After Macho Uno held off Point Given to capture the Breeders' Cup Juvenile last fall, more than a few horseplayers were convinced he would win the Kentucky Derby this year.

Unfortunately for owner Frank Stronach and trainer Joe Orseno, a chance at the Derby never materialized. Macho Uno, who was voted a divisional Eclipse Award off his Breeders' Cup score, was out of action for nearly eight months until returning in July at Saratoga, where he began a late-season campaign that could ultimately result in two derby wins.

ELMONT, N.Y. - If you weren't aware of the date, you might confuse Saturday's $750,000 Flower Bowl Invitational at Belmont Park with the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, which will be run four weeks later at the same track over the same distance.

The Grade 1 Flower Bowl has drawn a powerful field of seven, including European star Lailani, Beverly D. winner England's Legend, and Diana winner Starine.

Daily Racing Form's Mike Watchmaker has made Lailani the

9-5 favorite over Starine at 5-2, followed by England's Legend at 3-1.

As long as they spell his name correctly on the check, Dana Whitney doesn't really care if anyone thinks he's a woman.

Although he has been riding professionally for eight years and currently is the leading rider at Mountaineer Park, Whitney still is frequently mistaken for a female by those who don't know any better.

"Maybe it's because my last name is a girl's name, too," he said.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Fancy As heads one of the deepest fields in recent years in the Grade 2 $200,000 British Columbia Derby on Saturday at Hastings Park. A full field of 12 3-year-olds is entered in the 1 1/8-mile race. But Fancy As, I'm Free, Diglett, and Stage Classic will attract most of the attention, and a strong case can be made for each of them.

ELMONT, N.Y. - It will be Dat You Miz Blue's speed against Dream Supreme's class when the two sprinting fillies meet for the fourth time in Saturday's $125,000, Grade 2 Gallant Bloom Handicap at Belmont Park.

Dat You Miz Blue defeated Dream Supreme in this year's Vagrancy and finished ahead of her in last year's Prioress, but Dream Supreme bested Dat You Miz Blue in the Grade 1 Test in 2000.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - England, France, Germany, the United States, and Canada will be represented here in Sunday's 12-horse field for the Grade 1, $1.5 million Canadian International.

Not to be outdone, Sunday's 13-horse field for the Grade 1, $500,000 E.P. Taylor Stakes, for fillies and mares, will feature contestants from the same five countries.

The draw for the Canadian International was conducted here Thursday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Saturday's $200,000 Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap is more of a prep race for the California Cup in November or the La Canada Series this winter than the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff at Belmont Park Oct. 27.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The Grade 2 Norfolk Stakes has not been particularly kind to chalk - six of the last nine odds-on favorites have lost the 2-year-old stakes, which will be run Saturday at Santa Anita.

The trend will be tested next with the Norfolk's short-priced favorite, Came Home, whose Grade 1 Hopeful victory upped his record to 3 for 3. The same attributes that got Came Home this far, however, - speed and precocity - serve as potential impediments when he runs a mile for the first time Saturday. Regular rider Chris McCarron recognizes the challenge.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Tribal Rule, an impressive winner of two sprints at Del Mar, has returned to training at Santa Anita after veterinarians were unable to detect a previously diagnosed shoulder injury.

But a two-week absence from serious training is likely to keep the 5-year-old Tribal Rule, who has never started in a stakes, from an attempt at the Breeders' Cup Sprint, which owners Marty and Pam Wygod had for a goal this fall.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - In the end, the issue might boil down to cold cash. At $150,000, the purse for the Arlington-Washington Futurity isn't big enough to entice the nation's top 2-year-olds. And since Chicago's 2-year-old colony this season has been decidedly soft, the Grade 2 Futurity will be run for the 67th time on Saturday at Arlington with a somewhat ordinary field of seven.