Going off as the overwhelming favorite in the short field of four, Life Is Good broke fastest from the gate, going out to a one-length lead over Chance It in the race's opening strides. On the Belmont backstretch, the favorite ran easily on the front, with second-choice Chance It stalking, but, midway down the backstretch, Manny Franco on Chance It pulled up, leaving the race with three horses to complete the contest.

It was no contest from gate to wire for Life Is Good. On the far turn, he drifted out a bit from the rail, but had no trouble straightening out to hold off Fort Peck and Doubly Blessed in the stretch. Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. asked the favorite to kick away early, putting five lengths between him and the rest of the field before wrapping up on Life Is Good and finishing 5 1/2 lengths in front at the wire.

The final time for the one-mile G2 Kelso Handicap was 1:34.37. Find this race's chart here.

Life Is Good paid $2.10 and $2.10. Fort Peck paid $6.10.

“He's been training super and we were looking forward to getting him going again. I thought he was very impressive,” trainer Todd Pletcher said after the Kelso. “I left it in Irad's [Ortiz, Jr.] hands. We weren't going to send him away from there, but it looked on paper like he was the main speed. What we were focused on was getting him to settle a little bit, stay on the rail and relax. I thought he did that beautifully today.”

“He's a nice horse. He went fast and he kept going. He did everything smooth and easy,” Ortiz, Jr. told the NYRA Press Office after the race. “As soon as I asked him, he took off. He responded really well.”

Owned by China Horse Club and WinStar Farms and trained by Todd Pletcher, Life Is Good is a 3-year-old colt by Into Mischief out of the Distorted Humor mare Beach Walk. Bred by Gary and Mary West Stables, he was purchased by China Horse Club and Maverick Racing from Paramount Sales for $525,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. With his Kelso victory, Life Is Good has four wins in five starts lifetime.

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Life Is Good, trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, arrives at the Kelso off a sharp runner-up effort to Jackie's Warrior in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial on Aug. 28 at Saratoga Race Course. The son of leading sire Into Mischief posted swift fractions in the seven-furlong event before engaging in a dramatic stretch duel with Jackie's Warrior, which saw Life Is Good miss by a neck.

Life Is Good entered the H. Allen Jerkens off a six-month layoff from wins at Santa Anita Park over eventual Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit in both the Grade 3 Sham on Jan. 2 and the Grade 2 San Felipe on March 6 for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Life Is Good breezed a half-mile in 48.46 on the Belmont dirt training track on Sept. 22.

“He ran a giant race off the layoff and has trained well since then,” said Pletcher, whose previous Kelso coups came with Uncle Mo [2011], Graydar [2013] and Anchor Down [2016]. “He's an enthusiastic horse to train. In both works he was well in hand, especially in his last breeze. He kind of fools you watching him. He doesn't look like he's going that fast, but then he gallops out in 1:25 and change.”

Pletcher credited his team as well as the crew at WinStar Farm for an excellent job preparing Life Is Good for his Saratoga return.

“Everyone did a great job bringing him back,” Pletcher said. “He did a lot of training at Keeneland and trained extremely well at Saratoga. He's just a very talented horse so I was not surprised he had run so well off the bench. It was an ambitious goal to run in a Grade 1, but he's a very talented horse and ran terrific. He came out of it well and has continued to train great.”

Pletcher said a solid effort from Life Is Good on Saturday would likely result in a trip to Del Mar for the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on November 6.

“Right now we're thinking about the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Obviously, we need to run here and assess how he does, but that's what we're thinking at the moment,” Pletcher said. “He certainly trains like a horse that's capable of running further and hopefully that's the case down the road.”

Life Is Good brags a record of 4-3-1-0 and field-best earnings of $374,200.
Bred in Kentucky by Gary and Mary West Stable, Life Is Good is out of the Distorted Humor mare Beach Walk.

Jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., who piloted Vyjack to victory in the 2014 Kelso, will climb aboard Life Is Good for the first time from post 2.

Shooting Star Thoroughbreds' Chance It arrives off a third-place finish to talented sprinters Yaupon and Firenze Fire in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Forego on August 28 at Saratoga.

The Saffie Joseph, Jr.-trained son of Currency Swap made his first start outside his native Florida in the Forego, where he rated a close third to the inside of the top two finishers, dropped to fifth around the far turn, but re-established position to complete the trifecta.

