In the mid-1980's, Hollywood Park head honcho Marje Everett decided to build the "Pavilion of the Stars". It was an ultra-modern, state-of-the-art building for her high-end patrons and guests, with the idea that it would be especially important for the 1st Breeders' Cup. One problem. She built it in the worst possible spot. Located a good hundred yards past the finish line, it offered the worst seats in the house, at the highest price.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The morning after the $6 million Dubai World Cup, the shiny, year-old grandstand at Nad Al Sheba racecourse will be empty.

On the racetrack, more than 50 Godolphin 2-year-olds were scheduled for their daily gallop. Soon, they will begin their careers in the United States. Six are colts by A.P. Indy, including a half-brother to Came Home. How good are they? That will be determined during the heart of the 2-year-old season, at Del Mar and Saratoga. Trained by Eoin Harty, the 2-year-olds leave Dubai on flights on April 6 and 10.

British and Irish racing emerged from the damp and chilly pleasures of the jumps season this week with the opening of flat-race meetings at Doncaster and the Curragh.

In England, attention has been diverted from Doncaster's Lincoln Handicap meeting not only by the Dubai World Cup but also by the bold attempt of Lingfield Park to lure Johannesburg into a Kentucky Derby prep on its all-weather track.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - For most horsemen, the tiny Persian Gulf state of Dubai is far from home. It is also the place to be.

The world's richest race will be run here Saturday night in the Arabian desert, with $6 million at stake in the Dubai World Cup and $9 million on the line in five other Thoroughbred races at Nad Al Sheba racetrack.

"If they want to be internationally recognized, they have to come onto the world's stage and be part of it," Dubai World Cup chairman Les Benton said. "We've got the best race meeting in the world."

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - If you took away a carpenter's hammer and saw, he would have a tough time building a house.

If you took away a handicapper's pace figures, speed figures, trainer stats, track profiles, race charts, and video replays, you may as well send him to Dubai.

Someday, international racing may catch on with American handicappers. Meanwhile, bettors who enjoy wagering based on intelligent analysis of comprehensive information may have a difficult time building anything but a deficit when it comes to gambling on events such as the Dubai World Cup.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - There is no wagering in Dubai, but bettors in the North America will have sufficient opportunity to bet on the $6 million Dubai World Cup and three other World Cup races on Saturday. Officials from Arlington International are coordinating simulcasts and wagering for the last four races on the World Cup program. Each race will include an exacta, trifecta, and superfecta.

Plans for the race being created by Lingfield Park in England in an effort to attract Johannesburg have been approved by the British Horseracing Board.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - In the Saudi Arabian desert, there are no better horses than Sakhee. It is five months since he was defeated on the square by Tiznow in the Breeders' Cup Classic. But now the year has turned, Tiznow has retired, and Sakhee is prepared to claim the title of the world's best racehorse.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Godolphin nominated 19 runners to the Triple Crown, but as the Kentucky Derby prep season heads into late March, Essence of Dubai is the only one in the group to step forward. Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford hopes the UAE Derby changes that. Six of the 14 nominees in that race go under the Maktoum-Godolphin umbrella.

Well Toto, we're sure as hell not in Kansas anymore. Dubai, Las Vegas without the themes and gambling, is a surreal spot. The downtown "Strip" where my high-tech hotel is located is about a six block long series of glassy, steel high-rises plunked down in the desert, just a few miles from the calm waters of the Persian Gulf. At night it is lit up just like Vegas, a neon jungle surrounded by sand. Cell phones abound, as do men in dresses, traditional Arab outfits known as dishdashas.