Trainer

Roy Jackson Barbaro's co-owner "We just reached a point where it was going to be difficult for him to go on without pain. It was the right decision. It was the right thing to do." Peter Brette Barbaro's exercise rider and assistant trainer "We loved him. He was great. He did everything we ever asked of him. He could have been one of the best. What a fighter he was." Gretchen Jackson Barbaro's co-owner "Certainly, grief is the price we all pay for love." Jerry Bailey Hall of Fame jockey "Despite his victories and his (Kentucky)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- He was one guy with one horse and some one-liners when he first came to the Kentucky Derby three years ago. Bob Baffert was an unknown, a little-guy trainer, as hard as that is to fathom now.Three years later, after losing the Derby by a nose in 1996 and winning it the past two years, he's Baffert Inc.He's stabled in Barn 33 at Churchill Downs with 15 stablehands, two assistants and 31 well-bred horses, including the past two Derby winners...

The Maryland Million Classic looks to be such a wide-open affair that Clem Florio, the Laurel Park oddsmaker, deemed Perfect to a Tee the morning-line favorite at the very cool odds of 4-1."That's OK," said Linda Albert, the horse's trainer. "He never gets any respect."You can't say that about his trainer. Albert, 40, has emerged as one of Maryland's top conditioners of thoroughbreds. Last year, she won her first Maryland Million races: the Lassie with Perfect Challenge (at non-respectful odds of 30-1)

On the face of D. Wayne Lukas' watch are the silk colors of all 11 Triple Crown winners, from Sir Barton to Affirmed, where the first 11 numbers ordinarily would be."I would sure like to get that 12 o'clock high filled in," Lukas said yesterday, minutes after winning the second of the three-race series.One of the most successful trainers in history, Lukas has been focused on -- some would say obsessed with -- the classic series and the prestige that winning it would bring. He came close in 1995, becoming the first trainer to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes with two different horses (Thunder Gulch in the first and last and Timber Country in the Preakness)

Phil Marino, introduce yourself."I'm a third-generation horseman," Marino said at his Pimlico barn. "I grew up on the backside of the Fair Grounds in New Orleans."Lately, Marino has made a splash in Maryland, appearing out of the blue with nearly 50 horses, luring employees from other trainers by paying higher wages and winning races at a regular clip for an owner no one has seen.At Laurel Park last weekend, two of his top 3-year-olds finished second in stakes -- Lead Em Home on Saturday in the Herat and Po in Sunday's Landaura.

In his first day riding full time at Saratoga, Edgar Prado finished no better than third in five tries. However, the third came in the right race, the Grade II $109,500 Schuylerville Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for 2-year-old fillies.In the opening day feature at the storied track in upstate New York, Prado contested the early lead with Regally Appealing but settled for a close third when Pat Day on Magicalmysterycat and Jerry Bailey on Circle of Life passed in the stretch. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas and owned in part by Satish Sanan's Padua Stable, Magicalmysterycat won for the fourth time in four times and paid $9.20 to win.Prado rode the 7-1 Regally Appealing for John Kimmel, a top New York trainer who had invited Prado, Maryland's top jockey, to ride for him during the 36-day Saratoga meet.

The decision not to duck Catinca proved a sagacious one for Burning Daylight Farm yesterday.Argentine-bred Passeggiata, half of the Virginia farm's entry, outgunned the 1-to-2 favorite in a stirring stretch battle and won the 47th edition of the Grade II, $250,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap by a nose at Laurel Park.The outcome was vindication for Burning Daylight and trainer A. Ferris Allen III after they lost the 1998 Fritchie by a head with Palette Knife, who finished fourth yesterday."I believe this is my first graded-stakes win," said Allen.

Trainer Jerry Thurston watched Bet the Card warm up before yesterday's sixth race at Laurel Park and mused: "If she gets beat, we can blame it on the nasal strip. It's another good excuse for us."Thurston didn't need the alibi. The filly roared through the stretch and romped to a 7 1/4-length victory over Sportin' Amy, another entry wearing the breathing aid.But that result was the exception as Maryland joined nine other states in allowing nasal strips. Of the eight horses so equipped on the nine-race program, only Bet the Card and Sportin' Amy finished in the top three in their respective races.

The dolphins still leap and twist and moonwalk on water, using their flukes like feet. They still slide across platforms, as if they were dancers in "Footloose." The trainers still tell corny jokes and bop to the music as they put the world's most lovable sea creatures through their paces. And everybody still goes: "Awwwww."But as it unveiled a new dolphin show yesterday, the National Aquarium in Baltimore hoped to add substance to the splash of its most popular enduring attraction, mixing in more education with the fun.The half-hour show, called "Coastal Connections: Dolphins at Our Shore," emphasizes the habitat and habits of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Her face lights up as she greets visitors outside Barn 41 at Churchill Downs. They all want to know the same thing, something not only difficult to know but also difficult to tell: Akiko Gothard's life story."

