Images From the Belmont Stakes

by Natalie Keller Reinert

Well, we had to go to the Belmont Stakes this year. It really wasn't negotiable, was it?

What we actually thought of Belmont Park on one of its most crowded days in recent history was another story (and the focus of a blog post here) but hey, we gave it a shot. And no matter how crazy Belmont Park was, I still managed to capture a few images of a what remains a very photogenic place to watch horses run very fast.

Fashion Plate before the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes, for three-year-old fillies. 

Sweet Whiskey before the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes. She'd come in second behind Sweet Reason.

Calvin at the paddock, with those ivy-covered Belmont walls in the background.

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance had a large set-up, which included green screen photographs with California Chrome, plus these I SUPPORT OTTBS bracelets for free. 

A gorgeous TAA Thoroughbred Incentive Program ribbon decorates a drab steel support in the grandstand.

Quotes from Todd Pletcher and Mark Taylor at the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance booth.

The other racecourse. We saw this sign walking to the Queens Village train station, after it was evident we weren't going to catch a train anytime soon at the Belmont Park station.

 And so ended our Belmont adventure. It was a little too full of boozing college students to really be enjoyable, putting the Belmont on par with those combination drinking holidays/horse races Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.

In other news, Ambition, my eventing novel, has been out since May 20th, and the reviews have been stellar. Jane Badger, best known for her pony book site JaneBadgerBooks.co.uk, reviewed Ambition here, saying "In Jules Natalie Keller Reinert has created a barbed-wire heroine."

At the Equine Insider, where there is also a lovely review, I gave a 5 Questions interview, talking about writing equestrian novels and training horses.

And at Horse Junkies United, the reviewer calls for a sequel (and she's not the first!). I never planned a sequel for Ambition, but this review makes me consider the possibility.

Ambition is available on Amazon, BN.com, Kobo, and iTunes, with a paperback available by mid-June.

And Alex and Alexander fans have something to look forward to: I'm well into Turning For Home, the next novel in the series, and we should see it available before autumn!