Horse Racing: The Rich Get Richer

The first time that Trainer Carl Hanford saw Kelso, the walnut gelding seemed hardly worth a glance: he had won only one race and $3,380. Last week—four years, 28 victories and $1,411,817 later—Kelso paraded to the post at Aqueduct, the 1-4 favorite to win the H-mi. Woodward Stakes. At six, when most thoroughbreds are munching blue grass in retirement, the great-grandson of Man o' War was still running for his dinner, looking for his seventh stakes victory in a row.

Kelso's record was enough to scare off most opponents: only five horses...