LAS VEGAS - Successful Appeal was a stakes winner at 2, 3, and 4, and when he went to stud he was expected to be one of those stallions who would be an immediate hit because of his precocious pedigree and race record. It is only May, but freshman stallion Successful Appeal has already zoomed to the head of his class with three winners from six starts, including two stakes winners, Lunarpal and Double D Appeal.

Brereton C. Jones Jr., owner of Airdrie Stud and former governor of Kentucky, made a presentation Monday at the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority's monthly meeting in Lexington on behalf of the Kentucky Equine Educational Partnership, which was formed earlier this month as an all-breed promotional and lobbying group.

The partnership, originally named the Kentucky Equine Educational Alliance, has so far raised more than $350,000 to start an educational campaign about the horse industry's economic impact on Kentucky.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - War Emblem, the 2002 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner whose low libido caused problems in his first season at Japan's Shadai Stallion Station last year, has covered about 50 mares in 2004, a dramatic improvement. In 2003, his initial year at stud, War Emblem covered only seven mares, getting four of those in foal.

Shadai spokesman Eisuke Tokutake explained that while War Emblem isn't any more interested in breeding than he was in 2003, the farm has found an unusual strategy that seems to help. They let him choose his own mates.

In the days before Tuesday's Barretts May sale of 2-year-olds in training in Pomona, Calif., Barretts president Gerald McMahon predicted an increase in prices from last year and said the sale would "take the pulse of the California industry."

But growth to record levels for average and median at the sale took him by surprise.

In the one-day sale, the average price increased 22.5 percent, to $37,371, and the median grew 58.8 percent, to $27,000.

The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sales are one facet of Maryland's Thoroughbred industry that continues to spiral to new heights of success. And it's hard to recall as much excitement as surrounds this year's edition of the 2-year-olds in training sale, scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Monday at the sales pavilion in Timonium. Expect to see sales records fall at the two-day sale, which features a weighty catalog of 631 2-year-olds.

During a recent lunch break, Dennis Elliott reminisced about his son Stewart's early days as a fledgling jockey. Stewart Elliott, of course, won the Kentucky Derby on Smarty Jones.

"It was 23 years ago, and the family had just returned to the States from a five-year tour in Hong Kong," Elliott said. "I wanted Stewie to finish school and get a diploma, as he was only 15 at the time, but he had other things on his mind, like horses and becoming a jockey."

The first time Ron Clarkson set eyes on Sandhill Charm, he was determined to buy that daughter of Vanlandingham.

"It was one of those things," said Clarkson, 65, a longtime owner and breeder in Ontario. "She didn't really have much pedigree but when they brought her out of the stall, I said, 'Wow.' I had to have her."

Clarkson paid $29,000 (U.S.) at the 2000 Keeneland January sale for the stakes-placed filly, a little more than he wanted to spend, but the risk has been worth every penny.

ELMONT, N.Y. - New York-bred Fleet Indian has earned the nickname "Large Marge" around her barn because of her height - she stands 17 hands tall. A 3-year-old filly by Indian Charlie, Fleet Indian has also been an imposing figure on the racetrack, winning her two career starts by a combined margin of 10 3/4 lengths.

Fleet Indian was nominated to Sunday's $100,000-added Bouwerie Stakes for New York-breds, but her trainer, Jimmy Toner, is skipping the race because it comes up too quick off her last start on May 6.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The dark horse in the Preakness is almost pure black. His dark hide polished like obsidian, Rock Hard Ten glints blue, green, and gold as he goes across the track in the morning sun.

Unraced at 2 and one of two horses bumped from a position in the Kentucky Derby because of a lack of graded stakes earnings, Rock Hard Ten comes into the Preakness Stakes with much to prove but has the potential to be a tremendous racer.

The Barretts Sales Company set records for highest average and highest median at Tuesday's one-day sale of 2-year-olds in training in Pomona, Calif. The average reached $37,371, a gain of 22.5 percent over 2003, while the median was $27,000, a gain of 58.8 percent.

With fewer horses selling this year and a one-day format rather than the two-day sale in 2003, the gross of $7,053,000 fell 1.8 percent. There were 189 horses sold on Tuesday compared with 236 last year. Tuesday, 11 horses sold for $100,000 or more.