Nobody at Aqueduct but us chickens...

Actually, Friday's visit to Aqueduct found the place buzzing with activity, mostly of the horse/human variety, but we liked these chickens, too.

And we caught up with Gary Contessa, Rick Dutrow and Rick Violette - all of whom may be based at Aqueduct, but certainly can't be left out of Belmont-related discussions. All three trainers seemed excited about 2-year-olds who have started or will start here in New York.

Dutrow is pleased with last weekend's Grade 2 Futurity winner D' Funnybone, while Violette's Worstcasescenario is dealing with some minor foot issues following her eighth-place finish in the Grade 2 Matron. Meanwhile, Contessa is excited about the pair he's entered in Sunday's NY-bred stakes. Read more in today's Belmont Park notes and the advance for the state-bred races.

We're looking forward to a great weekend of racing here at Belmont and starting to get really psyched about Super Saturday on October 3 with Quality Road and Summer Bird meeting again in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Gio Ponti returning to the turf in New York in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational. More on all that to come!