Chance It, who boasts a consistent 10-4-4-1 record, was a close second in his previous two starts this season and will be in pursuit of his first victory since capturing the Mucho Macho Man in January 2020 at Gulfstream Park.

Manny Franco has the call from post 3.

Trin-Brook Stables' Informative will attempt another graded stakes upset for trainer Uriah St. Lewis. The 4-year-old son of Bodemeister lit up the Monmouth Park tote board when capturing the Grade 3 Salvator Mile on June 12, where he went off at 79-1 odds.

Informative, who boasts two wins in five starts at the Kelso distance, will go back to one mile following unplaced efforts in the 10-furlong Grade 2 Suburban in July at Belmont Park and the nine-furlong Grade 2 Charles Town Classic on August 27.

Eric Cancel will have the call from post 4.

Flying P Stable will look to add to their string of recent upset stakes wins on the NYRA circuit when sending out last-out winner Fort Peck for trainer Robertino Diodoro. Flying P Stable's Locally Owned posted an 18-1 upset over the Diodoro-trained Lone Rock [co-owned by Flying P Stable] in Saturday's Grand Prix American Jockey Club Invitational at Belmont and Fort Peck will look to continue the trend this weekend.

A 6-year-old son of Fort Larned, Fort Peck was triumphant in his debut for Diodoro when scoring for a $50,000 tag on August 7 at Saratoga.

Ramon Vazquez will ride from post 1.

Completing the field is Three Diamonds Farm's Doubly Blessed, who will try to make amends following a distant seventh in the Forego. The son of Empire Maker will make his third start over Big Sandy following a close second to Locally Owned in an April optional claiming tilt at 1 1/16-miles, followed by a victory at the same distance in May.

Hall of Famer and four-time Kelso winning jockey Javier Castellano will ride from post 5 for trainer Mike Maker.

The Kelso is slated as Race 4 on Saturday's 11-race card, which also features the Grade 3, $200,000 Athenia for fillies and mares going nine furlongs over the inner turf in Race 10. First post is 1 p.m. Eastern.

The Kelso honors the legendary five-time Horse of the Year [1960-64] who triumphed in the Jockey Club Gold Cup in each of those years. Campaigned by Allaire du Pont's Bohemia Stable and trained by Carl Hanford, Kelso's illustrious career saw the gifted dark bay defeat more champion horses than any other thoroughbred, including Jaipur, Carry Back, Roman Brother and Bald Eagle. Kelso, who was ranked No. 4 on the Top 100 Greatest North American Thoroughbreds of the 20th Century, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1967.

America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the fall meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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Owned by CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm, the son of leading sire Into Mischief recorded his four-furlong move in :48.46 over a fast main track – the 17th fastest of 132 recorded works at the distance. This was a second work back for Life Is Good following a game runner-up effort in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, where he engaged in a dramatic stretch duel with Jackie's Warrior, coming up a neck shy of victory.

“I thought he worked super,” Pletcher said. “I was really pleased with the way he went and it looked like he was moving along there really well.”

Unbeaten in his previous three efforts, which include victories in the Grade 3 Sham and Grade 2 San Felipe at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., this winter, Life Is Good will see an increase in ground from the seven-furlong H. Allen Jerkens.

“I think it's a good progression for him coming off the layoff and the one seven-eighths race.”

Pletcher also worked three-time Grade 1-winner Malathaat Saturday, who went an easy half-mile in :49.49 over the Belmont training track in her first breeze since winning the Grade 1 Alabama on August 19 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Pletcher said the Shadwell Stable-owned daughter of Curlin will train up to the $3 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Distaff on November 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“It was her first work back and she did it well,” Pletcher said. “Her energy level is really good at the moment. We plan on training up to the Breeders' Cup.”

Also returning to the work tab for Pletcher was Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable, and Gainesway Stable's Wit, who was second after stumbling at the start of the Grade 1 Hopeful on September 6 at Saratoga.

The son of freshman stallion Practical Joke went a half-mile in :49.93 over the Belmont training track and will target the $500,000 Grade 1 Champagne on October 2 – a “Win And You're In” qualifier for the $2 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile on November 5 at Del Mar.

