Monmouth Park Results

FIRST-6 fur; $17,000; clm($20,000); 3up

1

Blck nd Wht (Trjll)

3.00

2.20

2.10

7

Rocket Dee (Mangalee)

4.20

3.20

5

Fireymstonthehll (MarquezJr.)

3.60

Scr: Siberian Wildcat, Christinelisa.

* Exacta (1-7) $12.40 * $1 Trifecta (1-7-5) $18.20

Winner picked by Dasilva

SECOND-5 fur(T); $26,000; clm($20,000); 3up

7

Wld Ranbow (Coa)

22.00

8.60

5.00

5

Cherry On the Top (Serp)

3.40

2.60

8

No Satis Action (Trujillo)

3.00

Scr: Natalie's Goal.

* Double (1-7) $34.20 * Exacta (7-5) $79.40 * $1 Trifecta (7-5-8) $118.30

THIRD-1m&70yds; $18,000; clm($5,000); 3up

3

Bobbsqun (CottJr.)

3.40

2.20

2.10

5

Full N Sassy (Santiago)

2.40

2.10

4

Myprincessabigail (Uske)

2.10

Scr: Pyramyst.

* Double (7-3) $48.80 * Exacta (3-5) $6.60 * $1 Trifecta (3-5-4) $5.70

FOURTH-1 1/16m(T); $25,000; cl($16,0); 3up

6

Slw Jons (Crmuch)

7.00

3.60

2.40

8

Rogue (Bravo)

9.60

5.20

1

First Acquital (Marquez,Jr.)

3.20

Scr: Supersonic Beauty, Cat Can Do.

* Double (3-6) $12.20 * Exacta (6-8) $68.60 * $1 Trifecta (6-8-1) $129.40

Winner picked by Dasilva

FIFTH-6 fur; $20,000; clm($12,500); 3up

2

Chiquis (Coa)

5.40

3.00

2.40

8

I'm Not Myself (Trujillo)

2.80

2.20

4

Tommy V M (Camacho)

2.60

Scr: Bravaccio.

* Double (6-2) $23.20 * Exacta (2-8) $14.80 * $1 Trifecta (2-8-4) $22.30

SIXTH-1 1/16m(T); $26,000; clm($25,0); 3up

4

Ktrn's Prnc (Trujll)

7.60

3.80

2.60

2

Leipzig (Cintron)

2.60

2.20

7

Runaway Jim (Serpa)

3.20

* Double (2-4) $24.20 * Exacta (4-2) $18.20 * $1 Trifecta (4-2-7) $36.30

SEVENTH-6 fur; $52,000; alw; 3up

4

Sloane Rnger (Co)

12.20

5.80

4.00

6

Escrow Kid (Bravo)

8.60

4.20

2

Golddigger's Boy (Elliott)

3.00

Scr: Soaring Stocks, Comedero.

* Double (4-4) $49.80 * Exacta (4-6) $99.20 * $1 Trifecta (4-6-2) $125.70

EIGHTH-1 1/16m(T); $24,000; cl($20,0); 3up

5

Jersy Jzz (CottoJr.)

5.60

3.00

2.20

8

Oh So Debonaire (Bravo)

4.00

2.60

1

They Call Me Giant (Coa)

2.20

Scr: Dubai Time, Courage to Be, Taylor's Wise Lion.

* Double (4-5) $53.40 * Exacta (5-8) $24.60 * $1 Trifecta (5-8-1) $22.80

Winner picked by Dasilva

NINTH-6 fur; $44,000; alw; 3up(f)

1

Winne Dxe (Serpa)

3.20

2.60

2.40

4

Devlsh Slver (MrquezJr.)

4.20

3.40

3

Banner Elk Lady (Trujillo)

4.60

* Double (5-1) $11.60 * Exacta (1-4) $14.00 * $1 Trifecta (1-4-3) $44.50

TENTH-6 fur; $21,000; clm($20,000); 3up

2

Mnr Prblm (Trujll)

3.80

2.60

2.40

3

Heckuva Ride (Cintron)

4.40

3.00

7

Eternal Stone (Hampshire,Jr.)

8.80

* $1 Trifecta (2-3-7) $140.70 * Double (1-2) $7.20 * Exacta (2-3) $17.40

Attendance 4,762. Track Handle $313,503.
Nypost.com

Third time’s the charm

John Crudele

Let the games begin!

A sometimes testy, sometimes playful judge sparred with defense lawyers yesterday in the insider-trading trial of former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta.

