LEXINGTON, Ky. - When visitors from around the world came to pay homage to Nashua at Spendthrift Farm in the 1970's, the man who presented the horse to them was nearly as famous as the stallion: stud groom Clem Brooks.

Brooks would bring the horse out, tell his guests about Nashua's accomplishments, and warn them not to be offended if Nashua ignored them. "That's the way kings are," Brooks would say. "They don't talk to just anyone they don't know. Not unless they are with one of their real good friends, such as me."

ARCADIA, Calif. - While trainer Paco Gonzalez and owners Trudy McCaffery and John Toffan have action with Kentucky-bred Came Home in Saturday's San Rafael Stakes at Santa Anita, their California-bred 3-year-olds have served as symbols of the statebred division this winter.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Jess Miller is not bitter. Far from it. Life is too short, and too good, to dwell on what might have been. Still, there is a hole in his trophy case and a place in his heart where he feels a Hollywood Gold Cup rightfully belongs. So just don't ask him to forget.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Six years ago, Carl and Olivia Cannata sold a Cee's Tizzy filly at the 1996 Del Mar Yearling Sale for the modest sum of $3,500.

It was hardly the sort of transaction that would attract attention from anyone other than the buyer, seller, and underbidder.

Little did the Cannatas know that the filly would provide the farm with an important chapter in its history, and provide it with substantial income through breeders' awards for years.

Barretts president Gerald McMahon said that the March auction is developing a wider base of California-bred bloodstock, and that could attract more Golden State owners and trainers to the sale. But that's not to say that those Cal-breds can't compete on the national scene, as illustrated by the list of Barretts March graduates.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - After the 2001 Barretts March selected 2-year-old sale in Pomona, Calif., which reported a 45 percent buy-back rate, many wondered if the auction would survive until 2002.

But the sale, to be held on March 5 this year, got a boost during the 2001 racing season. Previous graduates included 2001 champion sprinter Squirtle Squirt; Grade 1 winners Officer, Habibti, and Came Home; and graded stakes winners Kalookan Queen, Queenie Belle, and Skip to the Stone.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Many of Tom Shapiro's favorite childhood memories center around California's most popular racehorse of the 1960's.

Shapiro is the grandson of Louis K. Shapiro, who owned Native Diver. As a teenager, Tom was a first-hand witness to the career of Native Diver, the three-time winner of the Hollywood Gold Cup and one of the greatest Cal-breds.

Nearly 35 years later, Tom Shapiro is following his grandfather as a breeder and owner. Shapiro campaigns a small stable with his wife, Debbie, and they own a small farm in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Myron and Jane Johnson will be watching Saturday's $1 million Santa Anita Handicap with great interest.

They are passionate race fans who typify the commitment of people who make up the Thoroughbred industry.

The Johnsons own Rivendell Ranch in Fresno, a nursery devoted to the care of mares and foals, which has just added its first stallion, Zone Lord.

Will Farish's Lane's End consignment will return to the Keeneland July sale in 2002 after a two-year absence, Keeneland announced Wednesday.

Farish's son Bill said that Lane's End made its decision based on its current crop of sale yearlings and its assessment of the market. He said that the farm would offer a consignment of early foaled, mature yearlings.

"There is definitely a type of horse that we think works at the July sale, and those are the ones we'll target for it," he said.

Farish added that Lane's End also will have a September consignment.

MIAMI - It took all day for Fasig-Tipton's select 2-year-old sale at Calder to log a $1 million horse, but a chestnut Seeking the Gold colt finally broke the seven-figure barrier Tuesday night.