Big Brown is the 10 to 4 on favourite to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday and end the Triple Crown drought in America. Seattle Slew in 1977 and Affirmed in 1978 won back to back Triple Crown laurels. Coral, the British bookmaking outfit, has a 3-1 quote on Casino Drive. The Belmont Stakes is the subject of discussion among racing fans in North America. The Saturday showpiece at Belmont Park is being promoted heavily in the United Kingdom. I was at a Coral shop late Monday afternoon and there were frequent announcements about the strong possibility of saluting an American Triple Crown champion coming Saturday.

On Sunday, Big Brown worked in front of a large press contingent. Another outing is scheduled for Tuesday. Trainer Rick Dutrow expressed satisfaction about Big Brown’s readiness. “It’s the best he has ever looked. He will not have a patch for the quarter crack. I’m going to breeze him just the way he is and give him more time to let Dr McKinlay put the patch on the day before the race. The longer we wait the better. I am thrilled about how he is doing.”

Jockey Kent Desormeaux is enjoying his moment in the sun. He threw the ceremonial first pitch (a celebrity bowling the first ball in a cricket match) on Sunday evening at Shea Stadium. Desormeaux wore a New York Mets’ uniform. The Mets were playing the Los Angeles Dodgers. The sporting world in America is taking notice about how imminent ‘the great event’ is.

Mike Iavarone, one of the partners in the IAEH stables, scotched reports that Big Brown will leave racing after the Belmont Stakes. He said, “Big Brown will continue racing. Everybody thinks we’re going to retire. We will point him to the Breeders’ Cup Classic. I don’t know if Curlin will take us on a synthetic surface.” The 2008 Breeders’ Cup races will be held at Santa Anita in late October. The non-turf races will be run on a polytrack.

Here’s a roundup of what happened in America over the weekend. Heatseeker won the Californian on May 31 at Hollywood Park. Tiago was second. Heatseeker won by five and one quarter lengths. The time for the 1800-metre race was 1 47.06. Heatseeker was getting revenge on Tiago. The latter won the Oaklawn Handicap back in April in a photo finish.

Heatseeker‘s next race will be in the Hollywood Gold Cup on June 28. Jockey Rafael Bejarano spoke about his strategy: “I wanted to race off the pace but nobody wanted the lead. My horse broke sharp and he got comfortable real fast.”

At Thistledown in Cleveland, Ohio, Smooth Air ran away with the Grade II Ohio Derby on Saturday. Smooth Air played the runner-up role in Big Brown’s Florida Derby in late March. Jockey Manuel Cruz rode. The time was 1 50.26 for 1800 metres. Smooth Air’s share of the purse was $180,000 and it was a $5.80 payoff.

Zenyatta made it five wins in five starts with a victory in the $183,000 Milady Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Hollywood Park on May 31. Mike Smith was the winning jockey. A daughter of Street Cry, Zenyatta’s last win came in Oaklawn’s Apple Blossom. Zenayatta paid $2.60 and clocked 1 41.17 for the 1700 metres.

Mike Smith had to make an effort to find the words to describe Zenyatta: “All I can say is amazing. I am telling you. I’m beside myself. I don’t even know what to say.”

Trainer John Shirreffs confirmed that Zenyatta’s next target is the Vanity Handicap on July 5.

An important race was run at Woodbine over the weekend. A loser in the race created more news than the winner. Harlan Rocker, three for three coming into the $150,000 Plate Trial Stakes, a prep for the one million Queen’s Plate on June 22, was the favourite at 30 cents on the dollar. Harlan Rocker, winner of Aqueduct’s Wither Stakes, had shown such promise that trainer Todd Pletcher had entertained the thought of taking on Big Brown in the Preakness. Harlan Rocker made a lukewarm move approaching the final turn and retreated. Not Bourbon won narrowly over Solitaire. The winner paid $9.90.

I have collected the information about racing in America and put it all in what I consider a cohesive piece.

We will switch gears. I am in London and arrived here Monday afternoon. I took the Eurostar, a train from Paris to London. It is a ride that normally takes two hours and forty minutes. We encountered a 50-minute delay because there were people walking across the track near Lille, about the halfway point. The train was packed. There was a group of 80 college students, boys and girls, from America. They were on a tour of Europe and going to London, their last leg before flying back. There were a large number of elementary school children in the train.

You show your e-ticket and get a paper ticket. A compartment and a seat number is assigned to you. The first step is French passport control. Then it is on to UK immigration. A question or two. The purpose of the London visit and how long I will stay were my questions. The next step is put the bags through the security belt. An overcrowded waiting lounge and in my case, I walked, may be, five to six minutes, given my pace, to get to my carriage.

Since last November, the Eurostar arrives at and leaves from King’s Cross St Pancras. A taxi ride to my hotel and a friendly driver made it all pleasant.  A sandwich I had brought from Paris kept me going until late afternoon.

It is very early on Tuesday in London as I type this report. There was light rain late Monday in London. The area surrounding Epsom Downs experienced a downpour. A dry spell has been forecast over the next few days. Andrew Cooper, Epsom’s Clerk of the Course, expressed optimism about week’s end. “We are expecting great weather. It is good to soft and I believe it will be the slow side of good come race day.”

There was a lot of news about horses being confirmed and supplementals being made at a cost of 75,000 pounds for Saturday’s Epsom Derby. Jim Bolger put New Approach back in the Epsom picture. Unbeaten as a freshman, New Approach, long-time favourite, has been beaten twice in as many starts by Henrythenavigator. The losses came in the English and Irish 2000 Guineas. Coral’s quote for New Approach is 5-1 but Ladbrokes quote 6-1.

Trainer Dermot Weld paid the 75,000-pound fee to supplement Casual Conquest. The Derby will be Casual Conquest’s third career start. In his last outing, he was an easy winner in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial.

Chester Vase champion, Doctor Fremantle, a Michael Stoute trainee, has been supplemented. Ryan Moore will ride. In 2003, Sir Stoute’s Kris Kin took the same route.

River Proud, third in the French 2000 Guineas, will take his chances and trainer Paul Cole confirmed it.

Henrythenavigator will take a pass but Aidan O’Brien will launch a five-part attack. Frozen Fire, second in York’s Dante, is there. The others are Alessando Volta, Bashkirov, King Of Rome and Washington Irving.

Luca Cumani is a two-time Derby winning trainer. He is represented by the highly regarded Curtain Call.

Sir Henry Cecil has won the Derby four times. His Kandahar Run is standing his ground.

The Godolphins go with Rio De La Plata who will have Frankie Dettori’s services.

Race after race in Monday’s evening meeting at Windsor, Ryan Moore and Richard Hughes were opposing each other. In every race, Ryan won.