If you just saw the highlight reel of yesterday’s four-hour session that featured the testimony of Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein you would be under the mistaken impression that this was interesting stuff.

It wasn’t — unless you are tired of Judge Judy and her half-hour brand of justice and can’t get enough of long-form jurisprudence.

The case in Manhattan federal court involves charges that Gupta passed secret information to his pal, Raj Rajaratnam, a hedgie who then profited from what he had been told.

Lloyd Blankfein entering court yesterday." title="HELLO AGAIN: Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein entering court yesterday." width="300" height="300" src="/rw/nypost/2012/06/08/business/web_photos/lloyd_blankfein--300x300.jpg" />

Reuters

HELLO AGAIN: Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein entering court yesterday.

Rajaratnam has already been convicted.

Now it’s Gupta’s turn. His trial has gone on for several weeks before an increasingly frustrated Judge Jed Rakoff and a jury that has gone from nearly catatonic to ready for outright embalming.

Rakoff let prosecutors and the defense team have it before Blankfein took the stand yesterday. The judge wanted Blankfein’s testimony to end yesterday — but the Goldman CEO will be back for a third session this morning.

“I’m not happy about this, obviously,” the judge complained to both the defense and prosecution.

Blankfein’s testimony started Monday. Court wasn’t in session on Tuesday and Blankfein couldn’t make it on Wednesday because his kid was graduating from high school.

So it came down to yesterday. Rakoff was so anxious to get things going that on a few occasions he started questioning witnesses himself, leaving the lawyers with their jaws hanging.

Defense lawyer Gary Naftalis had barely started his cross examination of Blankfein, who repeated again and again that Gupta, as a Goldman director, would have been given privileged, confidential information that he wasn’t supposed to blab.

Now that you are up to date on the ordinary stuff, let’s dish.

Right before the cross examination began yesterday afternoon, prosecutor Reed Brodsky asked if Gupta’s defense team planned to bring up any current investigations of Goldman Sachs.

The idea, I guess, is that Goldman isn’t pure and shouldn’t expect its directors to be, either.

Naftalis obviously didn’t want to tip his hand.

This, of course, could be the highlight of the trial and end up being No. 1 on the Top 10 legal plays of the day. For everybody in the courtroom — journalists like me included — there is nothing better than a list of all the probes of the most vilified firm on Wall Street.

Investigations of Goldman are, on the other hand, the last thing the government wants revealed.

Heckling didn’t just come from the judge yesterday. Brodsky and Naftalis were going at each other pretty good in what they assumed to be a private interchange.

Sometimes it sounded as if the courtroom staff had forgotten to turn off the microphones at the lawyers’ tables. Folks heard Naftalis complain to his co-counsel that prosecutors were trying to get a “tactical advantage” by putting an FBI agent on the stand yesterday morning and pushing Blankfein to the afternoon.

And one prosecutor had his own gripes about late-night sessions. “I’m totally exhausted. I got a baby waking me up at 5 a.m.,” he said.

john.crudele@nypost.com

Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, Raj Rajaratnam, Judge Judy, Jed Rakoff, defense lawyers, Blankfein

Nypost.com

Netherlands not interested in being runner-up again

KRAKOW, Poland — Second-best just isn’t good enough for the Netherlands anymore.

After losing to Spain two years ago in the World Cup final, Amsterdam has let it be known that the players shouldn’t count on any official celebration unless they come home with the European Championship trophy.

‘’Losing that final is now the motivation to win Euro 2012,” Netherlands captain Mark van Bommel said, still remembering the bittersweet taste of the big homecoming celebrations two years ago on the canals of the capital.

Now, even the grandest Dutch city let it be known that being runner-up is too average to celebrate. Been there, done that — too often.

“Last time we set up festivities when they came in second,” Sara Gradstein, a spokeswoman for the mayor, said Thursday. “(This time) they’ll only get one if they come in first.”

The pain of losing stretches back to 1974, when the golden generation of Johan Cruijff lost to West Germany 2-1 in the World Cup final despite dominating the tournament with their revolutionary brand of free-flowing Total Football.

Four years later, the same thing: The Dutch felt sure they had won the World Cup when Rob Rensenbrink shot past Argentina goalkeeper Ubaldo Fillol in the dying seconds of regular time — only to see it hit the post. The hosts won it 3-1 in extra time.

It seemed it was more fate than fear of failure that denied the Dutch.

