ARCADIA, Calif. - By winning his first national championship, Steve Asmussen has put the final touch on a dream season. His 407 victories in 2002 outlasted the relentless defending champ, Scott Lake, who ended the year with 399 winners. In addition, Asmussen ranked third in stable earnings, behind only Bobby Frankel and Bob Baffert, giving him the best all-around record among North American trainers.

So what does Asmussen get for his achievement? A handsome plaque? A big ol' belt buckle? A tickertape parade through the streets of his hometown of Gettysburg, S.D.?

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - The 3-year-olds.

In pursuit of the Triple Crown classics, they dominate the scene during the first half of every racing season. Gulfstream Park, which opens Friday, is fortunate that its racing dates parallel much of that period. Its feature races often spotlight future stars of the division, and the $100,000 Spectacular Bid, highlight of the inaugural card, attracted an interesting cast headed by the genuinely rapid Super Fuse, who has no less than 15 owners.

WASHINGTON - Playing the horses has always been a challenge, but nowadays one of the toughest challenges is simply finding a track to play. Too much of American racing consists of small fields and boring races offering limited opportunities for a handicapper.

TUCSON, Ariz. - A new year dawns, and there is life after death - at least for horse racing.

Some members of the national press persist in proclaiming the demise of the sport, but they're wrong. No sport with this much infighting could possibly be dead. As 2003 breaks from the gate, there are battles all over the lot - in Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, Trenton, Syracuse and Utica, Salem, N.H., and even in little Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania.

There are other signs of life, too.

Slots make the racing heart beat faster.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Know your horse.

Jimmy Jones frequently said this is the best advice he ever received about training horses. He received it, of course, from an outstanding source. His father, Ben Jones, is widely regarded as the best horseman America ever produced.

Rick Violette knows his horse. Man From Wicklow, who prefers firm ground, won Saturday's $200,000 W.L. McKnight Handicap at 1 1/2 miles on the Calder turf course.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The sight of her father laid out on a board and wearing a neck brace while awaiting his turn in the emergency room of Arcadia Methodist Hospital was a little too much for 16-year-old Tiffany Solis to bear. So she cried.

The shock was real, but the tears soon dried. Her dad was going to be okay. It could have been much worse. And once again the racing world dodged a bullet.

WASHINGTON - As voters fill out their ballots for the Eclipse Awards, they will despair at the lack of qualified candidates for the 2002 Horse of the Year title. By the process of elimination, most will choose the California-based filly Azeri, who won eight of her nine starts against members of her own sex. She will thus gain the dubious distinction of being the least deserving Thoroughbred ever to win the sport's highest honor.

ARCADIA, Calif. - I know what you're thinking. You're wondering, "How does she do it?" Well, don't ask me. I'm only married to the woman, and the things these riders do on horseback will be forever mystifying, no matter how many times they patiently try to explain their craft.

Anyway, Julie Krone's victory aboard Debonair Joe in the opening-day Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park was no more or less amazing than what Hall of Famers do on a regular basis.

MIAMI - Mot Juste is a fascinating filly. She is full of class and ability, as measured by her performances against top competition on the international stage. But something usually happens to deny her victory. She has won only 3 of 14 starts.

Her last race was a case in point. She threatened to win Aqueduct's Long Island Handicap, but her move proved a bit premature. She surrendered her lead and had to settle for third when she might have been best.

ARCADIA, Calif. - In 1965, when Palmer, Player, and Nicklaus ruled the game of golf, Sam Snead was still swinging with enough buttery grace to win his 81st professional tournament in Greensboro, N.C. He was 52 at the time.

In 1991, driving against kids less than half his age, A.J. Foyt qualified second fastest with a speed of 222 m.p.h. and started in the middle of the front row of the Indianapolis 500, a race he had already won five times. He was 56.