TUCSON, Ariz. - Rick Dutrow was a no-show at last week's Congressional subcommittee hearing on the problems of Thoroughbred racing, saying he was too ill to attend. It is not known if he jumped or was pushed to that decision, and if the latter by whom. It also would be interesting to know who wrote his written submission, which began, "When I was contacted by one of your staffers and asked to speak here today, I agreed because I wanted to share my insights and points of view on some of these issues and I hope that I can be helpful here."

Not a "Got it, Babe?" in sight.

Jennifer Moss, 19, was flipping though the channels at a friend's house last Thursday morning when her attention was grabbed by the image of a talking head on C-SPAN3. By all accounts, this is not her programming of choice. Hardly anyone's programming of choice, in fact. C-SPAN3 is for hardcore shut-ins and civics wonks. Unsuspecting viewers might stumble on such things as a re-creation of the Lincoln-Douglas debates using hand puppets, or a dreary hearing of, say, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection of the U.S.

NEW YORK - While all takeout increases are punitive and ultimately counterproductive, some are even worse than others. Just look at the two that the New York State legislature approved last Monday: They are both scheduled to take effect Sept. 14, but one of them was so hastily and thoughtlessly conceived that it might take until then just to figure out how it is supposed to work and what it is supposed to accomplish.

NEW YORK - The first round of Congressional hearings into "Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns" in Washington on Thursday morning was a predictably unfocused collection of racing facts and fictions that did little to provide an answer to the central question it was convened to address: Is federal intervention necessary to police the sport?

TUCSON, Ariz. - It is difficult to feel sorry for Rick Dutrow, although ABC's closing shot of him hanging over the rail at his barn, shirt soaked with the sweat of a steaming Belmont Day, trying to figure out what went wrong, was touching.

It is almost impossible to feel sorry for Michael Iavarone, the self-styled "just a guy from Long Island," given his short memory for facts of his career that drew so much ink leading up to the Belmont Stakes.

NEW YORK - Does the United States House of Representatives really need to be spending its time and our money holding hearings on the state of Thoroughbred racing and breeding?

NEW YORK - Of the dozens of reasons being proposed to explain Big Brown's performance in the Belmont Stakes, the consensus choice seems to be that Kent Desormeaux's ride cost the colt the race and the Triple Crown. We're all just guessing until they teach Big Brown to talk, but after many viewings of the pan and head-on replays of the race, I just don't buy that The Jockey Did It.

WASHINGTON - After Big Brown finished last in the Belmont Stakes, almost everyone in the sport expected to hear that a physical problem had caused his dismal performance. Good horses don't run so badly without a reason. Perhaps X-rays would reveal a hairline fracture. Perhaps blood tests would disclose an illness. Even if the tests didn't reveal an ailment or injury, cynics expected that the Big Brown camp would invent one. When a horse is valued at $50 million or more, owners are usually eager to offer an excuse for a bad performance.

WASHINGTON - The obituaries for Jim McKay detailed achievements familiar to almost any American who watches sports on television. He won 13 Emmy Awards and countless other honors. For 37 years he was the host of ABC's "Wide World of Sports," the groundbreaking anthology series. He was the face of the network's coverage of the Olympic Games, and his defining professional moment came at Munich in 1972. When he received the information that terrorists had killed all of their Israeli hostages, McKay mournfully told the nation: "They're all gone."

ELMONT, N.Y. - You could see it on her face, the disappointment, the exhaustion, the drool. Angelic little Sophia Rhein, 15 months old, daughter of veterinarian Kristian Rhein, clung to her father's shoulder as the crowd around her near the finish line filled the air with a deafening, full-blooded New York reaction to Big Brown's meek surrender in last Saturday's 140th running of the Belmont Stakes.

"Where is he? Where is he? He's done!"

"Oh my God! He didn't even finish!"

"What a disgrace!"

Sophia kept her counsel, but it was easy to read her mind.