowd gathered across the way at the mouth of the Larry Jones shed row, where Jones and his crew were being consoled by family and friends after the death of the Derby runner-up, Eight Belles.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - When you cram five significant stakes events into one lazy summer afternoon at a track on the left coast of the nation, there will be a whole pile of stories that slip through the cracks. It happened last Saturday at Hollywood Park. In all the hubbub over Pure Clan's American Oaks, perfect Zenyatta's sixth straight win and a slam-bang CashCall Mile, these juicy tidbits went untold:

TUCSON, Ariz. - Every so often, a story comes along that transcends breed lines.

This is one of them.

Louis P. Guida is not a name known widely throughout Thoroughbred racing, although he and partners were 50 percent owners of Laurel Park 25 years ago and partners in Pimlico, selling their shares to Magna Entertainment, and he has bred runners with veterinarian Dr. Philip McCarthy.

He also owned the Philadelphia Eagles for a short while, calling his purchase of that NFL team the smartest move he ever made in sports, and selling it the dumbest.