Calumet

RAGGED ISLAND -- On a day ablaze with red and gold trees, with the sun glittering on brilliant blue water and birdsong floating in the breeze, a human being doesn't have to be much of a philosopher to stand on the Eastern Shore, marvel at the grand scheme of nature and reflect on the wisdom of an old verity -- no man is an island.But owning one, that's a different matter.Ragged Island, a 140-acre private island with a house so enormous it could be mistaken for a convention center, is up for auction.

Confused about who you're going to bet in the office Kentucky Derby pool?The race is little more than two weeks away and there is no standout this year in the tradition of a Spectacular Bid or Seattle Slew.A full field of 20 thoroughbreds could go to the post on May 1 in the 119th running of America's most famous horse race.But the key word this spring has been Loblolly, just like it used to be Calumet or Greentree, the names of the famous stud farms that once dominated the race.From 20 starters, Calumet Farm produced eight Kentucky Derby winners.

John Ed Anthony was reminded of a movie yesterday when he became the first owner in 45 years to repeat as Preakness champion."I'm fond of something I saw in a movie one time. [There was] the old Indian in 'Little Big Man.' He laid down to ask the gods to take him to heaven and it didn't happen, so he got up and he says, 'Well, sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't,' " he said.The magic worked yesterday, as Prairie Bayou followed in Pine Bluff's footsteps and won the Preakness for Loblolly Stable.

THE SILVER SWAN -- By Benjamin Black Holt / 290 pages / $25 Whenever a writer of literary fiction decides to move into mystery territory, it's almost a guarantee there will be a new battle on the genre war front. But Black, the pseudonym for Booker Prize winner John Banville, proved he could walk the crime fiction walk with the Edgar-nominated Christine Falls, and now his luminous prose gets an even better infrastructure with the sequel, a faster-paced, further melancholic slice of the noir life of Dublin pathologist Quirke.

lt may be difficult to design a model that would fit every racehorse owner. But there's at least this: If the owner is a guy, he'll usually be wearing a shirt.But if he's sipping his Black-Eyed Susan bare-chested, you can be pretty sure you're in the company of Hammer.Just Hammer.Not Mr. Hammer, as the young woman trailing after him near the Pimlico stakes barn insisted until she got his autograph.Hammer. Like Madonna. Or Slash. Or Charo.It used to be M.C. Hammer. It used to be Sonny and Cher, too. Things change.

AL KERMISCH, gazing out across the baseball diamonds of long ago, has made a discovery. He's made it as he sits there staring into a microfilm screen at the Library of Congress. The discovery is like a beer vendor's making a sale at an Oriole home game: It keeps happening.But this one stands out. It's the worst slaughter ever.In the history of baseball, particularly as played professionally in Baltimore and Washington, Al Kermisch has been everywhere. He has inspected the box score of every game ever played by the teams, major league and minor, of both cities.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- Black Tie Affair, who closed his 1991 racing season and his career with six straight victories at six different tracks, won perhaps the most important contest of his life yesterday when he won the Eclipse Award as the Horse of the Year.The 5-year-old traveler, bred in Ireland, owned by Jeffrey Sullivan and trained by Ernie Poulos, won horse racing's highest honor in a three-way struggle with international overtones: He outpolled Arazi, the brilliant juvenile who raced sensationally in France last year, and Dance Smartly, the Canadian filly who won all eight of her races.

As the revered Cigar surges down the homestretch in tomorrow's historic race at Arlington International Racecourse, watch carefully. At the wire, just ahead of the era's greatest champion, you might glimpse a soaring reddish-brown form, striding powerfully down through the ages.You might glimpse the ghost of Citation.Although the Maryland-bred Cigar, unanimous choice for Horse of the World, races tomorrow against living, breathing foes, he also chases the ghost of the legendary bay colt who, nearly a half century ago, reeled off 16 wins in a row.Tomorrow, Cigar tries to equal that streak in the $1.05 million Arlington Citation Challenge, a 1 1/8 -mile race created to lure the 6-year-old superstar to a region of the country not yet treated to a Cigar event.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Baltimore and Baltimore County.Southeastern DistrictRobbery: A man was in the 100 block of S. Wolfe St. about 12: 05 a.m. Sunday when another man knocked him to the pavement and robbed him of a watch and cash, all valued at more than $200.Northeastern DistrictStolen car: A 1995 Mitsubishi with tags DSC 850 was stolen Sunday in the 4800 block of Calumet Ave.Western DistrictAssault: Three men attacked a man with a baseball bat and pieces of wood Sunday in the 1500 block of Riggs Ave., causing head and other injuries.

Moves Baseball ATHLETICS: Activated P Chad Bradford from 15-day DL. Optioned P Justin Lehr to Triple-A Sacramento. MARINERS: Called up P Scott Kazmir from Double-A Montgomery. Optioned P Franklin Nunez to Triple-A Durham. METS: Called up P Aaron Heilman from Triple-A Norfolk. Optioned P Matt Ginter to Norfolk. PIRATES: Placed P Kip Wells on 15-day DL, retroactive to Aug. 14, with inflamed right elbow. Placed P Sean Burnett on 15-day DL with inflamed left elbow. Recalled P John Van Benschoten.