Putting Derby 149 into Perspective
No matter what information we take from the Kentucky Derby and what back stories we find there are always leftovers to contemplate. Here are several of these leftover thoughts that need to be mentioned before we head into the Preakness. With mostly new shooters scheduled to run at Pimlico, I will attempt on Thursday to analyze and handicap the second leg of the Triple Crown, which bears little resemblance to the Run for the Roses. We did have the second, third, and fourth-place finishers in our five-horse (cut down to four with the Skinner scratch) trifecta box. But that amounts to absolutely nothing, so we’ll try again in the Preakness. ~ Steve Haskin
Putting Derby 149 into Perspective
By Steve Haskin
Photo by Michael Clevenger and Erik Mohn/Courier Journal
All the back stories have been told and we were left with a warm feeling learning about the Venezuelan connection of Gustavo Delgado and Javier Castellano and the seemingly divine forces that brought them together on the first Saturday in May. But the real story of the 2023 Kentucky Derby was the performance of Mage and the doors he unlocked for future Derby participants.
I have no idea if Mage will win the Preakness, but at least he will be there. I was disappointed to hear that the runner-up Two Phil’s will be passing the second leg of the Triple Crown, but that is what trainer Larry Rivelli feels is best for the horse. From an outsider’s point of view, Two Phil’s went into the Derby off a six-week layoff, was rapidly improving, and in the best shape of his life. When horses get that good, history has shown us that they usually come back and run huge in the Preakness. But you have to respect his decision.
Before getting exclusively to Mage, I realize that you would be hard-pressed to find two more impressive performances in the Derby by the winner and runner-up than Secretariat and Sham, but track records and other stats aside, I have never seen two more extraordinary performances than those turned in by Mage and Two Phil’s, as both did what horses are not supposed to do.
We are all aware of what Two Phil’s accomplished in defeat by pressing a suicidal pace that cooked all those close to it and still nearly winning the race. And he had to press that pace racing between horses the length of the backstretch, which should have gotten him even more keyed up. Four of the five horses who were within two lengths of the pace after a half-mile were beaten an average of 30 lengths. Two Phil’s took the lead nearing the head of the stretch, hung on gamely when challenged by Mage, and was beaten one length. Whatever his plans are, let’s hope he can return to the form he is in now, as he has proven himself to be a remarkable horse. Although another chance to win a classic beckons on Saturday he will pass. But he sure left his mark on the Derby.
And now for Mage the Rage. Yes, he is now all the Rage. There have been Kentucky Derby winners who have won more impressively, in faster time, by bigger margins, and coming from farther back. But no one, not even eventual Triple Crown winner Justify, has ever done what he did in the manner in which he did it. Just as a reminder, no Derby winner before Justify had ever overcome the obstacles of having only three lifetime starts and not racing as a juvenile.
Not to diminish what Justify did in his historic Derby score, but he did it coming off three easy on-the-pace romps averaging 6 1/2 lengths a victory and then winning the Derby pressing a 49-1 shot over a speed-favoring sloppy track. Ironically, the runner-up in that Derby, beaten 2 1/2 lengths, was Good Magic, the sire of Mage. To add even more irony, you had Good Magic siring a Kentucky Derby winner in his first crop, with Justify, the horse who beat him in the Derby, siring the horse who finished 16th.
One can say Justify was a brilliant horse who was simply asked to be brilliant again in the Derby over a track geared toward brilliance. Mage was a horse who had no distinct running style, showing speed in his first start, stalking the pace in his second start, and coming from 12th and last in his third start, who was asked to run like a seasoned older horse and make his way through 15 horses going 1 1/4 miles with only three starts and 24 1/2 furlongs under him. He then had to catch and outrun Two Phil’s, a horse in the form of his life who had eight starts and 60 furlongs under him. Excluding Authentic’s Derby, which was run in September, Mage, despite his inexperience, still ran the fourth fastest Derby in the last 20 years. The three horses who ran faster won on or near the lead.
