Belmont!

Belmont at Saratoga! Due to massive construction project at Belmont Park (total destruction and reconstruction of the grandstand and several barns) the Belmont Stakes has moved to Saratoga for this year and next. While it was uncertain how the small town a Saratoga Springs could/would handle the crowd (allegedly capped at 50,000) it seems to have worked. All the photos and live shots I saw featured packed crowds all over the place. The weather cooperated, at least for the first 3 days - today's turf races came off and the scheduled 1st - the Beverly Steinamnn Hurdle was cancelled and will be added to a Belmont at Aqueduct card later this month. There were no breakdowns and only a few weird things - Thursday saw Irad Ortiz Jr. come off his mount just behind the gate and due to landing awkwardly, he took off the rest of his mounts and went for diagnostic test, which were negative. he was back Friday and continued his winning ways. Frankie Detorri left before his final mount on Thursday, thinking his horse had been schratched. And Friday he came off just out of the gate. No injury other than maybe his pride. He did win a race so he was able to perform his flying dismount for the crowd. There were some thrilling races - Graham Motion's The Grey Wizard won a stakes race on Thursday and Thorpedo Anna won her race yesterday - minus the fore shoe she lost pretty much right out of the gate. Neither of the winers of the first two legs of the Triple Crown were any where near the front runner - Dornoch - at the finish of the Belmont. In other news, the hits keep on coming - David receieved word a week ago that his high school friend and band mate, Bob Pugliese, had passed away. And just last night was notified that Pete Huck's wife, Veloice, had passed. Pete and David worked at Duplex in Ohio, and we had visited them in Minnesota in the past. We are at that age where our contemporaries are expiring. (Late edit: Bob's wife, Patty, passed away this week. She had been battling cancer for years. Bob's service is the 23rd and D. is flying out for the weekend. Ten years ago he likely would have driven but the years and our planned trip there next month made that unpalatable.) Oh, and TFG was convicted on all 34 counts in the NY case. Has to report to a probation officer tomorrow. He's been out grifting for his campaign this wekend, making his elderly patrons stand out in the blazing Nevada sun all afternoon to hear his diatribes, lies and gobbledeegook.