ARCADIA, Calif. - The travel lines never show in Daily Racing Form. If they did, Pass Rush would have been 100-1 the last time he ran in Southern California.

Those who took 7-2 on Pass Rush in the Jan. 11 San Fernando Stakes were doing so without the knowledge that the colt needed 15 hours to get from south Florida to Los Angeles, beginning at the Palm Meadows training center, taking off from Ft. Lauderdale, and stopping over in Orlando, Nashville, and Dayton before finally touching down at LAX and loading onto a van bound for Santa Anita.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - One year ago, almost every racing fan who loves Gulfstream Park was in a state of abject despair.

Gulfstream had for years offered the most interesting, challenging racing in America. While the sport elsewhere was plagued by small fields with minimal betting interest, Gulfstream regularly carded wide-open 12-horse races with horses drawn from tracks throughout the East and Midwest.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Gulfstream Park's leading trainer never saddled a winner here until the meeting opened on Jan. 3. Then Mark Shuman made up for lost time. He heads the list with 26 winners while Bill Mott, who has been leading trainer here nine times, is a distant second with seven winners.

ARCADIA, Calif. - It was one of those moments that only happens in movies, or horse racing.

Bounding from his table in the center of the Beverly Wilshire ballroom to the Eclipse Awards stage last Monday night, Richard Englander found himself suddenly face to face with the guy who played the alien in one of his favorite movies.

"I loved 'Starman,' " Englander said, referring to the 1984 film, with Jeff Bridges in the title role. "I can't wait to call my wife and tell her who gave me the award."

TUCSON, Ariz. - A hanging in Hong Kong and a stud ad in Lexington were items worth noting last week, and both are worth talking about.

The stud ad first.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Praise be! The Irishman saved the day for California. Were it not for the hard work of Adminniestrator and trainer Patrick Gallagher, along with a stylish ride from David Flores, West Coast breeders would have been shut out cold in the Sunshine Millions on Saturday.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - An outstanding afternoon of racing.

The inaugural Sunshine Millions was a rousing show that seemed to play well, both to racing men and women who support it and to the public, which appeared to enjoy it. This was racing entertainment at its best; horses of proven ability in competitive settings that brought out the quality and the arresting aspects of the sport.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Magna Entertainment Corporation - owner of Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita, Laurel Park, and Pimlico - has sometimes been accused of making grandiose promises when it buys a racetrack and then failing to follow through. But when Magna does undertake a project, nobody can accuse the company of resorting to halfway measures.

NEW YORK - The centerpiece of President George W. Bush's most recent tax-cut proposal is the elimination of income taxes on most stock dividends. Bush's advisers reportedly recommended only a partial reduction in these taxes, but the President personally insisted on abolition because he believes there is a basic issue of fairness involved: In his view, dividends are effectively taxed twice, first at the corporate profits level and then at the personal income tax level.

ARCADIA, Calif. - For the first time in a long while, it is safe to go near the Horse of the Year.

Normally, the Horse of the Year is a fiery young stud, testosterone raging, or an old, careful warrior, suspicious of anything other than a feed tub approaching his stall. The rules applying to such animals are simple: no sudden moves, pet at your risk, and never turn your back, or else.