ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The $4 million Classic, which tops Saturday's Breeders' Cup program at Arlington Park, has consistently produced some remarkable racing.

It would be difficult to cite a more competitive finish than the one two years ago in which America's Tiznow held on gamely to prevail by a neck over the brilliant Irish colt Giant's Causeway.

But last year's finish, in which Tiznow rose to new heights while defeating the lion-hearted Sakhee by a nose, may have been a shade more dramatic.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Move over Belmont. Take a number, Churchill Downs. The big day has wandered north of the 38th parallel once again, at a time when grizzlies start looking for winter caves. Only this time the stage belongs to that toddlin' town, my kind of town, city of the big shoulders, hog butcher to the world.

Da Bears.

Da Bulls.

Da Breeders' Cup.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Never mind the Breeders' Cup. It has been a good week for Aidan O'Brien already.

O'Brien could win the Classic with Hawk Wing, the Turf with High Chaparral, and the Mile with Rock of Gibraltar at Arlington Park on Saturday, and still the taste of victory on Tuesday in the High Court of Dublin would linger sweetest of all.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Racing luck could play a more critical role in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile than in any of the other races on Cup Day. A full field of 14 is expected, and the opportunity for trouble, particularly leaving the gate or on the first turn, is considerable. These are 2-year-olds, and while they are talented, they still have elements of inexperience about them.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Rock of Gibraltar brings a matchless record to the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. The 3-year-old colt has won seven straight Grade 1 races, unleashing his devastating burst of speed to defeat the best milers in England, France, and Ireland. His brilliance outshines every American horse entered in Saturday's races at Arlington Park.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The Breeders' Cup Sprint is a saloon brawl, a smackdown, a cage match with no holds barred. Riots have more rules.

The format is insane. Who thought this one up? Caligula? Take more than a dozen tightly wound speed freaks, shove them in a starting gate, and dangle a million dollars from the finish post like raw meat in a jungle tree. Ever seen sharks feed?

It hasn't happened lately, thank goodness, but horses used to die in this race with regularity. The outriders should wear black.

TUCSON, Ariz. - One of racing's most unusual experiments came to a close last week, when the nation's only major track owned and operated by horsemen was sold to a private operator.

How and why it was sold is a fascinating story.

Seven years ago, the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association, a horsemen's organization whose membership has ranged from 900 to 1,100 in recent years, purchased the assets and liabilities of Rosecroft Raceway, in Fort Washington, Md., on the Beltway just outside of Washington, D.C., for some $13 million.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - The most popular horse in Saturday's 19th running of the Breeders' Cup is a rather plain looking 4-year-old bay filly purchased for $5,000 at a 2-year-old sale in Timonium, Md. In 31 starts for her three owners, Xtra Heat has won 24 races, earning $2,223,305 and the admiration of the racing community.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Not a day goes by without Dee Poulos thinking about Black Tie Affair. Her office walls at Arlington Park are covered with his photographs. Her name is synonymous with his reign 11 years ago as Horse of the Year. Trained by her husband, Ernie Poulos, and owned by Chicago car dealer Jeff Sullivan, Black Tie Affair was an Illinois folk hero who rose from relative obscurity to Breeders' Cup fame.

When the horsemen's group that owns Rosecroft Raceway put the track up for sale, then voted to sell it to what is principally a casino company, the deal was a tacit admission of what everybody knows about harness racing.

The sport is virtually dead.

In Maryland, as in many states, it can only exist with the aid of artificial life support. It has to siphon money from Thoroughbred racing or casino gambling to subsidize races that few people want to watch or bet.