We still have no idea how good Mage is and how high his ceiling is. The explosive early move he made on the turn in the Florida Derby, blowing right by 2-year-old champion Forte, was something you just don’t see from a horse with only two career starts, especially in a Grade 1 race. To further demonstrate how different Mage is from other horses and how he is trained, a week before the Derby with many of the main contenders working a solid four furlongs in :48 or a fast five furlongs in :59, Mage was plodding along six furlongs in a sluggish 1:16 4/5. That likely turned a lot of people off, but the thinking by Venezuelan-born Gustavo Delgado was, if you know your horse is fast it is more important to focus on longer, stamina-building works and have him close fast and gallop out strong, which Mage did in that work.
It was Mage’s natural speed and quickness that enabled him to move out into the clear rounding the far turn by outrunning Mandarin Hero and King Russell on his outside and clearing a path for himself. That allowed him to get first jump on Angel in Empire, who was inside him, and separating himself from the favorite, who pulled out behind him but was never able to make up the ground. And this was after Mage had run his third quarter in a sprightly :23 2/5. Despite his success in the Derby, Mage might be better off using that natural speed early in the race at Pimlico, as the Preakness is not as kind to deep closers as it is in the Derby where the pace can go wild. He can’t expect to get fractions like that again.
When I mentioned earlier that Mage unlocked doors with his Derby victory I was referring to the idea that Justify’s win, in which he knocked off two big historic streaks, was considered by many as an aberration and that winning the Derby with only three career starts and no starts at 2 was still a near-impossible task. But now that Mage has duplicated that feat five years later and did it in a most unconventional manner, you can be sure those obstacles will not deter anyone and we will see more and more inexperienced horses running in the Derby. The only problem is that none likely will be able to do what Mage did leading up to and during the race.
Just touching on Forte, that was one bad week for the Derby favorite. Before he even got to Churchill Downs he lost a good deal of his supporters following the Florida Derby, in which bore no resemblance to last year’s champ until the final 100 yards. Then there were his mundane speed figures and an uninspiring pre-Derby work. Then during Derby week he takes a bad step and stumbles slightly during a gallop, which sends up more warning flares. Then he is found to have suffered foot bruise and gets fitted with a three-quarter shoe. Then he is scratched by state vets the morning of the Derby and has the horse he beat twice win the race. He then is is put on the vets list and not allowed to run in the Preakness. Soon after, it is reported that he had a positive drug test in the Hopeful Stakes eight months earlier and is disqualified from the race. So he loses one race, is not allowed to run in the race he’s been pointing for his entire career, and can not even run in a future race that would give him a chance at vindication.
Finally, even with all the late scratches in the Derby and the deaths of seven horses at Churchill Downs, we at least had a clean, exciting Derby, two extraordinary performances, and perhaps the birth of a star. The tragedies of Derby week will linger for a long time. Hopefully so will the victory of Mage.
The Sun is Still Rising
Don’t think for a second this was a bad Kentucky Derby for the Japanese. Starting with their demolition of the UAE Derby, finishing first, second, and third and Derma Sotogake’s runaway victory, to the gutsy nose defeat of Mandarin Hero in the Santa Anita Derby, the respect for the Japanese horses and horsemen continues to grow. Very often, foreign invaders who step off the plane and run huge in the States fail to remain here and duplicate that effort in their second try. And considering the bad start and early move in traffic by Derma Sotogake, his sixth-place finish in the Derby was quite respectable and he likely would have been closer with a better trip.
I remember the days of the Washington D.C. International when the Japanese sent horses with sterling credentials but were totally dismissed, with names in their pedigrees no one ever heard of. In 1969, Takeshiba-O was riding an eight-race winning streak, carrying as much as 143 pounds. In 1967, Speed Symboli went into the race having won four straight races. Even as late as 1976 their entry Fujino Pahshia, despite three wins in a row, two of them under 132 pounds, was so unknown the company line in his DRF past performances read, “Further information not available.” In short, the Japanese horses were never taken seriously and were scoffed at, as was racing in Japan.