For the first time this week, horses at Pimlico Race Course had to slosh through early-morning rain during workouts, but that posed no problem for Mine That Bird, who galloped two miles in preparation for Saturday's 134th Preakness. The Kentucky Derby winner cruised to victory on a wet track two weeks ago and looked equally comfortable during Thursday's rain. Jockey Calvin Borel rode the 50-1 long shot to victory at Churchill Downs but is switching to favorite Rachel Alexandra for Saturday's race.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -It's tough to pick a horse that suits your personality, especially before the Kentucky Derby is even run. We're still getting to know them. We're hoping, as we do every year as the Triple Crown season is set to unfold, that one might emerge with the heart of Secretariat. Or the Everyman's charm of Smarty Jones. Or the fighting spirit of Barbaro. But one thing you can do at the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday is find a trainer who speaks to your rooting interests.

Salary: $12 (fitness specialist) and $35 an hour (personal trainer) Age: 27 Years on the job: One How he got started: As a youth football player, Salla was always interested in physical fitness and later got into bodybuilding. He graduated from Towson University with a degree in exercise science, then went to work at a few temporary and part-time jobs before joining the Maryland Athletic Club or MAC. Salla is certified through the American Council on Exercise as a personal trainer. Typical day: Salla began at the MAC as a fitness specialist and still works this job about 15 hours a week, making about $12 an hour.

Former Maryland first lady Frances Hughes Glendening is the head of Jobs for America's Graduates-District of Columbia Inc., a private, not-for-profit organization. She is president of the board of directors for the Maryland Women's Heritage Center and an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. Glendening lives in University Park. 1 4 more hours, daily: "I'd really like six, but I won't be greedy. I'd take four more hours to spend with friends, family, hobbies and to devote to my lifelong passions, including women's rights and the arts, among others."

Sports apparel company Under Armour Inc. took a calculated gamble earlier this year, spending millions to promote a new performance trainer sneaker even though it knew it would take an earnings hit and upset some investors. Yesterday it appeared it was paying off. As expected, the Baltimore company posted a profit drop for the second quarter. But the 75 percent decline was less than analysts predicted, and revenue rose 30 percent, thanks to successful sales of the cross trainer. It sold through almost a third of available inventory of the shoe in four weeks.

LOS ANGELES -- In most sports, when things go badly, as they often have the past few years in horse racing, they fire the person in charge. That person is safe in horse racing. He or she doesn't exist. It is a sport without a rudder, an asylum run by the inmates. Not that they haven't tried to name someone. In January 1994, racing appointed Brian McGrath as head of the Thoroughbred Racing Association. He was supposed to be the czar of the sport, even though he knew little about it. He was there to market and brand and get more TV exposure.

Orioles catcher Ramon Hernandez received a cortisone injection in his injured left wrist Monday and might not be available until the team begins its weekend series against the Washington Nationals. Third baseman Melvin Mora was scratched from the lineup last night after being hit on the right shoulder during infield drills. So much for that four-man bench. Hernandez, who hasn't played since Friday, didn't swing a bat yesterday and sat out last night's game against the Boston Red Sox. If he can't play in today's series finale, he'll receive additional time to heal with tomorrow's open date on the schedule.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Every word Rick Dutrow has spoken this week has passed through a smile. "It's all good, babe," he keeps saying, urging anyone who will listen to lay money on his horse. Around the track, where every railbird is starved for a tip, a grin is usually intended as either a shield or a diversion. Dutrow couldn't fake this smile, though. He knows how improbable the journey has been, beginning as a child in Hagerstown, getting in trouble on Maryland tracks and culminating today in the 134th Kentucky Derby, where Dutrow's colt Big Brown is the favorite.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Fair Hill-based trainer Graham Motion had a little more excitement in his morning routine than he would have liked during his first Kentucky Derby week in 10 years. As Motion was bringing Adriano back from his morning gallop, another horse, who had thrown his rider, ran loose and came worrisomely close to Motion and his A.P. Indy colt. The trainer, seeing the loose horse in his peripheral vision, quickly directed his pony and Adriano into the empty shedrow of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas' barn.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Pyro has been going about his business, galloping on the racetrack, schooling in the paddock, unconcerned about who sees him in the barn being given a bath. And in his barn at Keeneland, assistant trainer Scott Blasi, who has been with Pyro for the horse's entire professional career, said he isn't worried about the competitors in today's Grade I, $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes. "All we can do is train our horse," Blasi said. "I have no idea what anyone else is doing. Shaun [Bridgmohan, Pyro's jockey]