“He worked well,” Pletcher said. “Hopefully, we get a little cleaner break this time. It certainly hurt his chances, he fell on his head leaving there, but I thought he ran on courageously after that.”

Pletcher said Bass Stables homebred Annapolis, who broke his maiden on debut going two turns over Saratoga's inner turf by 4 ½ lengths, will target the $200,000 Grade 2 Pilgrim on October 3 at Belmont Park.

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Owned by Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables, Complexity earned a career-best 110 Beyer for his prominent score in the one-turn mile Kelso in which he got the jump on multiple Grade 1-winner Code of Honor, who had to settle for second.

Brown said Complexity will now point to the two-turn Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, although he will also nominate the 4-year-old Maclean's Music colt to the six-furlong Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“He ran super yesterday,” said Brown. “I'm pointing him towards the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. I think six furlongs might be a little quick for him, but I'll keep him eligible for both races.”

A five-time winner from nine starts, Complexity captured the 2018 Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont and was runner-up in the Grade 1 Forego on August 29 contested during a rainstorm over a sloppy and sealed Saratoga main track.

Michael Dubb, Head of Plains Partners, Robert LaPenta and Bethlehem Stables' Uni earned a 99 Beyer in her successful title defense in the Grade 1 First Lady at Keeneland. The 6-year-old More Than Ready chestnut overtook stablemate Newspaperofrecord in deep stretch to secure her fourth career Grade 1 win with a one-length score over Beau Recall, who nosed out Newspaperofrecord for place.

Brown said Uni will return to Belmont to prepare to defend her title in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Mile against the boys on Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

“Uni ran really well and we'll bring her back here to train up to the final start of her career in the Breeders' Cup Mile,” said Brown. “Hopefully, she can defend her title.”

Klaravich Stables' Newspaperofrecord, who captured the 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, has enjoyed a productive 4-year-old campaign with wins in the Grade 3 Intercontinental on June 6 and the Grade 1 Longines Just a Game on June 27, both at Belmont.

Brown said the Irish-bred daughter of Lope de Vega could target the Grade 1 Matriarch, a one-mile turf test on November 29 at Del Mar.

“Newspaper will come back here and I'll talk to Seth Klarman about if we want to run her one more time or not this year,” said Brown. “If we do, it would be in the Matriarch. We could just rest her.”

Brown said Newspaperofrecord is likely to return to the races as a 5-year-old.

“I would say probably if she is in good health we'd like to run her another year,” said Brown.

Brown breezed a number of upcoming stakes starters on the Belmont inner turf on Sunday morning, including the Peter Brant-owned 2018 Champion Turf Female Sistercharlie, who went five-eighths in 1:02.88.

The breeze took place less than an hour before the Brant-owned Sottsass, Sistercharlie's 4-year-old half-brother by Siyouni, captured the prestigious Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp. Sottsass is trained by Jean-Claude Rouget.

“I'm so happy for Peter,” said Brown. “It's a race he's wanted to win for a long time. He kept him over there this year to point for that race and I'm so happy that it worked out. It's an incredible family.”

Both Sistercharlie, a seven-time Grade 1-winner, and Sottsass are out of the Galileo mare Starlet's Sister, who also produced the Group/Graded winner My Sister Nat, a 5-year-old Acclamation mare who captured the Grade 3 Waya in August for Brown and Brant.

Sistercharlie, who ran third in both the Grade 2 Ballston Spa and Grade 1 Diana this summer at Saratoga, will look to secure the first win of her 6-year-old campaign in Saturday's 10-furlong Grade 1, $250,000 Flower Bowl which offers a berth in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf in November at Keeneland.

“The breeze went good,” said Brown. “She's running back into form. Her last race was an acceptable one. She got a late start this year but I think she'll run well.”

Sistercharlie is likely to square off with stablemates Cambier Parc and Nay Lady Nay in the Flower Bowl.

OXO Equine's multiple Grade 1-winner Cambier Parc worked five furlongs in 1:01.40 Sunday on the Belmont inner turf.

“She breezed good. She'll run in Flower Bowl,” said Brown.

The Medaglia d'Oro bay, out of Canada's 2007 Horse of the Year Sealy Hill, captured the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks and Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup last year in a sophomore campaign that also included wins in the Grade 3 Wonder Again at Belmont and the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride at Gulfstream Park.

