North American breeding is all about speed and not stamina and horses are babied, skip big amounts of time - almost like boxers. In many ways the Triple Crown is an anachronism but I wouldn't change anything about it. It's not supposed to happen for normal horses. It's reserved for the greatest of the great.Ed Hillel said:
2014 Horse Racing and Triple Crown Thread
- Thread starter WayBackVazquez
- Start date
I just looked at the 1973 Triple Crown races. Only two horses ran each race (Secretariat and Sham). The fields were 13 (Kentucky), 6 (Preakness), and 5 (Belmont) respectively.
So, this isn't seemingly a new issue. It only makes it more special when someone wins them all.
So, this isn't seemingly a new issue. It only makes it more special when someone wins them all.
Check out the part before the end, where he says "Carol!" in the middle of the interview. He stutters because she is grabbing him or pinching him. He turns around suddenly, it's unclear if he knocked her arm away. But she's clearly doing something physical to him during the interview to try to get him to stop his rant, and he was having none of it.gaelgirl said:
Fuck Bob Costas for bringing up the rant of Chrome's owner in the winner's circle.
Total lack of class, rivaling that of Chrome's owner.
Total lack of class, rivaling that of Chrome's owner.
Why so many winners in the 30s and 40s though? Nearly every other year there was a Triple Crown winner then.Greg29fan said:
Deathofthebambino said:
For the 1970s winners, it was always less than half the field that ran all 3 races. The field tended to be smaller.
When Secretariat won Belmont, only he and Sham had raced in the Preakness. 2 of the other horses had been in the Derby, one in neither.
When Seattle Slew ran, Sir Sir and Run Dusty Run ran all 3 races. 1 other was in the Derby, 1 in the Preakness, 3 in neither.
When Affirmed won, only he and Alydar had raced in both other races. 1 other was in the Preakness, 2 had been in neither.
Lot of reports that California Chrome grabbed a quarter ("To strike the side of a front foot with a hind foot. This is racetrack jargon that would be expressed more clearly by saying that the horse overstepped or overreached and cut himself; reserve grabbed a quarater for direct quotes.") leaving the starting gate.
It's something that is painful for the horse and would explain his lack of punch in the lane.
It's something that is painful for the horse and would explain his lack of punch in the lane.
Barbara Livingston, who is a terrific photographer, had a shot of the injury.
https://twitter.com/DRFLivingston/status/475446117409095680
https://twitter.com/DRFLivingston/status/475446117409095680
Yep--not even his own misstep.Greg29fan said:
https://twitter.com/DRFLivingston/status/475445791620747264
Yea just talked to my old roomate who went. They had to take a gypsie can you Manhattan after waiting for hours trying till do the LIRR or a cab. They didn't get to Manhattan until about 1130Greg29fan said:
Was out in Vegas for the race and cleaned up on the Belmont. I had a .50 tri box with medal count tonalist and commissioner which paid $1693 and also added chrome and wicked strong and commanding curve to a .10 super box and got the advantage of the dead heat for 4th....I had both horses in my super box so I got paid off on both. Also hit tonalist across the board and had commissioner across the board. 150 dollars worth of bets returned $2835. A very very good day
http://news.msn.com/pop-culture/california-chrome-owner-continues-attack-on-rules
Coburn still won't let up on the rules. According to this article, the trainer said the rules have been the same for 150 years. Coburn should stop and think that if the rules are changed, a triple crown wouldn't be nearly as rare or special. His horse wouldn't have gotten nearly as much attention if a triple crown winner came along every five years or so.
Coburn still won't let up on the rules. According to this article, the trainer said the rules have been the same for 150 years. Coburn should stop and think that if the rules are changed, a triple crown wouldn't be nearly as rare or special. His horse wouldn't have gotten nearly as much attention if a triple crown winner came along every five years or so.
