Nobody asked me, but…

YOU’RE A SUCKER if you bet against Big Brown in the Belmont Stakes. Maybe you don’t like trainer Rick Dutrow’s obnoxious boasting, but, as the saying goes, “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up.” Blunt and insensitive, Dutrow has only been stating the obvious. Give him credit for being honest instead of phony.

Big Brown has just toyed with his fields. In the Kentucky Derby, he took the worst post in the 20-horse field and still won the race with ease. In the Preakness, he pulled away at the top of the stretch and coasted home. Both races were, in the immortal words of Muhammad Ali, “Noooooo contest!”

I like Macho Uno to finished second, Casino Drive third. But forget about betting. Just sit back and watch history made.

ATER THE NERVOUS Billy Turner saddled Seattle Slew before the 1977 Belmont, he and I left the paddock and veered off into a bar on the ground level of grandstand. He broke in line to get him a vodka-and-tonic, only to have the bartender tell him to get to the back of the line. I bailed him out by explaining to the bartender who he was.

We then went to the rail to watch the race with the common folks. Standing on tiptoes, we tried to watch the race unfold. I had binoculars but Billy didn’t. At the top of the stretch, he shouted, “I can’t see anything, can you?” Yeah, I could see Slew taking command.

Soon as Slew hit the finish line, Billy vaulted a railing to get on the track, only to be stopped momentarily by a Pinkerton. Once again, he had to explain who he was. Mercifully, the Pinkerton let him go instead of trying to hassle him.

And that’s as close as I’ve ever come, or ever will come, to being a part of a Triple Crown winner.

I’LL BE GLAD when Ken Griffey Jr. hits his 600th home run because I think he has been so focused on reaching the goal that he’s hurting the Cincinnati Reds more than he’s helping them. I think the team is on the brink of becoming pretty good. The key is whether Griffey can carry his share of the load. He needs to begin getting more hits with runners on base and generally providing leadership-by-example for the young guys.

As Griffey has gone around the league, he’s been getting a lot of credit for achieving his records without resorting to the use of performance-enchancing drugs. It’s sort of sad when a superstar who plays by the rules is considered the exception instead of the norm.

I SEE WHERE somebody decided to generate some summertime buzz by naming the “Seven Wonders of Louisville.” The winner was Churchill Downs, but I think the racetrack should be disqualified for taking a national landmark and turning it into a schlocky Vegas-style casino. Check out the Towers of Tackiness looming over the twin spires.

I rest my case.

MY SEVEN WONDERS of Louisville would include The Cathedral of the Assumption, the giant bottle of Old Forrester at Brown-Forman, the giant baseball bat at the Louisville Slugger Factory, the Courier-Journal building, the house where Muhammad Ali grew up, Freedom Hall, and Jerry Abramson.