ARCADIA, Calif. - I heard him say it, and because he is the president I believe him.

"Mandella's dead!"

Those were the very words of George W. Bush at a press conference last week. But then everyone jumped on his case, because Mandella really isn't dead, which of course the president knows. He was simply telling it like it is, laying out another painful truth.

With round-the-clock care and thousands of fans hanging on every health report, the 32-year-old John Henry can hardly clear his throat these days without someone taking notice. That's as it should be, of course. He is a two-time Horse of the Year and genuine Thoroughbred hero. The final chapter of John Henry's life will be documented with the same attention that was lavished upon his glorious racing years.

NEW YORK - In television courtroom dramas, when the prosecution loses a case on a technicality, it is usually portrayed as a miscarriage of justice and an unfortunate price to be paid for protecting the rights of the accused. In real life, sometimes it's the technicalities that protect us from prosecutorial zeal.

It's tough to have a friend on the ropes and out of reach. Helpless and selfish describes the feeling, as if you could do any good by being there. At some point, though, it becomes okay to let go, and to trust the people in charge.

The people taking care of John Henry at the Kentucky Horse Park are first-rate, dedicated, and downright worshipful of the grizzled ghost of a champion who earned seven Eclipse Awards during an 83-race career that ran from May of 1977 to October of 1984.

NEW YORK - The Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs and the Brooklyn Handicap at Belmont, both of which will be run Saturday, are ancient and historic races with one foot in the grave, but at least one of them is headed in the right direction and climbing out.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Steven Crist told the story here last week of what Tom Ainslie did for horse racing in America.

This is about what he did for me, and for countless others like me fortunate enough to know this remarkable man who died at 89 as September dawned.

It is about the impact he had on my life and others, the inspiration he provided, the friendship he offered, and the bizarre role I played in starting his descent into a living hell.

Tom Ainslie, who died Sept. 1 at the age of 89, was much more than an "Author of Racing Guides," as the headline of his otherwise excellent obituary in The New York Times described him. It is no exaggeration to say that he may have been the most important handicapping author ever, not only for his own excellent work but also for almost singlehandedly legitimizing the pursuit of picking winners and clearing the publishing trail for much of the handicapping innovations and literature of the last 40 years.

There is something about the life of Michael Dickinson that lends itself to the dramatic. Whether or not Dickinson wants it that way is subject to debate. Let's just say that he has, from time to time, put himself in a spot where lightning is likely to strike.

The broad strokes of Dickinson's story have become racing lore. Every British schoolchild can recite the litany of the 1983 Cheltenham Gold Cup, when Master Michael saddled the first five finishers under the line. He had just turned 33.

NEW YORK - Rags to Riches will be making her first start since her historic Belmont Stakes victory when she returns in Saturday's Gazelle at Belmont, where a 14-week layoff shouldn't stop her from galloping at short odds against the quartet of Lear's Princess, Dorm Fever, Tough Tiz's Sis, and Le Chateau. If she wins, however, the drumbeat will begin: Well-meaning but misguided voices will insist that she make her next start against males in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Even dicey ideas sometimes give birth to fair-haired children.

For instance, there was no particular clamor for a Breeders' Cup sprint race exclusively designed for fillies and mares. Females were doing just fine against males in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. In fact, their presence added spice to what could have been just a parade of guys beating up on each other, year after year.