There are no "rules" that govern the Triple Crown. There are three races; each has different entry requirements. The Derby is limited to 20 entrants, and the ranking of those entrants comes in to play every year these days because owners want to be part of the Derby festivities. The Preakness is limited to 14, which occasionally comes into play--the Belmont probably has a limit, but it's the only mile and a half classic left in American dirt racing and I can't remember a time that entrants were squeezed out.stp said:
Each race has a different challenge. The Derby distance of a mile and a quarter is often a new test for these horses, and they are relatively young to face it--though it's true that many more TBs are born in January in the modern era, Man O'War's owner famously skipped the Derby because he felt it was too early to run a three-year-old a mile and a quarter. Especially with fields over 15 horses, a lot of horses who qualified for and ran in the Derby sit out the Preakness and Belmont after running poorly or running to exhaustion (often with poor trips or injuries). Two weeks later you come back with a shorter race, but usually some fresh foes (there's almost always a horse who loves Pimlico and a horse whose Derby plans were derailed due to injury or illness, at minimum), Then three weeks later, the Belmont, with a significant increase in distance (to a mile and a half), and not incidentally to a much larger track (there are some illuminating graphics in this Bloodhorse piece). And the Belmont almost always has a few horses primed for that distance, who simply weren't rushed into the Triple Crown trail. Each of these races is a classic in its own right; winning all three is, and should be, a truly extraordinary achievement. It makes zero sense to suggest that horses ought to have to qualify for the whole series.
Joe Posnanski wrote a great piece on this.
If you've never watched the full 1973 Belmont, you should. (And really you should go to the Paley Center in NY and watch the entire broadcast, including the part where the commentators question whether Secretariat can get the mile and a half.)
(Full disclosure: somewhere in a closet in my house is the poster I made of clippings of Seattle Slew.)
Nice post, sittingstill. Thanks for taking the time to put that together. I'm old enough to remember Secretariat, and that impressive Belmont win. I also remember the back to back Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Affirmed in '77/'78. Three Triple Crowns in 6 years and then none since.
... and I'm still sad remembering Ruffian, Timely Writer and Barbaro.
... and I'm still sad remembering Ruffian, Timely Writer and Barbaro.
My parents were at that Belmont. My mom isn't a big racing fan, but she still talks about Secretariat in almost religious terms.
sittingstill said:
Not to mention that the entire foundation of thoroughbred racing is built on the risk/reward analysis of owners choosing which races to enter their horses in. The point is to maximize lifetime earnings of your horse. They entered CC in the Belmont because of the incalculable reward that would come from winning the Triple Crown. They could have run him in the Met Mile; they could have rested him and run him on a full tank in July. They went after their best chance at a payday, just like the owners who kept their horses out of the Derby or Preakness did.
Also, he's made the obligatory nationally-televised apology.
Wes Welker's 4-year-old gelding Undrafted won the fourth race in the undercard at Belmont on Saturday. He has now earned $362,000 in his career. Welker bought him for $50k in 2011.
Thank you for posting all this. As a complete novice it was very helpful.sittingstill said:
"He is moving like a tremendous machine" IMO is a Top 5 ever off-the-cuff sporting event call. Just a fantastic summary of that race.
I was at Santa Anita today.. Not much interesting except watching a Baffert-trained 3-year-old filly, Jojo Warrior dominate the Summertime Oaks by over 5 lengths.
As had been rumored recently in the media, the sites for the next three Breeders' Cups have bee announced as:
2015: Keeneland
2016: Santa Anita
2017: Del Mar
2015: Keeneland
2016: Santa Anita
2017: Del Mar
WayBackVazquez said:
I said I'd update, so...Went to the track last Saturday for the Gold Cup. Won a few bucks, and picked up my owner's license, which was pretty cool.
Goose Bumps has worked seven times now since she's been in California, and she's healthy, which is the most important thing. She's gone 4 furlongs her last four times out, and is still on schedule for Del Mar in August. She ran with blinkers on for the first time yesterday and did 4f in 48.40, 3 of 17, which was her best performance yet. The trainer thinks because she's leggy, she's going to do better at the longer distances, so she may debut at 6f.
