(1) Racing to Get NYRA Back on Track: As Saratoga Meet Begins, the Future Remains Muddled (WSJ)

“Belmont itself is no Barclays Center, but it’s hardly the dirty ashtray that is Aqueduct. The problem is that Belmont was built to fit nearly 100,000 people. On Belmont Stakes day, it works. On a regular day, it feels like an airplane hangar. Could Belmont be renovated to be smaller and more modern? Yes, especially with the possibility of a soccer stadium for the New York Cosmos across the way in Elmont, N.Y. But in that case, what’s the point of Aqueduct?”

(2) Brompton boss: The bike-maker who disproved the doubters (BBC)

(3) Best Colored Glass Pitchers: Even the ants will swoon when you set these pretty tinted pitchers on your patio table (WSJ)

From the ‘Son of a Florist’ files…

(4) A Flower Arrangement Inspired by a Gauguin Painting: Floral designer Lindsey Taylor channels the lazy, hazy sensuality of a Post-Impressionist classic (WSJ)

(4a) From the Limestone Archives: Flowers in NYC

(5) American Modern: Hopper to O’Keeffe at the MoMA from August 17, 2013 – January 26, 2014

(5a) A New Look at American All-Stars (WSJ – Registration Required)

“On Aug. 17, the museum will take a more traditional tack with “American Modern: Hopper to O’Keeffe,” a 150-work survey of the 20th-century artistic canon.

The curators’ choices, known and unknown, collectively chronicle a nation surging toward factories and skyscrapers even as its people feel ambivalent about doing so. From Florine Stettheimer’s white wicker-framed “Family Portrait II” (1933) to Jacob Lawrence’s more dour 1940s “Migration Series” labor scenes, the panorama remains as complex as ever. The show is up through Jan. 26.”