Instead, the plaudits kept coming. The Dutch were the Brazilians of Europe. The Dutch were the best team never to win the World Cup. The latter especially stung.

It was only when the AC Milan trio of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard were united with 1974 coach Rinus Michels that the drought could be broken. But, almost a quarter century later, the memory of the Euro 1988 title is fading fast.

Two dozen years without a cup may make them look like underachievers. Yet considering their population of 16.7 million surrounded by powers like Germany, Italy, France and Spain, the Dutch might as well be considered overachievers.

Almost without fail, they produce a great crop of players. For the past years, the team has been built around creative talents like Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, with a bruising organizer like Van Bommel thrown in.

At Euro 2012, this generation is looking for late redemption.

‘’We realize this is perhaps our last chance to win a tournament,” said Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt, one of the core of players that reached the 2010 final that will start against Denmark on Saturday.

If their skills are beyond doubt, their cockiness and pluck may hide a mental fragility when it counts. So often so cool, yet they have too often floundered under pressure.

They lost penalty shootouts at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 European Championships and in the semifinals of the 1998 World Cup against Brazil.

Especially missing five penalty kicks in regulation time and during the shootout against Italy in the Euro 2000 semifinals has haunted the nation and players for years.

This time around, that fear centers on Robben. He missed a penalty kick in the Champions League final against Chelsea and another in a vital late Bundesliga match for Bayern Munich against Borussia Dortmund.

Yet there is no fear.

‘’You have to turn the page,” Robben said. “I have a new goal and that is the European Championship.’

For Van Bommel, too, he wants the title to chase the ghosts of the past, specifically losing the World Cup final.

‘It stays with you for life,” he said.

World Cup final, Netherlands captain Mark van Bommel, Netherlands, Netherlands, World Cup, World Cup, Arjen Robben, Spain, Van Bommel, KRAKOW, Poland, Sara Gradstein, the European Championship

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Mo sets date for surgery

Mariano Rivera is finally ready to take the next step in his recovery from the torn ACL he suffered in his right knee over a month ago, with surgery planned for Tuesday at Hospital for Special Surgery.

After Rivera landing awkwardly while shagging fly balls during batting practice in Kansas City before a game May 3, doctors found a blood clot which ended up delaying the surgery, but the 42-year-old remains confident he will be ready by next season.

“No doubt about that, God-willing,” Rivera said during a visit to Yankee Stadium before the Yankees beat the Rays, 4-1, last night.

Anthony J. Causi

Mariano Rivera

The surgery will be performed by Dr. David Altchek, the Mets’ team doctor.Rivera said he isn’t concerning himself with an exact timetable after the procedure.

“I don’t want to have that,” Rivera said. “I don’t want to put in my mind a line.”

And while he isn’t concerning himself with the possibility of returning this season, he hasn’t completely ruled it out — even if the team has no such expectations.

“I don’t want to think about it,” Rivera said. “Again, miracles happen. I just have to be able to do what I was doing before. That’s what I want.”

The Yankees would like him to that, as well, since Rivera has vowed to pitch again next season.

And while Rivera is confident he’ll regain his old form, he acknowledged there are no guarantees that will happen.

“I have to get it fixed first,” Rivera said.

In the meantime, he’s been doing what he could to make the knee stronger to hasten the recovery after the procedure.

“You work at it, simple as that,” said Rivera, adding that he has kept himself occupied during his absence. “I’ve been so busy with therapy, I don’t even think about [the surgery]. I get home, I’m tired and then I watch the game. It’s a full day.”

Rivera’s return shouldn’t be impacted by the delay, according to Dr. David Geier, Director of Sports Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.

“The usual wait on surgery after an injury like this is two or three weeks, until the swelling goes down and they can build the strength back up,” Geier said.

Rivera’s return shouldn’t be impacted by the delay, according to Dr. David Geier, Director of Sports Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina.

“The usual wait on surgery after an injury like this is two or three weeks, until the swelling goes down and they can build the strength back up,” Geier said.

And although Rivera will have to stay on blood thinners after the surgery to make sure he doesn’t get another clot, Geier doesn’t believe that will hurt his recuperation.

“It should have no effect on an athlete’s ability to recover from surgery,” Geier said.

