Horse Racing News by Jay Privman

George Steinbrenner, best-known for his long, successful reign as owner of the New York Yankees but also a longtime owner and breeder of racehorses, died at age 80 on Tuesday in Tampa, Fla.

Drosselmeyer came out of the Belmont well and now will target the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 28, Elliott Walden, the racing manager for Drosselmeyer's owner, WinStar Farm, said Sunday morning at Belmont Park.

Christmas came early for D' Funnybone on Saturday at steamy Belmont Park, with a gift-wrapped win in the Grade 2, $250,000 Woody Stephens Stakes for 3-year-old sprinters.

A thick blanket of fog enveloped Belmont Park on Thursday morning, but as the morning wore on, it lifted, a fitting symbol of what has transpired with the New York Racing Association as its signature event, the Belmont Stakes, neared.

Considering how well he ran on the front end when finishing second in the Preakness Stakes three weeks ago after drawing post 11, there is little doubt what the strategy will be for First Dude in the 142nd Belmont Stakes.

For the second straight year, the Brooklyn Handicap is a battle of Diane vs. Goliath.

Jockey Richard Migliore announced his retirement on Wednesday morning at Belmont Park, saying doctors have told him he can not safely return to riding due to neck and spine fractures suffered in a January racing accident.

Rachel Alexandra, winless in two starts this year since being named the 2009 Horse of the Year, is likely to make her next start on June 12, majority owner Jess Jackson said Tuesday in a press release.

As the field went around the far turn in the Sands Point Stakes on Monday at Belmont Park, Check the Label had nowhere to run. But once she found room in the stretch, her rivals had nowhere to hide.

The great mare Azeri, whose accomplished career included four Eclipse Awards, including the title of 2002 Horse of the Year, was voted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in her first appearance on the ballot.