INGLEWOOD, Calif. - In 1957, when John Nerud was winning some of the biggest races in the land with Gallant Man, the 16-year-old Texan Carl Nafzger was, in his words, "just then starting to ride the big bulls." Horse racing was about the furthest thing from his mind.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Author, raconteur, and racehorse syndicator Cot Campbell has lived the kind of life in which it matters very much what people say about you in public. For someone like Campbell, part of the sell is yourself.

That is why it was so gratifying for Campbell when word drifted back to him last week in South Carolina that Jim Tafel, owner of Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, dropped the ultimate shout-out during the post-race press conference.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Last week's celebration of the 25th anniversary of Gato del Sol's 1982 Kentucky Derby victory could have been held in a phone booth, with room left over for the horse. As far as Churchill Downs and most of the Derby media were concerned, it was a non-event.

NEW YORK - There hasn't been a close or really competitive Preakness since Magic Weisner fell three-quarters of a length short of catching War Emblem back in 2002. Funny Cide galloped by 9 3/4 lengths in 2003, Smarty Jones romped by 11 1/2 in 2004, and Afleet Alex won by 4 3/4 in 2005, a margin that would have been even larger had he not almost fallen. Then last year, Bernardini won by 5 1/4 after Barbaro was pulled up.

NEW YORK - Unless you bet on No Decision or took the over on the future of New York racing being resolved by the end of 2007, it might be time to hedge your bets in the New York Racing Association Future Wager.

According to three different people involved in the current bidding, Gov. Eliot Spitzer's initial timetable for picking an operator by the end of May is off the table, and the most likely scenario is a virtual restart of the entire process while NYRA receives a short-term extension for a year or two past the current franchise expiration date of Dec. 31, 2007.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Jim Murray won't exactly spin in his grave, but he'd certainly sit up and take notice, and definitely crack wise, if by some chance a horse partly owned by two sportswriters jumps up to win the $250,000 Jim Murray Memorial Handicap on Saturday at Hollywood Park.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The crowd at Churchill Downs was going wild. Obviously, they had never seen royalty up close before. Brandishing cameras, shouting out the regal name, they begged for a smile, a wave, the least little opportunity to bask in the glow of such a majestic presence.

"Laffit! Laffit! Please, Laffit! Over here - just one picture. Please!"

WASHINGTON - When the Roman philosopher Seneca made his famous observation, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity," he might have been anticipating the 2007 Kentucky Derby.

Street Sense won America's greatest race with an ideal trip on the rail at Churchill Downs; rarely has a Derby winner benefited from such a favorable scenario. Even so, it would be unfair to demean the performance with the adjective "lucky" because trainer Carl Nafzger had prepared the colt for an optimal performance and jockey Calvin Borel delivered the perfect tactical ride.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The first thing you notice is that Calvin Borel groupies are cut from a whole different hunk of cloth. Two of them were glued to the railing near the Churchill Downs jockeys' room late last Saturday, waiting for their main man to finish wading through the waves of Derby media just so they could give him a "Hey, Boo!"

NEW YORK - Street Sense's outstanding performance winning the 133rd Kentucky Derby was an extremely satisfying one, and not just for those of us who managed to pick their first Derby winner since Strike the Gold in 1991.