First Row Partners and Hidden Brook Farm's Irish-bred Nay Lady Nay, a multiple graded-stakes winning 4-year-old daughter of No Nay Never worked a half-mile in 49 flat on Saturday on the Monmouth Park main track.

Nay Lady Nay made the grade last year in the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere at Churchill Downs and on July 18 added the Grade 3 Matchmaker at Monmouth to her ledger.

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Complexity, a 4-year-old colt by Maclean's Music bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, was timed in 1:33.82 on a fast track, carrying 119 pounds, five fewer than Code of Honor. He is trained by Chad Brown and was ridden to victory by Jose Ortiz.

He paid $3.80 as the favorite.

Complexity broke on top in the one-turn mile but Ortiz allowed Endorsed to set the early pace, going the opening quarter mile in :23.30 and the half in :46.61. Complexity moved up alongside Endorsed approaching the quarter pole, six furlongs timed in 1:10.05, easily putting away that rival and gearing up for the expected stretch run of Code of Honor.

Last year's G1 Travers winner, Code of Honor, trailed the field early under Javier Castellano, moved up to make a three-wide bid on the turn, but never could catch Complexity, who widened his advantage in the final sixteenth of a mile.

Complexity won his first two starts as a 2-year-old, a maiden race at Saratoga and the G1 Champagne at Belmont, then finished 10th behind Game Winner in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs. He returned the following June, finishing last of 11 runners in the G1 Woody Stephens, then went to the sidelines again until late November, winning an allowance race/optional claimer at Aqueduct.

Following a fourth-place finish last Dec. 28 in the G1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita, Complexity was given more time off, coming back to win an allowance/optional claiming race at Belmont Park July 2. then was nipped at the wire by Win WIn Win in the G1 Forego at Saratoga in his most recent start.

Complexity's record now stands at five wins and one second from nine starts.

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The Kelso is one of five graded races on Saturday's card which includes the Grade 1, $250,000 Belmont Derby Invitational, a 10-furlong turf test offering a berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf; the Grade 1, $250,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at 12 furlongs on the turf for 3-year-olds and up; the Grade 2, $150,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap at 6 ½-furlongs for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up; and the Grade 2, $150,000 Pilgrim for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16-miles on the turf.

Code of Honor enjoyed a tremendous sophomore campaign, capturing the 10-furlong Grade 1 Runhappy Travers at Saratoga ahead of a dramatic stretch duel with Vino Rosso in the 10-furlong Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup in which Code of Honor was elevated to victory. A standout 2019 season included graded scores in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park and the Grade 3 Dwyer at Belmont, the latter following a game effort in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, where the talented chestnut was elevated to second.

Following a brief freshening, Code of Honor has breezed five times, including a half-mile effort in 48.45 seconds Monday on Big Sandy. McGaughey said the colt is training forwardly as he prepares for the second half of his 2020 campaign.

“He's doing really well and has trained well into this,” said McGaughey.

McGaughey, who won the 1993 Kelso with Hall of Famer Lure, said he preferred to bring Code of Honor back at a shorter distance rather than defend his title in the Grade 1, $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup on October 10.

“After the Whitney I had to start over with him, so this is the restart,” said McGaughey. “I don't want to run him a mile and a quarter after I backed off on him.”

Code of Honor will exit post 5 under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, taking over from Hall of Famer John Velazquez, who will be piloting Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner Authentic in the Grade 1 Preakness at Pimlico.

Godolphin homebred Endorsed sports a record of four wins and three seconds from 11 starts as he looks for his first career stakes score for Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott.

The regally bred Medaglia d'Oro colt, out of the 2012 Grade 1 Gazelle-winner Dance Card, opened his 4-year-old campaign in January with an optional claiming score at Gulfstream Park for former conditioner Kiaran McLaughlin. Following a fifth in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in March, Endorsed was transferred to the care of Mott and promptly won an optional-claiming tilt traveling 1 1/16-miles on May 2 at Oaklawn Park.

Endorsed proved stubborn down the lane with a prominent trip to be second in the Grade 3 Westchester ahead of a seventh in the Grade 1 Runhappy Met Mile. Last out, the versatile bay completed the exacta behind Spinoff in the restricted nine-furlong Alydar on August 9 at Saratoga.

