WASHINGTON, D.C. - Mineshaft is not a beloved underdog or a horse with an aura of romance about him; he is a blue-blooded Thoroughbred from an elite stable.

Nevertheless, he ought to be the people's choice as he tries to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Breeders' Cup Classic, and the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year.

Since he arrived in this country from England a year ago, Mineshaft has been campaigning steadily and running in the most important stakes races - a schedule that makes him an anomaly in American racing.

ARCADIA, Calif. - About this time a year ago, Bob and Beverly Lewis took a nice bite out of the Oak Tree purse structure when their 2-year-old filly Composure cruised home by three in the Oak Leaf Stakes.

ELMONT, N.Y. - There are many fascinating aspects to Belmont Park's superb, world-class program on Saturday, which includes the $750,000 Turf Classic, the $750,000 Flower Bowl for fillies and mares on the turf`, and the $500,000 Vosburgh at 6 1/2 furlongs.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Bennett Liebman has walked on both sides of racing's warped cobblestone street of justice.

In New York, as one of the most knowledgeable of the nation's racing commissioners, he was a dispenser of racing's brand of long-delayed justice.

As the current head of the Albany Law School's program on racing and wagering law, he is one of that system's most vociferous critics.

POMONA, Calif. - Finally, after all these years, Melvin Frederick Stute, age 76 and by his own admission not getting any younger, will be entering a horse racing hall of fame.

This is fitting, since Stute stands tall as a genuine West Coast icon. His career is a model of consistency over the long haul. He was training stakes winners in the early 1960's and he is still training stakes winners today, with champions and Breeders' Cup winners sprinkled famously among them.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Let's play pretend.

Pretend you've got in your care perhaps the top-rated older horse in the country and one of a handful of bona fide candidates for Horse of the Year. He is the early favorite for the richest race in North America, in which he would enjoy a distinct home-court advantage. And even though he would need to be supplemented to the race at the punitive cost of $800,000, his owners are ready and willing to cut the check and roll the dice for a winner's prize of more than $2 million.

So what do you do? You pass.

WASHINGTON - As Funny Cide pursued the Triple Crown this spring, he generated extraordinary public interest. His quest drew more than 100,000 people to Belmont Park on a rainy day and produced record television ratings. People with little previous interest in the sport were talking about Funny Cide. This phenomenon understandably heartened people in the Thoroughbred industry, proving that the game can still captivate a broad audience - particularly if it has the right horse to showcase.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - My personal medical and automobile insurance premiums went up this year. Should horse owners pay the difference?

Of course not. So please explain to me why people who bet on California racing should now pay for higher workers' compensation fees for horsemen.

ELMONT, N.Y. - There is still time for Wonder Again to make a name for herself this fall among the grass fillies, but she has to get started in the right direction. That is why her people are placing such importance on her engagement in Saturday's $150,000 Noble Damsel Handicap. It offers an opportunity for her to substantiate the claim that her talent is considerably better than her record.

POMONA, Calif. - It has been a week of remembrance, for obvious reasons. And while it is both appropriate and in some ways necessary to publicly revisit the trauma of Sept. 11, 2001, it is also fitting to offer quiet tributes to those whose lives passed quietly after making a special mark.

So it's okay to crank up the Johnny Cash and the Warren Zevon, or have yourself a Charles Bronson film night (try "The Mechanic" or "Once Upon a Time in the West," but stay away from "Death Wish III").