If all goes well, that means the Yankees’ closing issues that they hope are behind them this season, won’t show up again next year.

dan.martin@nypost.com

Mariano Rivera, David Geier, the Yankees, Medical University of South

Nypost.com

NYC baseball rankings

We promised changes and we delivered. Aside from top-ranked Grand Street, not a single team is in the same spot it was last week -- that's how wild the postseason has been. Surprising PSAL Class A semifinalists John Adams and Telecommunications break in while No. 1 Grand Street and No. 3 George Washington meet in the finals Friday night at 7 p.m. at MCU Park in Coney Island.

Fourth-ranked Fordham Prep takes on No. 5 St. Joseph by the Sea in the CHSAA Class AA championship round elimination game with the winner advancing to see Iona Prep in the title game Friday night at St. John's.

Lauren Marsh

Grand Street Campus and Charlie Garcia remain atop The Post's NYC baseball rankings.

For a complete rundown of our vastly different top 10, read below:

1. Grand Street (20-1) (Last week: 1)

Jose Cuas saved his best afternoon of the spring at the plate for Grand Street’s most important contest. In the second game of a PSAL Class A semifinal sweep of John Adams, he had five RBIs, including a grand slam, as the Wolves booked their first trip to the finals in program history. A four-year starter headed to Maryland, a city championship would be the perfect way for Cuas to go out.

Next: No. 2 George Washington, PSAL Class A finals (June 8, 7 p.m. @ MCU Park)

2. Poly Prep (20-4) (5)

A third straight NYSAISAA crown next spring is a probability for Poly Prep as it returns top pitchers Andrew Zapata, Phil Maldari and Morgan Gray. The three were hard to hit this spring and they will be even better by next April, a scary proposition for the Ivy Prep League.

Next: Season complete

3. George Washington (19-2) (6)

The Trojans have been absolutely dominant this postseason, winning their five games by a combined 49-9. Co-ace Edwin Corniel has been brilliant, winning three times and Alexis Torres has put on a power display with eight RBIs, two home runs and four runs scored.

Next: No. 1 Grand Street Campus, PSAL Class A finals (June 8, 7 p.m. @ MCU Park)

4. Fordham Prep (15-8) (NR)

A.J. Pinto was marvelous in a CHSAA Class AA winner’s bracket game Sunday night, but he was outdueled by Iona Prep’s Joe Finnegan. Ace Sean McNamara should be on the hill Tuesday against St. Joseph by the Sea with a finals berth on the line.

Next: No. 5 St. Joseph by the Sea, CHSAA Class AA elimination game (June 5, 6 p.m. @ St. John’s University)

5. St. Joseph by the Sea (17-5) (9)

Chris Falcone gave up one run on four hits with nine strikeouts while battling back spasms to down Molloy. That sets up a meeting with Fordham Prep with a CHSAA Class AA intersectional finals berth on the line – and ace Brian Russell will be on the hill.

Next: No. 4 Fordham Prep, CHSAA Class AA elimination game (June 5, 6 p.m. @ St. John’s University)

6. Archbishop Molloy (15-9) (NR)

Rosario DiLorenzo saved the season by coming back on two days rest to beat Moore Catholic and then Greg Boyle, who missed all of last year, defeated Xaverian. Molloy’s semi-Cinderella run, however, came to an end Sunday against St. Joseph by the Sea.

Next: Season complete

7. Xaverian (19-3) (2)

The Clippers lost three games all season – and two of them came Thursday and Friday as they exited the playoffs. It was a stunning turn of events, Fordham Prep and Archbishop Molloy getting the better of Xaverian in the CHSAA Class AA championship round.

Next: Season complete

8. John Adams (17-4) (NR)

We can’t wait to see what Anderson DeLeon will have in store for us next spring. The diminutive yet dominant sophomore won eight games this year and led John Adams to an upset of favored Tottenville in the PSAL Class A quarterfinals last week. Too bad he didn’t have enough rest to face top-ranked Grand Street in the semifinals.

Next: Season complete

9. Telecommunications (16-5) (NR)

Telecom’s top hitter, Austin Ruiz, is a freshman; its ace, A.J. Serrano, is a sophomore; and other key parts, Chris Lee, outfielder Josh Palacios, Josh Mercado and Anthony Nunez, are all coming back. The young and talented Yellow Jackets should only get better.

Next: Season complete

10. Cardozo (18-1) (3)

This was supposed to be the year Cardozo got into the final four, after another perfect league season. Instead, it ended a round early, to underdog Telecommunications in the PSAL Class A quarterfinals. Elite juniors Connor Doyle and Adrian Castano will be back, but the Judges do lose a lot of key pieces, such as Diego Gonzalez, Nicanor Luna and Calvin Luk, that will be difficult to replace.

