Cookie Crumbles as Winner Brings Home the Bacon

--Four offspring of the famed racer Secretariat jostled around the final turn of the track and headed for the finish line. The crowd at Yonkers Raceway in New York squealed in anticipation, and so did the field--four little pigs. About 300 people gathered to see which piglet of Secretariat--the sow, not the horse--would win the 150-foot race and gobble down the first prize--an Oreo cookie. “It’s a no-holds-barred run,” race promoter John Capobianco said. “Pigs will bump each other to win.” Spectator Marty Galasso of New York City confessed, “I’ve never seen pigs run like that.” The litter of eight 13-week-old pigs, raised tough and ready to run by trainer Randall Ross, made their racing debut at the Westchester County Fair on a track usually devoted to horses in harness. The pigs--four male, four female and each wearing taped-on “racing silks” of pale blue place mats with black numbers--ran two same-sex races for each of three shows. The post bell rang, and the little porkers stumbled out of the wire-mesh gate. Six seconds later, one lucky pig--winner by a snout--pounced on the cookie. The losers munched eagerly on crumbs. “I love pig races. It looks just like all my relatives,” said Lynn Berkowitz, 27, of New York City.

--The Senate resolution called Bob Hope “the favorite and most beloved entertainer in America,” a man who has raised the spirits of men and women in the armed forces since 1941. It further congratulated Hope on “having attained the age of 83 years young.” But that was slightly premature. Hope’s electronic birthday comes in a TV special tonight, and his real birthday is Thursday.

--Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II braved a London-like drizzle and attended morning prayer services at the 101-year-old St. John’s Episcopal Church in the town of Versailles. It was her only public appearance as she neared the end of her private five-day visit to Kentucky. About 300 people huddled under umbrellas to catch a glimpse of royalty as the queen entered the church through its small courtyard. The monarch attended the service with her hosts, William and Sarah Farish. The 60-year-old monarch, an avid horsewoman, is in the Bluegrass region visiting horse farms. She was to depart for Britain today.