While we're giving updates, one of my horses, Fusaichi Red, did her fourth workout last week and went 3f in 36.44 and was 1/9 that day at Saratoga. Her best showing so far. Another one, Twist 'n Bake, is also coming along well, while Maddizaskar has yet to put in an official work, but she is much bigger than the other two, so we expected that she would be a bit slower to get going than the other two in her training.
Great to read about your fillies! Steve Haskin has written a couple of nice pieces about tremendous fillies in the last week over at the BloodHorse:
It All Started With Dahlia
Remembering Allez France
A 'Nasty' Challenge For Ruffian
And because Joe Castiglione's how-can-this-be-happening voice is particularly strong tonight: one of the most stunning performances ever by a two-year old (listen as Arazi takes the race to Bertrando... briefly).
(cued to race start)
http://youtu.be/mYIQttbYOOs
It All Started With Dahlia
Remembering Allez France
A 'Nasty' Challenge For Ruffian
And because Joe Castiglione's how-can-this-be-happening voice is particularly strong tonight: one of the most stunning performances ever by a two-year old (listen as Arazi takes the race to Bertrando... briefly).
(cued to race start)
http://youtu.be/mYIQttbYOOs
Goose Bumps worked from the gate for the first time this week. She broke well and got her gate card. She'll make the trip down to Del Mar next week after her work on Wednesday.
Good luck to you and Goose Bumps WBV. Going to be cool stuff when our horses start racing for real.
Good to hear. Not that I need an excuse, but I definitely plan on heading over to Del Mar on her race day. Enjoying all your updates.WayBackVazquez said:
Our trainer just sent out an email to the partners saying he might have found a race for one of our horses, Fusaichi Red, on Monday. A $75,000 maiden claimer at Saratoga, I believe. Pretty excited.
Deathofthebambino said:
Fantastic. At Saratoga? Let us know when it's finalized, and I'll make sure to tune in.
Yep, definitely at Saratoga. Just not sure if she's going to get into the race or not, but we should have a final answer tomorrow. The owner of the stable and my friend (his son, and the reason I partnered up with them) will be down there, so I'm considering taking a quick trip down if the work schedule permits. I'm not expecting much, given its her first time out, but I'm really excited nonetheless. Back on June 25th, she had a great workout, and then she did two breezes from the gate since then. The times were nothing to write home about, but apparently, she seemed to take to the gate really well, so the trainer feels as though she's ready for the real thing.
Twist 'n Bake is getting better with each workout and is probably going to do her first workout from the gate in the next week or so, while the third horse, Maddizaskar, who I've started calling "Big Fattie" still hasn't put in an official workout, but is slowly coming along. Slowly being the operative word. She's also about a month and a half younger than the other two horses, so coupled with her size, it's not alarming yet.
Twist 'n Bake is getting better with each workout and is probably going to do her first workout from the gate in the next week or so, while the third horse, Maddizaskar, who I've started calling "Big Fattie" still hasn't put in an official workout, but is slowly coming along. Slowly being the operative word. She's also about a month and a half younger than the other two horses, so coupled with her size, it's not alarming yet.
So, Goose Bumps has had a couple of uninspired works the last two weeks. Wednesday she went 5 furlongs from the gate in 1:02.40 (19 of 23 at the distance). I guess she was pretty slow out of the gate, but powered home pretty well. Most alarming to me was that she bled slightly afterward, but the trainer assures me it's not a big deal that will be treated with antibiotics and she shouldn't miss any time. The tentative plans are to enter a 6 furlong claiming race on August 8th at Del Mar. Because it's a claimer, we'll have to have a vote before we enter that one.
Also, another horse in my from my partnership group I've been kicking myself for not getting in on is running in the first at Del Mar tomorrow.
Off the Deep End. Could have bought 20% of him last year for under $6,000. They tell me he is just killing it. He'll win by 4 lengths tomorrow.
Off the Deep End. Could have bought 20% of him last year for under $6,000. They tell me he is just killing it. He'll win by 4 lengths tomorrow.