LeMond's latest world-best not like the rest...Lindros's future looks fuzzy...Jose and his hard top

Finished
In a triple dead heat, Scorecard Harry, Space Appeal and Cafe Lex in the ninth race at Belmont Park on Oct. 7. The three claimers pulled together deep into the homestretch and raced stride for stride from the 16th pole to the wire. After track judges reviewed the photo finish for nearly 10 minutes, the result was made official. Only the second three-way tie in New York since 1944, and the 19th in North American racing history, the odd ending created some unique payoffs, including six winning triple combinations, six exactas and three daily doubles.

Rescued
By Oakland A's outfielder Jose Canseco, his 100-pound pet tortoise, Rafael, which had been wandering on the roadside near Canseco's Blackhawk, Calif., house. Rafael, one of 15 tortoises Canseco owns, escaped from its simulated natural environment (which includes moss, bark chips and a waterfall) built beside the slugger's backyard pool. Canseco, who was preparing to have all of the tortoises driven down to his Miami home for the winter in a customized van, located Rafael after a motorist used his cellular phone to notify police about the roving reptile.

Dropped
An eight-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole at Scotland's St. Andrews, by Mats Lanner, to defeat South Africa's Gary Player by one stroke and help Sweden win the Dunhill Cup. South Africa, which over the past 16 months has taken significant steps toward abolishing apartheid, was playing in its first international golf competition since 1980. Despite several lucky bounces, including an errant Curtis Strange drive that was kept in bounds by a trash bin, the U.S. failed to reach the semifinals for the second straight year.

Blurred
The eyesight of hockey prodigy Eric Lindros, who missed two Oshawa General junior league games after experiencing a slight case of double vision. The injury apparently had been caused by a blow to the head in a recent matchup with the Cornwall Royals. The ailment—not believed to be serious—gave Lindros an opportunity to take a breather. In addition to playing hockey, recently the 18-year-old Lindros signed a three-year endorsement deal with the manufacturers of a tabletop hockey game, enrolled in business classes at York University and had his autobiography, Fire on Ice, released in the bookstores.

Caught
By three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, a smallmouth bass of world-record weight for a fly rod with a four-pound leader, near Cable, Wis. LeMond, a longtime fishing enthusiast, was in the area to compete in a 35-mile Fat Tire mountain bike race, which he won for the second consecutive year. During a break from the event, LeMond cast his line into tiny Lake Owen, taking nearly 15 minutes to land the four-pound fish.

PHOTO

JONES PRECISION PHOTO FINISH

At Belmont, a troika was triumphant.