NEW YORK - If you tell a horseplayer who has just suffered an excruciating and expensive beat at the wire that you kind of like a 7-5 shot later on the card, he is likely to respond exactly the way Carl Nafzger did last Saturday evening when asked about running in the Belmont Stakes after losing the Preakness: "What's the point?"

BALTIMORE - Curlin had come into the Triple Crown series with a lack of experience that figured to be insurmountable. He had a rough trip in the Kentucky Derby that might have taken a toll even on a seasoned horse. He appeared to be hopelessly beaten in midstretch at Pimlico. But he was able to unleash powerful acceleration in the final yards and catch a genuinely good rival, Street Sense, spoiling that colt's chances of winning the Triple Crown.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Look at it this way. At the very least, the nation has been spared the agony of another soul-shattering letdown in the Belmont Stakes with a Triple Crown on the line. For that alone, sports fans owe Curlin and Robby Albarado their undying gratitude.

NEW YORK - The past, present, and prospective future operators of New York racing have plenty of differences of opinion, but they have always agreed on a couple of things: New York needs both Aqueduct and Belmont, and it would be folly for more than a single entity to operate those two tracks and Saratoga. These two simple precepts have been endorsed by every panel the state has commissioned to study the racing industry over the last 50 years, and is the foundation of all four active bids for the New York racing Association franchise that expires at year's end.

NEW YORK - Handicapping the Preakness Stakes is often an exercise in trying to make sense of a chaotic Kentucky Derby, but this year's Derby was unusually free from traffic, trouble, and ambiguity. Street Sense was clearly the best horse winning by 2 1/4 lengths, Hard Spun ran a strong second, and it was another 5o3/4 lengths back to the inexperienced Curlin in third.

BALTIMORE - The Kentucky Derby left no doubt about the identity of the top 3-year-old in America. Street Sense, the champion of his generation last season, confirmed his status by soundly defeating his 19 rivals at Churchill Downs. He will be a strong favorite to win the Preakness.

Yet many serious handicappers, myself included, will be very wary of betting Street Sense at Pimlico, even though the field is smaller and weaker than the one he trounced two weeks ago. In fact, he is the type of favorite that gamblers love to bet against.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Bo-rail, Bo-rail, Bo-rail. It's this year's Triple Crown mantra. Bo-rail, Bo-rail, Bo-rail. Got so bad that President Bush pronounced the man's name that way at the White House, not long after he winked at the queen. Bush, not Borel. Calvin's got manners.

Bo-rail, Bo-rail, Bo-rail. Before the Derby, fellow Cajun Robby Albarado all but dared Boo-Boo Borel to try that inside stuff with Street Sense in the Kentucky Derby. Then darned if he didn't, and made it look like a breeze.

WASHINGTON - Before the Kentucky Derby, it was easy to underestimate Larry Jones. The man in the omnipresent white cowboy hat was little known nationally, and he had never trained a horse for a Triple Crown event.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - California's finest 3-year-olds didn't exactly cover themselves in glory at this year's Kentucky Derby. Cluttered the field is more like it.

Yes, Tiago did win the gallop-out, but at the only finish line that counted, he was seventh, beaten 10 lengths by Street Sense, while ahead of fellow West Coast refugees Great Hunter (13th), Liquidity (14th), Bwana Bull (15th), and Stormello (19th). Enjoy those $50,000 saddle towels.

TUCSON, Ariz. - A bad idea and a barroom brawl roil the turbulent waters of horse racing these days. The first is dangerous, the second disgraceful.

Bad ideas do not improve with age, and a bill reintroduced in Congress - HR 2175, the Jockeys Insurance Fairness Act - is no better now than it was when first introduced in the last session. It may be fair for jockeys, but it is unfair for the rest of racing.