Next: Season complete

New: John Adams (17-4) and Telecommunications (16-5)

Dropped out: St. Raymond (14-7) and Tottenville (17-4)

On the bubble: St. Raymond (14-7), Moore Catholic (13-5), All Hallows (11-10), Tottenville (17-4), Norman Thomas (16-3), James Monroe (15-4) and James Madison (14-4)

zbraziller@nypost.com

mraimondi@nypost.com

John Adams, John Adams, Fordham Prep, Fordham Prep, Telecommunications, Telecommunications, George Washington, CHSAA Class AA, CHSAA Class AA, Grand Street, Grand Street, Iona Prep, Archbishop Molloy, PSAL, St. Joseph, St. Joseph, elimination game, Poly Prep

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The Courtship of Serena Williams

Paris

At this year's London Olympics, one precious gold medal will dangle lower than the rest. Here's all it takes to win it: Serena Williams's phone number.

For the first time since 1924, the games will host a mixed doubles tournament, and whichever American team includes Williams will be the immediate favorite to win gold. The wooing began earlier this year, but at this year's French Open, there seems to be a winner of Williams's hand: Bob Bryan, who with his brother Mike has been part of the premier doubles team of the past decade.

Williams has won 27 Grand Slam titles: 13 in singles, 12 in doubles and two in mixed. She's the best tennis player of her generation, and one of the best ever. It's enough to make Bryan giddy. "It's exciting," he said.

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Any mixed doubles team that includes Serena Williams will be the team to beat at the London Olympics.

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When Williams's agent reached out to Bryan a few months ago to see if he would play the French Open with Williams, Bryan had an immediate answer: "Yes!'" he said. He then spoke to Williams in Madrid.

"She said something like, 'If we do well and we get our mojo going, maybe we can roll it into the Olympics,'" Bryan said.

Williams had been a favorite to win the French Open singles title before a shocking first-round upset Tuesday. Bryan was nervous. "I didn't know what to expect after her loss," he said. "Then I got an email from her, she wanted to practice."

Williams hasn't fully committed to the Olympics yet. Mixed doubles will be a last-minute decision for many players, depending on their health or their results to that point in Olympic singles or doubles. It will include 16 teams with at most two teams per country; 12 teams will receive direct entry based on a combined ranking. The International Tennis Federation will select the remaining four teams.

But any team that includes Williams will be the team to beat, despite the potential for some formidable foes. Petra Kvitova, the defending Wimbledon champion, plans to play with fellow Czech Radek Stepanek, a strong singles player and a doubles expert. Ana Ivanovic, a former No. 1 from Serbia, will team with Nenad Zimonjic, one of the world's best doubles players.

But Williams would be the best female partner in the field. Doubles is a fast-paced affair that turns on strong serves and forceful returns of serve. Williams has the best serve and the best return in women's tennis. In 2008, Mardy Fish partnered with Williams to win the Hopman Cup prior to the Australian Open. Asked at the time what made her such a great partner, Fish said, "She serves like a guy."

Williams knows she's coveted and has kept her suitors on their toes. "It's so tough to choose, there are so many good American men," she said in an interview in New York this spring. "I harass the guys a little bit and I just have fun with them."

Williams had planned to play with Andy Roddick at the Australian Open this year, but Roddick retired with an injury in singles and couldn't play. Roddick hasn't been shy in his courtship of Williams, a close friend since they were children.

"I want to play the Olympics," Roddick said after losing in the first round in Paris this week. "I can't get ahold of her. If you see her, ask her for me."

Roddick has never played a professional mixed doubles match. Fish, Williams's one-time partner, recently had a medical procedure on his heart and will skip the Olympics. John Isner, the top-ranked American, said earlier this year he might be willing to "bribe" Williams for the privilege of playing with her. Lately, though, he's less sure.

"When the Olympics roll around, I want to be really tired because I've done so well," Isner said. "And if that's the case, to be honest, I don't see mixed doubles in my future."

Bryan took a more subtle approach: He didn't woo Williams at all. "We're not like great, great pals...but we always say hi at the tournaments," he said. "I was totally taking a back seat." He figured Roddick would get the call and had another partner in mind: Williams's older sister. "I tried to lock down Venus, and she wasn't returning my calls," he said.

As Grand Slam competitions go, mixed doubles is the least tense. But with a gold medal on the line, that attitude changes.