Mott, in search of his first Kelso win, said Endorsed will appreciate the turn back in distance.

“I think the one-turn mile is good for him,” said Mott. “I think that he's effective from a mile to a mile and a quarter, but he seemed to run real good here in the one-turn mile and a sixteenth in the Westchester.”

Junior Alvarado will have the call from post 3.

Klaravich Stables' lightly raced Grade 1-winner Complexity will look to give four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown a second Kelso score following Patternrecognition's winning effort in 2018.

The 4-year-old Maclean's Music bay won the 2018 Grade 1 Champagne at second asking at Belmont but was tenth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile to complete the campaign. Complexity made three sophomore starts with an optional-claiming score on Big Sandy sandwiched between off-the-board efforts in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens at Belmont and the Grade 1 Malibu in December at Santa Anita.

Complexity kicked off his 4-year-old season with a smart 2 ¼-length score over Win Win Win in an optional-claiming mile on July 2 at Belmont, but had to settle for second to that same rival last out in the Grade 1 Forego contested through a rainstorm over a sloppy Saratoga main track on August 29.

Complexity will emerge from post 4 under Jose Ortiz.

Long Lake Stable's Stan the Man, trained by John Terranova, scratched out of last Saturday's six-furlong Grade 2 Vosburgh to enter the one-turn mile Kelso. Although cross-entered in Saturday's Grade 3 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash, he will compete at Belmont this weekend.

A veteran of 24 career starts, the Broken Vow chestnut boasts a record of 7-7-2 and enters from a last-to-first score in the restricted Tale of the Cat at six furlongs on August 20 at the Spa.

Stan the Man, who won the 2019 Queens County at the Big A, will be in search of a first graded stakes score in his fourth attempt. The gelding was sixth in the 2018 Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct; a front-running second in the 2019 Grade 3 Westchester at Belmont; and fifth in the 2019 Grade 2 True North.

Eric Cancel, aboard for the Cigar Mile effort, will guide Stan the Man from post 2.

Ron Paolucci Racing's Mo Dont No, a 7-year-old Ohio-bred son of Uncle Mo who is cross-entered in Friday's Grade 2 Phoenix at Keeneland, will instead make his New York debut in his 45th career start.

Trained by Anthony Quartarolo, the multiple stakes-winning Mo Dont No boasts a record of 20-10-3 with purse earnings in excess of $1 million. Two starts back, Mo Dont No captured the Governor's Buckeye Cup for the third time when traveling 10 furlongs against fellow Ohio-breds. He enters the Kelso off a flat sixth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Charles Town Classic held August 28.

Manny Franco picks up the mount from the inside post.

The Kelso is slated as Race 8 on Saturday's 10-race program, which offers a first post of 12:40 p.m. Eastern. America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the 27-day fall meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete America's Day at the Races broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

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“I said all along after the Whitney that I was going to start all over again,” trainer Shug McGaughey said. “I thought the Kelso was a good spot to start over again, running him at a mile instead of a mile-and-a-quarter in the Gold Cup after he’s been away for 2 1/2 months. We’ll run him at the mile, see what happens and take it from there.”

McGaughey said that if Code of Honor runs well in the Kelso, he will be pointed for either the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile or the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Code of Honor was placed first in the 2019 Gold Cup after Vino Rosso (Curlin) was disqualified for interference.

Code of Honor got off to a fast start this year, winning the GIII Westchester S. June 6 at Belmont. He subsequently finished third in the GI Runhappy Metropolitan H. and, in his most recent start, fourth in the GI Whitney S.

“With him, it got all messed up because of COVID and no racing for a while,” McGaughey said. “Those races got bunched up. I probably made a mistake running him in the Metropolitan Mile. If not for COVID, I could have run him opening day at Belmont, in the Met Mile on Belmont Day and then in the Whitney in the first part of August. The spacing would have been a lot better. That wasn’t to be.”

Code of Honor worked Monday morning at Belmont, going five furlongs in 1:02.81.

“He worked good this morning,” McGaughey said. “Javier (Castellano) worked him and he came back and said that he worked really good and that there was a lot left in the tank. I’ll sharpen him up next Monday and we’ll take it from there.”

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