HORSE RACING

REMARKS: In the movie, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?� Richard Burton wanted to play a parlor game that he called “Get the Guests.� In the Preakness Stakes--the second jewel in the Triple Crown--at Pimlico on May 21, the name of the game will be “Get the Filly.�

In the wake of Winning Colors’ victory by a neck in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, Woody Stephens, the trainer of runner-up Forty Niner, announced that he would be putting early pressure on owner Gene Klein’s filly next time. Now, at least two other trainers are suggesting that they’ll do the same thing.

Charlie Hadry, whose Private Terms went off as the favorite in the Derby and had his 7-race undefeated string broken with a 9th-place finish, more than 6 lengths behind the winner, plans on running an entrymate, Finder’s Choice, in the Preakness.

“Finder’s Choice can lay close and run the first half mile in :45 with no problem,� said Charles Hadry Jr., the trainer’s son and assistant.

Another possible starter in the Preakness is Once Wild, who must earn his way into the race with a solid performance Wednesday in the Withers at Belmont Park. Once Wild, a colt with speed, is trained by Butch Lenzini, who saddled Aloma’s Ruler, a wire-to-wire winner in Baltimore in 1982.

“If I go in the Preakness, the filly won’t be getting any easy lead off me,� Lenzini said.

Early in their careers, Finder’s Choice and Private Terms weren’t far apart in ability. Favored Finder’s Choice won four of his first five starts, then ran seventh in the Garden State Stakes on April 16. Finder’s Choice suffered a throat infection after that race and he may run in a prep race at Pimlico before the Preakness.

Private Terms’ camp has been unable to explain his uninspired Derby. The colt had the disadvantage of an outside post, breaking inside only Forty Niner in the 17-horse field, but he stayed within striking distance, as his trainer had hoped, and was fourth after a mile. In the last quarter mile, however, Private Terms showed nothing.

“He was trying, but not going anywhere,� the younger Hadry said. “He didn’t switch leads (changing one lead foot to the other to shift weight), so maybe the ground was slipping under him. He came out of the race like he didn’t even run. He was like a wild man the next day, while some of those Derby horses didn’t even eat. He should be a different horse in the Preakness.�

Winning Colors probably won’t even work over the Pimlico track before the Preakness. She’ll be stabled with the rest of trainer Wayne Lukas’ division at Belmont Park and will be vanned the 200 miles to Baltimore two or three days before the race. Lukas has won the Preakness twice--with Codex in 1980 and Tank’s Prospect in 1985--and shipping those horses into town late worked both times.

Stephens soured on running horses over Pimlico’s hard surface when he started Swale, the Kentucky Derby winner, in the 1984 Preakness. Swale ran seventh and won the Belmont three weeks later, but Stephens shuddered at the ungiving nature of Pimlico. In a race before the ’84 Preakness, Deputed Testamony, the 1983 Preakness winner, set the Pimlico record for 1 1/16 miles, but broke down after crossing the wire and never raced again.

Pimlico’s new owners have assured Stephens that their track is kinder to horses. Not only does the 74-year-old trainer want another Preakness win, but he also wants another shot at Winning Colors. When Stephens won his first and only Preakness with Blue Man in 1952, Lukas was a 16-year-old Wisconsin high school student.

Stephens tried to pick a verbal fight with Lukas all through Derby week, but Winning Colors’ trainer didn’t bite. There really hasn’t been a good word battle at Churchill Downs since Lucien Laurin, the trainer of Secretariat, and Pancho Martin, who had Sham, exchanged insults 15 years ago.

Lukas is aware of Stephens’ popularity with the press, something the trainer of Winning Colors has never enjoyed.

“Woody can say what he wants,� Lukas said. “But if I said the same things, I’d be in deep trouble.�

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.

TRIPLE CROWN RATINGS

Career Horse S 1 2 3 Earnings 1.Winning Colors 7 6 1 0 $1,081,350 2.Forty Niner 12 7 4 0 1,021,880 3.Private Terms 8 7 0 0 742,328 4.Risen Star 9 6 2 1 315,425 5.Proper Reality 6 4 0 0 382,840 6.Brian’s Time 9 3 1 1 391,619 7.Regal Classic 11 4 4 2 848,863 8.Seeking the Gold 7 4 2 0 260,430 9.Tejano 14 5 2 3 1,288,129 10.Granacus 14 3 2 1 296,724