"I really want to play well for Serena this tournament," he said. "Usually before mixed I'm sitting on the computer with a banana in my hand and it's like, 'Oh my God, it's time for mixed?' And then I put on my shoes and I go out there. I'll definitely go down to the gym this time and do some stretching, maybe five minutes on the bike."

A version of this article appeared June 1, 2012, on page D10 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: The Courtship of Serena.

Serena Williams, Williams, Bob Bryan, Mixed doubles, mixed doubles, French Open ebook download, Andy Roddick, London Olympics, the Olympics

Online.wsj.com

Woody’s shadow is looming large at Belmont

Ray Kerrison

From now until the end of time, the Belmont Stakes never will be run without recalling the unique exploits of the great classic’s master craftsman, the late Woody Stephens.

On a streak in the 1980s, the trainer won five straight Belmonts, a feat that all but defies comprehension. It is said that winning the Triple Crown is the single most difficult achievement in sports. But how can that be when 11 horses have done it in 134 years?

Only one man has won five consecutive Belmonts in 144 years, and no one expects ever to see it again. Three trainers, including Wayne Lukas, have won three in a row. But five? Never. Impossible.

NYRA

HIGH FIVE: The late Woody Stephens, above pictured in 1985, is the only trainer to have won five straight Belmont Stakes. One of his disciples, Dale Romans, will saddle up Dullahan in Saturday’s race.

Woody’s memory has overhung every Belmont since his death in 1998, but this year it will be especially tender if Dullahan wins. The likely second favorite behind I’ll Have Another, Dullahan is trained by Dale Romans, one of Woody’s acolytes.

Romans worked for him briefly in 1986, when Danzig Connection, completed the Stephens sweep.

“I was just a kid then,” Romans recalled yesterday. “I went to work for him because I wanted to see how a stable like that operated. Woody was my hero.”

He was almost everyone’s hero. Trainer John Parisella has a fund of Woody stories.

“I remember he once entered a horse for $75,000 in a claiming race and the leading trainer in the city at that time claimed him, but the horse wasn’t worth a dollar,” Parisella said with a laugh. “Woody bragged about that for three months. Then he went out and bought [his wife] Lucille a new Mercedes with the 75 grand.

“Sometimes he’d see me and say, ‘Johnny, bet your money today. I closed the top door on this one.’ ”

Back in 1984, Woody took his front-running Kentucky Derby winner Swale to Pimlico for the Preakness.

Parisella was waiting for him with a speed freak named Fight Over. Parisella held court with the press and told them, “You tell Woody he’s not getting the lead here. We’re gonna be on the lead.”

We ran over to Woody’s barn and told him what Parisella said. Woody thought for a moment and said, “Parisella would rather be on the lead than president.”

And so it happened. Jockey Ossie Vergara gunned Fight Over out of the gate and opened three lengths, scorching the mile in a killer 1.34.2 — more than a second faster than Secretariat ran it. At the finish, Fight Over held for third while Swale was nowhere to be seen at 4-5.

Swale went on to win the Belmont, but a few days later, he collapsed and died as he was walking from the track back to the barn. To this day, the exact cause of death is unknown.

“Woody stood alone,” said Parisella. But how did he win five Belmonts?

“Because he laid those horses on the fence,” Parisella said.

Meaning, Woody worked his horses hard, fast and often. And if they couldn’t take the heat, they were gone.

“Not many trainers today do what Woody did all those years,” Parisella said. “The one exception is Bob Baffert. He trains his horses just like Woody — he lays them on the fence. He doesn’t think twice about working a horse 6f. in 1.10 and change before a big race.”

Trainer Bill Badgett worked in Woody’s barn for four of his five Belmonts. To this day, he stands in awe of the master.

“He was a tremendous person with phenomenal charisma,” Badgett said yesterday. “He was extremely competitive, more than most people realized. But he was a great horseman, tremendous to work for. He never raised his voice and generous? I made more money with his stakes winners than with my salary.”

Just winning five Belmonts is unthinkable, but Badgett said that what made the accomplishment even more astounding is that Woody never had more than 36 horses in his barn at any one time.. Some big modern trainers have a hundred to 200 horses.

Woody Stephens was a Kentucky hardboot at heart, but he had a special kind of magic that we all miss — and especially at this time when the bugler calls the field to the track for the Belmont Stakes, known now and forever as Woody’s Race.

Woody Stephens, Belmont Stakes, Belmont Stakes, John Parisella, Dale Romans, Belmonts, Parisella, horses, Woody, Dullahan, trainer

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