ARCADIA, Calif. - To comprehend fully the West Coast contribution to this year's Breeders' Cup Sprint and Breeders' Cup Mile, the game's most dedicated analysts will be required to digest the following nuggets of information:

The , California's final prep for the Far More Important Mile on Oct. 30 at Lone Star Park, was a street fight down to the wire, with the scrappy filly Musical Chimes flanked on both sides by the capable colts Buckland Manor and Singletary. The margins were nose and nose, but it looked a lot closer than that.

The Maryland Million has annually been an occasion for breeders, owners, and trainers to celebrate the virtues of the state's horse industry. And for most of the event's 19-year history there has been plenty to celebrate.

The Thoroughbred breeding industry in Maryland is exemplary, the envy of all its neighbors. Because of the strong homegrown horse population, Laurel and Pimlico have generally been able to offer good-quality racing, despite the tough competitive environment in which they operate. Around the country, Maryland racing has been viewed as a major-league product.

NEW YORK - Several cynical horseplayers have been begging me to make fun of Keeneland's new "Mutuel Fun" wager, which debuted at the track's opening on Friday. The problem is, it actually strikes me as a pretty cool idea.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The first serious collaboration between racehorse owner Jim McIngvale and racehorse trainer Nick Hines will occur Sunday, when they will be represented in the $250,000 Ancient Title Handicap by the multiple stakes winner During.

Not since Mr. Barnum was introduce to Mr. Bailey has there been an association of such potentially entertaining dimensions. Racetracks should charge admission just to watch them in action.

NEW YORK - Can't we all just get along? Apparently not, as illustrated anew on three different fronts in the world of racing.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The big, straightforward 5-year-old chestnut gelding named Bayamo reached the end of his racing career somewhere around the final turn of the Santa Anita Park grass course during the running of the Clement L. Hirsch Memorial Turf Championship last Sunday afternoon.

ARCADIA, Calif. - There seems to be a growing disconnect between the various realities of the modern Thoroughbred industry.

At one extreme, champagne corks were popping and there was dancing in the country roads around Lexington in the wake of the 14-day Keeneland September sale extravaganza, during which nearly $325 million worth of yearlings were sold, and presumably bought. For those who enjoyed a slice of this high-calorie pie, congratulations.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Racing commissioners, men of stature and accomplishment sufficient to know and be known by governors, are no different than the rest of us. They come in all sizes and shapes and degrees of intelligence, and their commissions range in size from one-man rule in Michigan to the near dozen in neighboring Illinois.

Two recent interesting examples of how they think and how they act came in widely separated jurisdictions: California and Delaware.

ARCADIA, Calif. - If Kerwin John retains the mount aboard Island Fashion for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff on Oct. 30 at Lone Star Park, several basic facts of modern life must be reconsidered. Among them:

Could world peace really be at hand?

Can hunger end as we know it?

Is this the year the Red Sox finally win the Series?

ARCADIA, Calif. - The last time Roman Ruler was conceded victory before the flag was dropped came on the bright, shiny afternoon of Sept. 8, when he was beaten fair and square by Declan's Moon in a memorable running of the Del Mar Futurity.

On Sunday, in the $200,000 Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita, Roman Ruler will be held in similar esteem, hammered down once again to the neighborhood of his 1-10 Del Mar odds and singled in every multi-race bet from here to Rockingham Park.