Eclipse Award

1. Itron* Horse: Is among the longest of the long shots. The colt has won nine of 14 starts, but most were in sprints at small or new tracks in Texas.* Owner: David Albert. Grew up in San Antonio very close to the Strauss family, which has been in racing for decades. He is a Dallas businessman who lives on his Quick Style Farm in Perrin, Texas. Served two years during World War II.* Trainer: Roy Frazier. Has been training horses mostly in Louisiana and Arkansas for 20 years. Broke into racing as a jockey at the age of 16. He opened Roy Frazier Stable in 1975.

Horse racing's elite attended the recent Eclipse Awards Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel. The country's most important owners, trainers, breeders, jockeys and track owners traveled from all over the country to be there for the 24th annual event.Several Marylanders were in the packed Grand Ballroom, among them Margaret and Jim (McKay) McManus. Jim was there to accept the award for ABC's coverage of the Kentucky Derby, which marks the seventh time ABC has won an Eclipse. Nearby was Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, former owner of Sagamore Farm, a former Pimlico president and owner of the immortal Native Dancer, who was given the Eclipse Award of Merit for his lifetime contribution to racing.

Based on his accomplishments -- a Breeders' Cup victory, a Champagne win, an Eclipse Award -- Timber Country should be a strong winter-book favorite for the Kentucky Derby. He's not. ,, That's how much respect is out there for Afternoon Deelites.Owned by Burt Bacharach, who apparently is a lot better at coming up with song lyrics than horses' names, Afternoon Deelites is 3-for-3, including an impressive 6 1/2 -length victory in the Hollywood Futurity.

Billy Moorefield wants an Eclipse Award so badly, he is riding days at Pimlico Race Course and nights at Penn National.He is tied with Steve Hamilton as the leading apprentice at Pimlico, but said he heads the list at the Pennsylvania track. Through June 21, according to Daily Racing Form statistics, he is tied with J.A. Bracho as the nation's winningest apprentice.But such a hectic schedule almost cost him his life.Returning from Penn National last Saturday night, Moorefield, 23, fell asleep and drove off I-83 near Middletown Road in northern Baltimore County.

More complex issues concerning the relationship between television and Maryland racing will surface if off-track betting legislation is passed next year. But a more immediate concern to local racing fans is getting a better time slot to watch replays of races from Laurel and Pimlico race courses.The current arrangement between Home Team Sports and the tracks expires at the end of the year, and representatives for both met recently to discuss a new contract. Jim Mango, Laurel/Pimlico vice president, said the tracks are trying to get a more attractive slot.

Jockey Craig Perret was in Pennsylvania on a hunting trip last week when his agent, Roger Sutton, began campaigning for a 1990 Eclipse Award.Sutton knows some of the habits of Eclipse Award voters. Many of those who vote -- Daily Racing Form employees, the nation's racing secretaries and members of the National Turf Writers Association -- pay close attention to the performances of the horses they vote for but never look past the top of the standings for jockeys, trainers and owners when casting their ballots for those awards.