As if we needed it, another sign of winter arrives this weekend, with the end of stakes grass racing in New York for 2007. Today a full field goes in the Grade II, mile and an eighth Red Smith Handicap; tomorrow the girls go in the re-scheduled Grade 3, mile and a half Long Island Handicap. The Red Smith is an evenly matched, great betting race, with the morning line favorite, Godolphin’s True Cause, the favorite at 9-2. John Velazquez rides. To call Red Smith “esteemed” is an insult; he was one of the best-known and well-respected sportswriters in the country and a big fan of the racing game; when I go home to Saratoga for Thanksgiving, I’m going to scour Lyrical Ballad bookshop in the hopes of finding a copy of The Red Smith Reader. Red Smith won the Pulitzer Prize in 1976 and famously said of getting to Saratoga, “From New York City, you drive north for about 175 miles, turn left on Union Avenue and go back 100 years.”

Local football fans take note of today’s fourth at Aqueduct, in which Pennington and Jets Only are entered. Jets Only is an MTO, and the fourth race is indeed off the turf, providing Jets’ fans with the opportunity to bet this exacta and lose, and yet another reason to be frustrated by Gang Green this year.

Sunday is New York Stallion Stakes day at Aqueduct, with a card featuring eight stakes racing. Familiar names on the card: Swap Fliparoo, Gold and Roses, Stormy Kiss, Barancella, Royal Highness, and Duchess of Rokeby. More later today on Sunday’s races.

The New York papers this morning note trainer Donna Wormser’s fine ($1,000) and suspension (30 days) after her horse Star for a Day tested positive for Clenbuterol winning the eleventh race at Saratoga on Travers Day. I remember this horse, because a friend of mine had “all” in this race and won the Pick 4 that paid $1,025. Favorites La Traviata, Street Sense, and Hard Spun were the other legs.

So I have two questions: Does the win get deleted from Wormser’s and Star for a Day’s records, or does it stand despite the illegal use of medication?

And why the hell should bettors care about horses racing on drugs? All the people who hit that Pick 4 get to keep their money. I am not suggesting that bettors who benefit from horses who race with a med infraction should somehow be held responsible, but even I, an enthusiastic bettor and big fan of racing, felt a little squeamish reading about this in the Post this morning. It’s just not good PR, or good practice, for bettors to walk away with full pockets as a result of horses racing under illegal conditions.