I still can't for the life of me figure out the attraction of a contest that doesn't reflect the reality one faces at the track, even if little dave, littleandy, tiznow, tizlater & the rest of your pals on the other Bd all entered & had to explain their handicapping theories in print, even though I feel certain that would make for interesting reading indeed.

More to the point, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Beginning with a very tough Independence Day card tomorrow, Bel is offering some pretty good racing this weekend, including the best Handicap race of the year on Sat. Oddly enough, the nitecap tomorrow, a 1 mile NW2 on the turf for NY breds, may offer a good opportunity for a score if you conclude, as I have, that the Bailey/Mott runner will be a very overbet & very vulnerable favorite. Besides, I'm pretty sure based on my reading of history that our forefathers wanted us to celebrate the 4th at either the local track or OTB. So get out there this weekend & demonstrate your independence through, not from, gambling on the ponies.