ARCADIA, Calif. - Eddie Delahoussaye was lingering in the shade of the Paddy Gallagher barn at Santa Anita on Friday morning when someone bothered him with a question. In a Hall of Fame career that included 6,384 winners, five of them in Triple Crown events and seven in a variety of Breeders' Cups, did he have any particular recollection of the three San Juan Capistrano Invitationals he had won along the way?

ARCADIA, Calif. - The party's over. The thrill is gone. Mired in a losing streak that had gripped the stable for more than a week, Carla Gaines moped around her Santa Anita barn Thursday morning, cursing her fates and bemoaning the day she ever decided to become a Thoroughbred trainer.

Or not.

As trainers go, Gaines definitely operates at the mellow end of the spectrum. Her dog is spoiled, her horses are content, and her owners pledge their undying allegiance. If she gets angry, it's usually directed at her new iPhone. But then she gets over it quickly.

By almost any objective measure, Keeneland Race Course is one of the most bettor-friendly tracks in American racing. It provides full and competitive fields with a concentration of quality matched only at Saratoga; it has pioneered the outstanding Trakus system, which provides full and accurate placings during a race; it has been a leader in lowering bet minimums, offering a 50-cent pick-four as well as dime superfectas; and it has one of the best websites in racing, including free streaming video of all its races.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The 95th anniversary of Charlie Whittingham's birth passed quietly last Sunday, with a warm wind rustling the newly sprouted leaves of the trees near his grave in a cemetery not far from Santa Anita Park.

Ninety-five is a fine number, and Whittingham had every intention of getting there. His death on April 20, 1999, merely removed the temporal evidence of a life well lived. Otherwise, the racing landscape is littered with Whittingham's far-reaching influence.

TUCSON, Ariz. - It has been a weird week in racing.

In Michigan, Wayne County gave tentative approval to selling 320 acres of prime commercial development land near Detroit Metropolitan Airport for $1 to a group that plans to build a track there. The Detroit News, acting in the watchdog role that American journalism has filled so successfully, set up a howling hue and cry.

This is the time of year for great delusions. Owners and trainers seem to need very little reason to run in the Kentucky Derby. Capacity fields in the last few years are usually pinned on Giacomo, winner of the 2005 Derby at odds of 50-1. But you can't blame him for 17 horses trying unbeaten Smarty Jones in 2004, or the 18 that lined up in 2002, or the 19 who thought they could topple firm favorite Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000.

WASHINGTON - When the undistinguished colt Monba won Saturday's Blue Grass Stakes, with the highly regarded Kentucky Derby contender Pyro finishing 10th, the result may have surprised or confused many racing fans. It deserved another reaction, too: sheer dismay. The prep races leading up to the Derby have in many cases been shorn of significance or interest.

NEW YORK - Of the millions of Americans who will be grinding their teeth between now and midnight Tuesday when their income taxes are due, none will be grinding them harder than citizens who had the misfortune to cash reportable parimutuel tickets in 2007.

It doesn't matter whether they won or lost for the year and whether their annual handle is in the thousands or the millions. Anyone who had any so-called "winnings" reported to the Internal Revenue Service faces uniquely unfair and punitive tax treatment.

"Zoolander" was a movie about the world of high fashion that featured the line, "Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?"

There was also a Manchurian candidate subplot, jokes about styling gel, and a male model smackdown refereed by David Bowie. In addition, there was the unveiling of a line of clothing, dredged from the unfortunate depths of society, that celebrated the "look" of people forced to live on the street. It was called Derelicte.

NEW YORK - A year ago, the first Blue Grass Stakes run over Polytrack unfolded at a glacial pace and ended in a four-horse photo finish that understandably baffled most handicappers. Street Sense, the champion 2-year-old of 2006, finished just behind Dominican and just in front of Zanjero and Teufelsberg, horses who had done nothing before (or since) to suggest they should be finishing that close to the favorite for the Kentucky Derby.