A length and a quarter, as measured by horse racing, isn’t really that much in the wider world. It’s a few strides across the living room, or the height of a garden shed. The average bank line is longer. Laid out on a green, even the weekend golfer would expect to sink the putt.

And yet a length and a quarter is the difference between Exaggerator going for a Triple Crown on Saturday in the 148th Belmont Stakes and Exaggerator simply trying to prove that his Preakness victory was not just another romp in the slop he supposedly needs to be at his best.

Forever Unbridled and Forever d’Oro will get wildly different receptions from horseplayers on Saturday at Belmont Park. Forever Unbridled is a Grade 1 winner who is part of a star-studded field in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes. Forever d’Oro is a recent maiden winner and will be a longshot in a Belmont Stakes topped by heavy favorite Exaggerator.

But the two both run for owner and breeder Charles Fipke and trainer Dallas Stewart, and both are out of the duo’s Kentucky Oaks winner and outstanding broodmare, Lemons Forever.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Since the start of the millennium, eight of the 16 runnings of the Belmont Stakes have been won by horses who ran on Kentucky Derby weekend at Churchill Downs, then had five weeks off prior to the Belmont.

That angle could prove pivotal again this year, as five of the contenders in the 148th Belmont Stakes on Saturday have been similarly managed in the hopes of pulling off an upset over the favored Exaggerator, who will be just one of two horses – along with Lani – to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year.

BELMONT PARK

Weather: Cloudy

Track: Fast

Temp.: 62

ELMONT, N.Y. – Winning the Belmont Stakes two years ago with Tonalist was a lifetime achievement for trainer Christophe Clement, but it did not prove to be a life-changing experience.

While Clement, a native of France who has trained in the U.S. for 25 years, takes great pride in winning an American dirt classic, it did not alter the composition of his stable, one that is made up primarily of high-quality turf horses.

Elliott Walden knows what it takes to win the Belmont Stakes. During his training days, the WinStar Farm president and chief executive saddled Victory Gallop to win the 1998 Belmont Stakes. Victory Gallop ran down Triple Crown hopeful Real Quiet by a nose in one of the most dramatic finishes in the classic’s history.

BELMONT PARK

Weather: Clear

Track: Fast

Temp.: 73

ELMONT, N.Y. - All eyes were on EXAGGERATOR Tuesday morning at Belmont Park, with the Preakness winner turning in his final major prep for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. He worked five furlongs in 1:00.92 over a very fast main track after the renovation break.

ELMONT, N.Y. - Kent Desormeaux got reintroduced to Belmont Park and Exaggerator Tuesday morning, guiding  the Preakness winner through his final workout in preparation for Saturday’s $1.5 million Belmont Stakes.

For the Hall of Fame rider, it was his first time at Belmont since last July 6 when he rode two horses for his brother Keith, who is also the trainer of Exaggerator. Tuesday also was Desormeaux’s first time in public since he announced over the weekend he had spent a week in an alcohol rehabilitation program in Utah. He arrived in New York Monday night.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Exaggerator, the Preakness winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up, completed his serious preparation for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes with a five-furlong workout on Tuesday morning at Belmont Park which Daily Racing Form timed in 1:00.92.

What excited trainer Keith Desormeaux more, though, was the way Exaggerator went out after the finish. Exaggerator clicked off his next furlong in almost 12 seconds, for a gallop-out time of 1:12.91. As Exaggerator went into the clubhouse turn, Desormeaux looked at his watch and said simply, “Wow.”

The following is an excerpt from Barbara D. Livingston's upcoming book tentatively titled "Old and New Friends" available this fall from DRF Press.

He’s the country’s oldest classic winner, a stallion so beautiful that, in his racing days, he was dubbed “Handsome Hansel.”

It’s hard to believe Hansel left the track a quarter-century ago. Studying him at his Lazy Lane Farm home in Upperville, Va., his bay coat is rich with dapples, his muscles fit, and his attitude willing – he still looks and acts like a youngster.