Handicap Belmont by Stars

USA Today reports that the New York Racing Assn. has come up with something for celebrity watchers who are looking for some kind of sign before betting on Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.

Following is a list of the likely starters, with their foaling dates, astrological signs and some celebrities who share their birthdays.

--Winning Colors (March 14), Pisces; Albert Einstein.

--Granacus (March 20), Pisces; Carl Reiner.

--Risen Star (March 25), Aries; Aretha Franklin and Gloria Steinem.

--Dynaformer (April 1); Aries; Bach and Lon Chaney.

--Cefis (April 3), Aries; Marlon Brando and Doris Day.

--Kingpost (April 26), Taurus; Carol Burnett.

--Brian’s Time (May 28), Gemini; Jim Thorpe and the Dionne quintuplets.

Add Granacus: Steven Crist of the New York Times is intrigued by the worldliness of the colt, which won the Blue Grass Stakes but finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby after a rough trip.

Calling Granacus a product of seven foreign lands, Crist writes: “He was born and raised in Canada. He was named for a Macedonian battle site by his owner, Steven Stavro, who was born in Greece. His trainer, Pat Collins, was born in Ireland, and his jockey, Jacinto Vasquez, in Panama. His sire, Sweet Candy, is Venezuelan, and his dam, Lucinda Light, raced in England.

Trivia Time: Who was the first National Basketball Assn. player to score 2,000 points in the regular season? (Answer below.)

Add Forgettable Quotes: Pat Riley, before the NBA Finals, told Jerry Sullivan of Newsday he was impressed by Detroit’s quickness but added, “Their outside shooting as a team isn’t that good.”

Add Riley: If his players are starting to doubt their abilities, he can remind them that the 1971-72 Lakers, the winningest team in NBA history, lost the first game of the championship playoffs, 114-92, to the New York Knicks at the Forum. The Lakers won the next four games to win the series, 4-1. Riley was a reserve on the team.

How-do-you-explain-it Dept.: The Washington Bullets are the only team to beat the Pistons twice at home in the playoffs, and they did it in a best-of-five series. The Chicago Bulls didn’t win any, and the Boston Celtics won only one.

Word-of-warning Dept.: Here was William C. Rhoden’s lead in the New York Times: “INGLEWOOD, Cal., June 7--The Detroit Pistons served notice this evening that the Los Angeles Lakers, who have been talking about their date with destiny, had better concentrate on the task at hand.”

25 Years Ago Today: On June 9, 1963, in the first Sunday night game in major league history, the Houston Colt 45s handed the San Francisco Giants their seventh straight loss, 3-0. Turk Farrell and Skinny Brown pitched the shutout before 17,437 fans. Permission was granted because of the excessive heat in Houston during the day. This was before the Astrodome was built.

Trivia Answer: George Yardley of the Detroit Pistons in 1957-58. In a 72-game schedule, he scored 2,001 points, an average of 27.8 a game.

Quotebook

Michael Spinks, told that Muhammad Ali had picked him to beat Mike Tyson: “It’s very uplifting to hear Muhammad speak, but I’m from the Show-Me state of Missouri. It hasn’t happened yet.”