Now, all these years later, all I can think of in my warped mind was an episode of The Twilight Zone about a disfigured woman who was undergoing one final surgery to make her look normal. At the end when her bandages are removed the doctors and nurses cringe in disgust, saying, “Oh no, it didn’t work.” Then you see her face and she is beautiful. The camera shifts to the doctors and nurses for the first time and they are all hideous looking.
What does that have to do with anything? Well, perhaps it is the Japanese horses and racing, once considered the ugly ducklings of racing, that are the beautiful ones and we are the ones who are not as beautiful as we think. They are the ones who are light years ahead of us in technology, structure, transparency, and safety, as well as how to train their horses and keep them happy by having them out of their stalls for hours at a time and getting them fit and sharp with less emphasis on speed. Also, most of their equine heroes are older horses, as ours once were before the big breeding farms reeled in the 3-year-olds with humongous dollar signs as bait. And give the Japanese credit for building the nucleus of a powerful breeding industry with the blood of American horses, just as we built ours with the blood of European horses. As a result they are winning a number of the biggest races in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, the U.S, and Australia, and only bad luck has prevented them from winning the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France. We can either stand by and just admire the Japanese and wait for another Derma Sotogake to come along with better luck and win the Kentucky Derby or follow them into the future.
The Thoroughbred Then and Now
Let’s actually go back a few years to the late sixties and early seventies to put history in proper perspective and let’s send today’s younger generation of racing fans through a time portal and see how they would react to the Derby trail and other examples of a horse’s resilience back then.
In 1968, we saw Damascus run in three 1 1/4-mile stakes in the span of 16 days, carrying 130 pounds or more in each one, concluding with a victory over Dr. Fager in the Brooklyn Handicap, in which he set a track record of 1:59 1/5 that still stands 55 years later.
In 2023, we witnessed the first three finishers of the Kentucky Derby go into the race off layoffs of five weeks, six weeks, and five weeks, which is pretty much normal. So how would today’s younger generation feel about the first three finishers of the 1969 Derby, Majestic Prince, Arts and Letters, and Dike, in order going into the race off seven days, nine days, and 14 days? Imagine the uproar if the top horses did that now. In another example of the changing times, Top Knight, the 2-year-old champion of 1968 and early Derby favorite, was virtually unbeatable in Florida, winning the Flamingo Stakes and Florida Derby by open lengths over Arts and Letters. But when his trainer Ray Metcalf said he would go straight to the Kentucky Derby off a five-week layoff, the warning flags went up that something had to be wrong with the colt. Horses who ran five weeks out generally had another race before the Derby. As a result, Top Knight did not go off as the favorite in the Derby.
Majestic Prince, who did go off as favorite, had romped by eight in the Santa Anita Derby the same day as the Florida Derby, but he came east and won the seven-furlong Stepping Stone purse in a blistering 1:21 3/5 a fifth of a second off the track record, seven days before the Derby. Arts and Letters, following a victory in the Everglades and second-place finishes in the Flamingo, Fountain of Youth, and Florida Derby, headed to Keeneland where he won the Blue Grass Stakes by 15 lengths in 1:47 4/5, two-fifths off Round Table’s track record, nine days before the Derby. Dike, after failing in Florida, came to New York and unleashed two furious stretch runs to narrowly win the Gotham and Wood Memorial before running in the Derby 14 days later.
In the Derby, only four horses dared to challenge the big four. Majestic Prince outdueled Arts and Letters the length of the stretch to win by a neck with the late-running Dike finishing a half-length back in third. As for Top Knight, the warning flags regarding his five-week layoff were real, as the champ finished out of the money in the Derby and Preakness before disappearing into obscurity, finishing out his career at tiny Narragansett Park and Lincoln Downs in Rhode Island.
And what about after the Derby? Arts and Letters was beaten in another photo by Majestic Prince in the Preakness. Despite his arduous Derby trail campaign and two gut-wrenching defeats in the Derby and Preakness, he actually ran two weeks later against older horses in the Met Mile and won easily in a blistering 1:34 flat. A week later he crushed Majestic Prince in the Belmont Stakes before going on to a Hall of Fame career, winning the Jim Dandy, Travers, Woodward, Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Grey Lag Handicap. A bowed tendon forced his retirement at 4. Dike went on at 3 to finish second and third in the Suburban and Brooklyn Handicaps against the best older horses in the country.
