SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - He has the routine down pat by now: a prep race or two in the spring, the United Nations at Monmouth in July, and then the $500,000 Sword Dancer at Saratoga.

With Anticipation, a 7-year-old gelding by Relaunch owned and bred by George Strawbridge Jr. of Philadelphia, followed that pattern last summer and won the Sword Dancer. He will bid for a rare second victory in this prestigious Grade 1 feature Saturday, and despite his age, will be one of the favorites in what appears to be a very competitive field.

DEL MAR, Calif. - If Mike Smith thinks he's such a California guy, after more than a year as a regular on the circuit, how come he's still got New York tags on his truck? When is he going to change his cell phone number from that 516 area code? Is he ever going to wear short pants? And isn't it about time that he make the ultimate California commitment and buy a piece of over-priced real estate?

"I love it here. I really do," Smith said Thursday morning on the Del Mar backstretch. "I've just never been comfortable wearing shorts, even when I rode in Miami."

WASHINGTON - When War Emblem ran in the Haskell Invitational on Sunday at Monmouth Park, his presence produced the expected excitement. A crowd of 45,212 packed the Oceanport, N.J., track to see the nation's star 3-year-old. The Haskell had a predictable outcome as War Emblem won easily, but it also produced an unexpected result: a controversy over ethics.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Racing has no more moving ceremony than the inductions to the Hall of Fame, held here earlier this week. This is a significant honor and inductees, to a man - and a woman, since the installation of Julie Krone - often reach new heights of emotion in accepting the cherished recognition.

DEL MAR, Calif. - There are only a few truly good reasons to sit down and write a book:

* A passionate social agenda.

* A therapeutic purging of inner demons.

* A yearning to serve one's literary muse.

* An unhealthy amount of free time.

WASHINGTON - Maryland racing fans might want to save the front page of Sunday's Baltimore Sun, for it could become a collector's item. Years from now, when Pimlico Race Course is even more decrepit than it is now, we can look back on the bold headline and have a bitter laugh: "Plans for Pimlico: raze and rebuild it."

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Two outstanding performances here over the weekend promise to cast long shadows during the months ahead.

Left Bank couldn't have been better in the $750,000 Whitney Handicap. Competing in one of the strongest handicap fields of the season, he stalked a lively pace, took command in the upper stretch, and held the competition safe to win with authority by 1 1/4 lengths. Racing the nine furlongs in 1:47.04, he equaled the track record set 28 years ago in the Whitney by Tri Jet.

DEL MAR, Calif. - Noble Threewitt once had an owner tell him to claim a horse that was trained by Warren Stute. Fat chance.

"He's about the last guy on earth I'd claim a horse off," Threewitt told his patron. "He's a very close friend of mine."

"What do you mean, close friend?" the owner wondered. "I've never even seen you talk to him!"

Threewitt shot the guy a cold eye.

"I don't see what that's got to do with it," he replied.

WASHINGTON - When Grover G. "Bud" Delp was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame Monday, his name was put alongside those of many who don't deserve to be there. The Hall of Fame frequently honors trainers with ordinary talents who have been lucky enough to train exceptional horses. Almost anyone who operates a New York stable for a billionaire owner winds up getting a plaque in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In an age when multirace bets such as Pick Threes and Fours are becoming a popular staple of the wagering menu, racing needs new rules to prevent what happened to Pick Four players at Saratoga Thursday from ever happening again.