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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. -- There is a lot going on for the racing fan and bettor this weekend. California Chrome, Horse of the Year in 2014, makes his first U.S. start since his powerful victory in the Dubai World Cup last March in Saturdays San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. This is also the first weekend of racing of the year at Saratoga, the biggest annual race meet in North America, and where the brilliant and undefeated Songbird, the leader of a terrific crop of 3-year-old fillies, makes her first East coast start in Sundays Coaching Club American Oaks.And thats just for starters.Yes, there is a lot of big racing stuff going on this weekend. But no matter how busy the game might make you over the next few days, it would be only right if you carved out a moment at some point and said a quiet thank you in appreciation for Steve Crist.Heres why: Crist, who retired Wednesday as an executive and columnist for Daily Racing Form, did much during a 35-year career in racing to improve various aspects of the game. But where Crist really left an indelible mark was in matters concerning the horseplayer, enriching our experiences in ways you might not be aware of, or have imagined. And this holds true no matter which way you engage in racing this weekend, whether it be at the track, or at a simulcast facility, or betting in your underwear from your living room.Consider the DRF past performances you use to handicap. Significant aspects of the pps everyone is now so familiar with were fashioned by a small group of people led by Crist in an office on Hudson St. in Manhattan in early 1991, weeks before these remade past performances were to debut in The Racing Times, for which Crist was founding editor-in-chief.The Beyer Speed Figures, which have become such an indispensible handicapping tool, were first made available to the public in the past performances in Crists Racing Times.You know that career box in the upper right hand corner of the past performance cut, the little area that packs a wealth of extremely useful information? The foundation of the career box was born under Crists supervision at The Racing Times.We now almost take for granted the italicized horse name in the past performance company line denoting a next out winner, which might suggest a given race was unusually productive. That innovation came after Crist took over stewardship of Daily Racing Form in 1998.Are you a user of Formulator, DRFs criminally underappreciated and incredibly rich past performance program? Formulator came to life (under a different name) way back in 1992 under the nurturing of Crist, the late Dave Ward, and one other character currently typing this, and was introduced for public consumption after Crists group took control of DRF.Do you like to buy your DRF past performances, Formulator or the classic version, online? Do you recognize the tremendous convenience that option offers? Steve Crist also made that happen for you.How about that simulcast signal you watch? Nothing resembling it existed until Crist, in his stint as Vice President of the New York Racing Association in the mid 1990s, introduced full card simulcasting, in-home race feed, and all day, race-to-race handicapping analysis. Really. Its hard to remember because the video presentation of racing that now feels like it has been around forever did not exist B. C. (before Crist). And his template has since been copied by every other racetrack on the continent.Steve Crist retired this week, and while those of us lucky enough to know him are happy hes happy, we also know this game we love now has a large void that cannot be replaced. It is astonishing how much better thoroughbred racing is for Steve Crists contributions, and the fear is it will take a long time for racing to unearth a forward thinker anywhere near his league.So that is why it is only right to say, Thank you, Steve. For everything. Luke Farrell Jersey . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Danny Santana Rangers Jersey . 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Sam Houston State coach K.C. Keeler added another achievement to his résumé Wednesday, winning the Eddie Robinson Award honoring the FCS coach of the year.By directing the No. 1 Bearkats to an unbeaten regular season, Keeler narrowly edged out The Citadels Brent Thompson among 15 finalists representing all 13 FCS conferences. Voting was conducted by a national panel of more than 150 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries.Its a great honor to receive an award named after one of the legendary coaches in the history of college football, said Keeler, who has won a national championship and has more than 200 victories over his 23-year career. I know Coach Robinson and my college coach, Tubby Raymond, had a relationship, and I know Coach Raymond loved telling stories about Coach Robinson because I know the respect that he had for Coach Robinson.Keeler oversaw one of the most dominant regular seasons in recent memory, with the Bearkats outscoring their 11 opponents by a 596-2285 margin behind one of the most productive offenses in FCS history.dddddddddddd That was followed with a 41-36 win over Chattanooga in the second round of the playoffs as quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe -- one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award -- threw five touchdown passes to set the subdivisions single-year record with 57.Sam Houston State leads the FCS with averages of 53.1 points and 570.4 total yards -- both school records -- and ranks second in passing offense (385.8 YPG).Keeler attained a significant milestone as well, earning career win No. 200 during the Bearkats 63-28 rout of rival Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 1 to become the ninth-fastest coach to reach the mark across all levels. Thirty-seven of those victories have come in NCAA postseason games, and his 18-5 record in the FCS playoffs stands as the highest winning percentage among all active coaches with at least 15 games. ' ' '