ELMONT, N.Y. – As the New York Racing Association prepares to launch its national advance-deposit wagering platform, NYRA Bets, next month, the company is expanding its television presence to enable more people to watch its product.

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.

Mid-Atlantic favorite Page McKenney, who was scratched by trainer Mary Eppler the morning of the $300,000 Pimlico Special on May 20 with slight filling in a tendon, is doing well but is unlikely to return to training in the near future.

Eppler said the injury is relatively minor. She had an ultrasound performed the day the injury was discovered and had another image done last Friday. She was pleased with what it showed.

“The swelling is pretty much down; there is very little filling there,” Eppler said. “This is the type of injury he can definitely come back from.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A key maiden race from last September at Churchill continues to produce. It was on Sept. 26 that Tom’s Ready won the seven-furlong race, with Forevamo second, The Player fourth, and Cherry Wine fifth.

Cherry Wine has accomplished the most since then and is now set to run Saturday in the Belmont Stakes off a runner-up finish in the Preakness. Tom’s Ready went on to finish second in the Louisiana Derby and 12th in the Kentucky Derby. Forevamo was second in the Risen Star and is now headed to the Indiana Derby on July 16.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Debut dates have been targeted for a pair of 2-year-olds whose ownership groups have been champing at the bit to see those horses in action at Churchill Downs.

Warrior’s Club, a colt by Warrior’s Reward, will be entered to run in a June 23 maiden special weight race, while Dial Me, a filly by Dialed In, is being pointed to a maiden special weight race on closing weekend (July 1-2) of the spring meet.

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.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Closers don’t win the Belmont Stakes. So goes second-level thinking these days in horse racing’s hive-mind. Like the debunked myth of tight turns at Pimlico in the Preakness, the oversimplified notion suggesting that the 1 1/2-mile Belmont favors late-rallying horses who have run out of ground at shorter distances has been kicked to the curb.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Handicappers will no longer have to guess who will be on the lead early in Saturday’s $1.5 million Belmont Stakes.

Gettysburg, whose best races have come when he was on the lead, was added to the Belmont Stakes field Monday, according to Elliott Walden, president, chief executive, and racing manager for WinStar Farm, which owns Gettysburg. WinStar also owns Creator and holds the breeding rights to Preakness winner Exaggerator, a pair of late runners who are both running in the Belmont.