Arkansas Derby

NEW YORK -- The scene remains vivid: Two gutsy horses, finally freed of trouble, exploding down the stretch at Aqueduct in a scintillating sprint to the wire. Red Bullet and Aptitude stamped that vision into memory in the Gotham Stakes three weeks ago at Aqueduct. Red Bullet remained undefeated, and the surging Aptitude finished a half-length behind in one of the most inspiring skirmishes on this year's Triple Crown trail. Tomorrow, those two and 10 others, including Jinny Vance's Postponed, will compete in the $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Three races within one hour today will serve as the final major audition for that cherished national drama we call the Kentucky Derby.The Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct and Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park abound with horses whose human connections hope for a bell-ringer performance to verify the worthiness of their 3-year-olds.On the other hand, the owners and trainers of a few entrants, such as Vicar, Wondertross and Cat Thief, hope for a safe, consistent effort that won't deter them as they bound like eager hounds down the trail that leads to Churchill Downs in Louisville the first Saturday in May.Of the three 1 1/8-mile races, all on TV, the Blue Grass is by far the toughest and most intriguing.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- At Del Mar, the mission-style track on the shore of the Pacific, the great Cigar became embroiled in a speed dual and wound up bushed. He lost the 1996 Pacific Classic, and his 16-race winning streak ended.Yesterday at Oaklawn Park, a cozy track nestled in the hills of Arkansas, Favorite Trick embarked on an uncharacteristic speed blitz early and, like Cigar, succumbed to fatigue at the end. The defeat at odds of 2-5 in the Arkansas Derby cost Favorite Trick his unbeaten status.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Richard Mandella has done this before.In the Pacific Classic two years ago at Del Mar, he faced a horse with an extended win streak trained by Bill Mott. The horse was Cigar. Mandella saddled Dare And Go, and Cigar's 16-race win streak was history.Today, in the Arkansas Derby here at Oaklawn Park, Mandella again faces a horse with an extended win streak trained by Mott. The horse is Favorite Trick. Mandella saddles Quake, and Favorite Trick's nine-race win streak is at risk.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Bill Mott listened to his first Kentucky Derby on the radio of a horse van at Fort Pierre, a bush league track in South Dakota.He was 13, working his first job -- walking horses and mucking stalls. The year was 1967. Proud Clarion won the Kentucky Derby.Now, Mott is one race away from marching into Churchill Downs with the possible Kentucky Derby favorite. Favorite Trick, the reigning Horse of the Year, competes tomorrow in the Arkansas Derby here in Hot Springs, the boyhood home of President Clinton.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Five days before the premier race that tests the competitiveness of the 3-year-old thoroughbred, Crypto Star was training with a jarring lack of interest, and his jockey, Pat Day, shook his head."

Ulises, who finished last in the Kentucky Derby after briefly leading during the first furlong, yesterday joined the prospective lineup for the May 21 Preakness Stakes.It appears that 12 horses, nine of them already stabled on the grounds at Pimlico Race Course, could start in the race.Lenny Hale, vice president of racing at Pimlico/Laurel, said yesterday that he was notified by Ulises' owner, Robert Perez, who keeps a division of his stable in Maryland, that the horse would start."Mr. Perez is probably sending Astudillo for the Early Times Dixie [a $150,000 grass stakes next Friday]