About this time of year certain elements of the population get sick of basketball, pinball and numbers and want to hear the patter of tiny hoofs along the backstretch. And so the guys and dolls from far and near will congregate today at the Pawtucket oval.

March 26 begins the three hundred and twenty ninth annual New England battle of man against the longshot, which sees the sovereign state of Rhode Island and generally shifty-eyed guys in sharkskins as the only sure winners.

Lincoln Downs is just a small track, on Route 1, just this side of Pawtucket, but one which sports the earliest opening day in New England racetrack history. It doesn't provide very large purses--the coiling is at $2500--and it hasn't the seating capacity of Suffolk or Gansett.

Today's card features five claiming races, two $1400 purses, and The Inaugural Handicap worth a tidy $2500. A sleek filly named Lawless Miss is favored to cop the branny feedbag and present the above-mentioned tidy sum to lucky G. Y. Booker. She is a homobred daughter of Gallahadion.

Those who know, are pretty well agreed on Lawless Miss, which brings to mind the story of two railbirds at Lincoln for The Inaugural Handicap.

Armed with a hot tip on number 2 and unable to watch from any place but the far turn, the two saw the horses toddic by into the stretch. They heard the following jockey repartee as the beasts passed by. "Hey, where's number 2? Let him through, let him through."