TRIPLE CROWN RATINGS

REMARKS: When War won the Lexington Stakes at 16-1 at Keeneland Saturday, and Lost Code, a horse not even eligible for the Triple Crown, won the Alabama Derby at Birmingham, they were only reinforcing a pattern that has been developing since this year’s first Kentucky Derby prep race was run.

Baldski’s Star, at 9-1, won the Tropical Park Derby at Calder on Jan. 3, and favorites in important 3-year-old races have been falling ever since.

There have been 18 graded races for 3-year-olds this year and the favorites have won half of them. In the four major Kentucky Derby preps, the Flamingo, the San Felipe Handicap, the Florida Derby and the Santa Anita Derby, nary a public choice has lived up to his backing.

The latest favorite to disappoint was J.T.’s Pet, who was undefeated in five starts before he ran fourth, 12 1/2 lengths behind the upstart War, in the Lexington.

J.T.’s Pet, who had won the Louisiana Derby and the Jim Beam Stakes, may have run himself right out of the Derby picture. At least that’s the opinion of Eddie Delahoussaye, who was riding him for the first time.

“I think he cooked his goose,” said Delahoussaye, who won the Derby aboard Gato Del Sol in 1982 and Sunny’s Halo in 1983. “Maybe he’s done too much traveling. They ran the first part of Saturday’s race awful slow and this horse still couldn’t keep up. Horses have made liars out of most of us before, but I wouldn’t ride this one back in the Derby even if I had the chance.”

Delahoussaye has also been riding Chart the Stars and Blanco, but neither horse appears headed for the Derby. Blanco may be favored in Saturday’s California Derby at Golden Gate Fields, but even a win might not earn him a ticket to Churchill Downs May 2. When Blanco was a late nominee, at $3,000, for the Triple Crown, it was with the Preakness, the second leg of the series, in mind.

Two Saturday races of more importance to the confusing Derby situation are the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park and the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct.

Demons Begone, who has dominated the 3-year-old division at Oaklawn, will be a heavy favorite in the Arkansas Derby. The Wood figures to be a rematch of at least the first four finishers--Gone West, Shawklit Won, Gulch and Capote--from the Gotham April 4.

The difference Saturday is that the Wood is an eighth of a mile farther than the Gotham and the horses will have to carry 126 pounds, the same weight requirement for starters in the Kentucky Derby. In winning the Gotham, Gone West ran with an impost of only 114 pounds, which was nine fewer than the burdens of both Gulch and Capote.

The handlers of Bet Twice, crushed after his fifth-place finish as the 7-10 favorite in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on April 4, were more encouraged after the colt worked six furlongs between races Sunday. Bet Twice was timed in a rousing 1:11 3/5, including a brilliant final quarter of :23 1/5.

Consequently, Bet Twice will be on a plane to Kentucky next Monday with Conquistarose and No More Flowers, who ran 1-2 in the Florida Derby.

Cryptoclearance and No More Flowers will not run again before the Kentucky Derby, but Bet Twice is a possibility for the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland April 23 or the Derby Trial, which opens the Churchill Downs season April 25. For the handicappers, almost all of the pre-Derby races have been a trial.

TRIPLE CROWN RATINGS

Career Horse S 1 2 3 Earnings 1. Demons Begone 8 5 2 0 $273,394 2. Temperate Sil 8 4 0 1 853,625 3. Cryptoclearance 10 5 1 1 520,750 4. Capote 5 3 0 0 664,700 5. Masterful Advocate 9 5 2 1 536,425 6. Talinum 9 3 1 2 415,116 7. Bet Twice 11 6 0 1 814,047 8. Gone West 9 4 2 2 265,639 9. Alysheba 9 1 5 1 400,236 10. Gulch 10 6 1 1 602,750

Advisory panel for The Times’ Triple Crown Ratings: Lenny Hale, vice president for racing at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga; Frank (Jimmy) Kilroe, vice president for racing at Santa Anita; and Tommy Trotter, racing secretary at Gulfstream Park.