Gary Stevens

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When Millennium Wind and Point Given burst from the starting gate tomorrow in the 127th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, they'll carry jockeys who already have beaten the odds. That Laffit Pincay Jr. will be aboard Millennium Wind and Gary Stevens aboard Point Given is a testament to the riders' determination, discipline and addictive love of competition. Three years ago, Pincay's career hit the skids. He considered moving his tack from southern California to northern California or even Washington, where racing is minor-league.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- In one of the most crushing defeats in Triple Crown history, Real Quiet lost his bid for immortality yesterday in an excruciating photo finish in the 130th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.Victory Gallop, flying down the stretch before a delirious crowd of 80,162 -- the second-largest at Belmont Park -- nipped Real Quiet by the narrowest of margins after a rough and dramatic stretch duel. The nose defeat derailed Real Quiet's quest to become the Triple Crown's 12th winner.None of the 13 previous winners of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness who contested the Belmont lost the coveted crown by so little.

NEW YORK -- Having won three straight allowances with increasing ease, Royal Mountain Inn was a prospect, but only a prospect. The roan gelding had it all going for him, except for that one all-important test for class. They've got to beat good horses. Then you know.Yesterday at Belmont, Royal Mountain Inn burst through the last barrier. In his stakes debut, he again won impressively, cruising to a three-length victory under Julie Krone in the $119,600 Red Smith Handicap. It appears that this horse is going to be a major factor in the turf division.

1. Personal HopeHorse: He is big, determined and strong. His tactical speed suits the way the Preakness usually unfolds. The grandson of Northern Dancer held on well to finish fourth in the Kentucky Derby after battling pacesetter Storm Tower, who finished 16th.Owners: Lee and Debi Lewis. Lee Lewis, 41, operates a multimillion-dollar construction firm in Lubbock, Texas. He bought Personal Hope for $75,000 at the 1991 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale.Trainer: Mark Hennig. Hennig, 28, spent five years as a part of D. Wayne Lukas' stable, heading Lukas' Kentucky division.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The first horse's name you will hear during the call of the Kentucky Derby tomorrow probably will be Storm Tower.But it is just about the worst-case scenario that could have happened to the Maryland-based colt if he is going to have a chance to win the 10-furlong race.A field of 19 3-year-olds was entered yesterday for the 119th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Track oddsmaker Mike Battaglia installed Prairie Bayou, the only horse in the field to score recent back-to-back stakes victories, in the Jim Beam and Blue Grass stakes, as the 5-2 favorite.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- Ninety-two horses were entered for the Breeders' Cup -- 71 American, 21 European. For the first time there are European-based horses in every race. But the Florida heat is expected to hurt their chances, just as it did at Gulfstream in 1989 when the European contingent was winless.* Pleasant Tap is the lukewarm favorite to win the Classic. He has run in three previous Breeders' Cup races without winning. He was sixth in the '89 Juvenile with Eddie Delahoussaye riding; eighth in the '90 Turf with Jerry Bailey up; and second in the Sprint last year with Delahoussaye again in the irons.

Eric Blind screamed out the names yesterday, calling for Donny and Shaver and Gary and Scott and 10 other men in mud-caked boots and tan pants and white windbreakers who scrambled in front of the horses as the big crowd poured noise into this one corner of the track.It was the 10th race. A perfect day in the starting gate at Pimlico.Blind, the head starter, a man who grew up following his father on a racing circuit from New Orleans to Chicago, was going over the program, reminding himself that Big Sur could get jittery in the start, and that Careful Gesture would just as soon kick a man as fly out of the gate.

Lite Light will return to New York for a rematch against Meadow Star in the Coaching Club American Oaks July 6, but it's going to be hard to match their awesome duel in the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park a week ago.Meadow Star won by about a half-inch, giving a fitting end to what the New York Racing Association rightfully called the year's best weekend of racing in the country.Unwarranted criticism of jockey Corey Nakatani, who rode Lite Light, will long be forgotten when the 1991 Mother Goose is included in a list of memorable races.

Trevor Denman won't be at Pimlico Race Course to call race in May and June, as he was the previous two years. Denman has been hired to announce at Hollywood Park, making him a virtual year-round employee at Southern California's three major tracks.The development is apparently good news for Dave Rodman, new announcer at Pimlico and Laurel race courses. When Denman came in to replace Milo Perrins last year, the implication was that Perrins did not have the "name" of Denman and could therefore be shunted aside when Denman was available.