DEL MAR, Calif. - Man, what racing! Some of the very best horses on the grounds, competing in the three best races of the Del Mar weekend. Gut-wrenching stretch drives. Nail-biting finishes. Nerve-wracking suspense as the judges examined the photos.

For second.

Beau's Town, Megahertz, and Special Ring were conclusive winners of the Bing Crosby, the John C. Mabee, and the Eddie Read handicaps on Saturday and Sunday. Especially Special Ring, who thrust himself into the Breeders' Cup Mile consciousness with a course-record 1:45.87 for the nine-furlong Read.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The same week that racing should be in its full glory with the openings of Del Mar, Saratoga, and "Seabiscuit," the industry has been embarrassed by the presumed death and possible slaughter of the 1987 Horse of the Year.

Ferdinand, who won the 1986 Kentucky Derby and the 1987 Breeders' Cup Classic, was a failure as a stallion at Claiborne Farm and sold to Japan's Arrow Stud in 1994, where he did not fare much better. Bred to 78 mares his first year overseas, he was bred to only two by 2002, and his fate after that breeding season is unclear.

DEL MAR, Calif. - It has been 30 years since Eddie Read died, at the age of 56, after suffering his second heart attack. The following year, Del Mar management created the Eddie Read Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on the grass, a race destined to become one of the major components of the summer stakes calendar.

Endowed these days with a $400,000 purse, the Read will be run again on Sunday. The best of the West Coast mid-distance grass horses will compete, and the winner will need to be a good horse. Only one question remains:

Who was Eddie Read?

WASHINGTON - When the best seller "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" was being made into a movie, readers who loved Laura Hillenbrand's book and people who love horse racing had reason to be apprehensive. Depictions of the sport on the screen are typically cliched, inaccurate, or mawkish. Even a TV series with the gritty realism of "The Sopranos" filled a racing subplot with a succession of absurdities.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Joe Harper stood in the Del Mar paddock, looking a bit like Charlton Heston in center ring. Except for the jawline.

All around him the circus raged. Exotic costumes, daredevils, prancing beasts, and clowns in funny hats. Harper, the ringmaster, shook his head and repeated his familiar mantra.

"This thing has a life of its own," said Harper, Del Mar's president.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - If you were a hoops purist, you wouldn't go to see "Air Bud," the 1997 Disney movie about a jump-shooting golden retriever, expecting an accurate depiction of the nuances and details of professional basketball. A racing fan who brings a similarly lowered set of expectations to "Seabiscuit" will improve his chances of enjoying a well-crafted piece of Hollywood entertainment rather than grinding his teeth and rolling his eyes at the movie's flaws and its overriding disregard for the truth.

DEL MAR, Calif. - The scenery may change - from the cornfields and hay rolls of Scott County, to the palm trees and weathered cliffs of old Del Mar - but the song remains the same. With a little bit of effort, and pride in the product, horse racing can still draw a crowd. And a winner is always sweet.

DEL MAR, Calif. - It is time once again to suspend belief, to step through the looking glass, and otherwise pretend that Thoroughbred horse racing is a rollicking holiday with more happy endings than a Hollywood movie.

In other words, it is time for Del Mar.

So forget about the inflated summer rents, the wall-to-wall traffic on I-5, and the claustrophobic backside. For the next seven weeks, adult summer camp is in session. No supervision is required, but sunscreen is recommended.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Nothing produces a feeling of well-being more than the arrival on the scene of a promising 2-year-old in conjunction with the opening of Saratoga. Men have been racing outstanding young horses at this glorious Spa for more than a century. No matter the frequency, talented prospects produce a special excitement here, as Wayne Lukas was saying the other day.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The movie opens with the redheaded horseman galloping breakneck over a country road. He is dressed in period costume. The low sun casts a golden glow. It is a beautiful sight.

But it's not "Seabiscuit."

In fact, this particular film is a late-1999 release called "Ride With the Devil," a Civil War drama described as "slow and forbidding" by critic Roger Ebert. Needless to say, it was not a hit. In fact, it did less than $1 million in U.S. gross receipts and promptly disappeared in to the world of discerning home video entertainment.