NEW YORK - Last week in America, hundreds of thousands of livestock animals were slaughtered for domestic consumption; tens of thousands of companion animals were euthanized at animal shelters for lack of a home; thousands of abandoned horses continued to wallow in neglect, some of them bound for foreign slaughterhouses and dinner tables; and one filly died after running in the Kentucky Derby, the first fatality in the race in 75 years.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Okay, so you can go home again. For Ron McAnally, though, it was a little bit unsettling to return to the neighborhood of his youth last month only to find that he was being honored in the very same spooky old house that was known for a fact to be haunted.

Now that everyone from Bill O'Reilly to the Huffington Post has weighed in on the tragic death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby, this might be a good time to review the main points being raised by media critics.

It's probably not a good idea, though, to dwell upon the attempt by CBS News anchor Katie Couric to compare the death of the Derby runner-up to the loss of a political campaign, in one of her "Notebook" commentaries about Sen. Hillary Clinton backing Eight Belles.

Eight Belles ran well to finish second behind Big Brown, but after galloping out, she broke down and was euthanized.P

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Three men sharing a common name and a piece of sad history could be found outside Barn 43 at Churchill Downs late Saturday afternoon, trying to come to terms with the death of the filly Eight Belles, who finished second in the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby before shattering both front legs while pulling up on the clubhouse turn.

WASHINGTON - When Eight Belles broke down and was euthanized after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby, her death provoked a predictable outcry about the cruelty of the sport.

NEW YORK - There was a mild racing upset away from the track last month when it was announced that Manila had finally been elected to the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. While his induction is entirely worthy and overdue, it came at the expense of some more recent runners, reflecting a dilemma that is going to start coming up with increasing frequency and intensity in the next few years.

WASHINGTON - "This is not a tough horse race," trainer Rick Dutrow says of the 134th Kentucky Derby, and he is correct in the sense that there is not much formidable competition for his colt Big Brown. The favorite has won all three of his starts with ease, earning superior speed figures, and none of his rivals has a record remotely comparable. In an ordinary race, a horse with such credentials might look unbeatable.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Bill Mott is going to win the Kentucky Derby. Maybe not this year, and maybe not next. But someday it will happen, and when it does the racing world will breathe a sigh of great relief.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Pop quiz time. Multiple choice. What do you do with a homebred filly out of a $12,500 mare who won her maiden in open company at Keeneland going 1 1/8 miles, won a stakes over a route of ground at Churchill Downs, and then beat the boys in another stakes in March of her 3-year-old season?

(a) Quit while you're ahead

(b) Sell her, quick

(c) Run her in the Kentucky Oaks

TUCSON, Ariz. - Big Brown.

So much for the Derby. Now on to other matters.

Like you, I receive entreaties from lovers of narwhals, polar bears, and the spotted owl, asking for support of those worthy causes.

This week, I received word of another, from the non-profit Preservation League of New York.

It turns out the league has a different breed of threatened species in mind, one of its "Seven-to-Save Endangered Properties."

Saratoga Race Course.