In 1971, little Jim French entered the grueling Triple Crown series having competed in 10 stakes at five different racetracks in a little over four months, traveling from New York to Florida, back to New York, back to Florida, to California, back to New York, and then to Kentucky. Although most horses would have been totally wiped out, Jim French went on to finish a fast-closing second to Canonero II in the Kentucky Derby, third in Canonero’s track record-breaking Preakness, and a fast-closing second in the Belmont Stakes, in which he made up more than five lengths in the final furlong to be beaten three-quarters of a length.
Instead of being given a well-earned vacation following arguably the most ambitious Triple Crown campaign ever, Jim French amazingly was back in the starting gate two weeks after the Belmont, finishing a fast-closing fourth in the one-mile Pontiac Grand Prix (formerly the Arlington Classic) at Arlington Park. Following his first three-week “vacation” since the previous November, he shipped to California, where he finished second in the 1 1/4-mile Hollywood Derby, giving the winner, Bold Reason, 13 pounds. One week later, he was back in New York, winning the 1 1/4-mile Dwyer Handicap, conceding 12-15 pounds to the rest of the field. In less than seven months, Jim French had run in 16 stakes from six furlongs to 1 1/2 miles, never finishing worse than fourth (except for his disqualification in the Everglades Stakes).
In 1973, Secretariat, following his record-breaking Triple Crown, in which he broke the track record in all three races, and an illness coming out of the Whitney that forced him to miss the Travers, set a world record in the Marlboro Cup at 1 1/8 miles, finished second in the second-fastest mile and a half ever run at Belmont in the Woodward Stakes in the slop, finishing 11 lengths ahead of future Hall of Famer Cougar II in third, and broke a turf course record in the Man o’War Stakes at 1 1/2 miles – all in the span of 23 days.
I only mention all these examples as a reminder of what the Thoroughbred is capable of, or at least was capable of before the invasion of the aforementioned dollar signs, and how sparingly he is asked to race today. Yes, times have changed. We have horses winning the Derby with only three lifetime starts, top-horses being retired at 3, and 4-year-old super horses with only six lifetime starts. We will never go back to the old days and perhaps we shouldn’t, as concern for the horse’s welfare has greatly increased, especially when it comes to aftercare. Now, racing fans have the privilege, enjoyment and satisfaction of adopting retired Thoroughbreds and giving them a second life.
We old timers who were used to seeing racehorses race just have to learn to adapt to the new racing and set new standards of greatness. But as far as the all-time greats who reside in racing’s pantheon, those gates appear to be permanently closed except to a handful of recent fillies such as Rachel Alexandra, Zenyatta, and Beholder who actually earned their entrance by racing and excelling over a period of time. Their dollar signs as broodmares are not nearly as big as those of prospective stallions. As a result, those fillies became like good friends we got to know, just as the great colts did years ago.
Changing the Triple Crown
Once again people are calling for a change to the Triple Crown, with some of the experts wanting it run the first Saturday in May, first Saturday in June, and first Saturday in July. I can’t state emphatically that will work or not work, but I do have questions.
Are we overestimating the attention span of the public? We know they can keep their interest in the Triple Crown for five weeks, but will they keep it for two months? Who knows how many recognizable names from the Derby will be in the Belmont two months later?
Will Derby winners be even more susceptible to late developing horses in early July when they are no longer in the same form they were for the Derby? There must be a reason why only three Kentucky Derby winners have won the Travers in the past 80 years.
Do conservative trainers today feel their horses can’t handle coming back in two weeks and racing three times in five weeks or are they assuming they can’t because of their conservative nature or doubt their own ability to bring a horse back in two weeks? When horses get good they usually remain in peak form for a short period of time. Do you believe a horse can keep his peak form over a two-month period or stay healthy for that long? The truth is since Carry Back in 1961, 40 percent of the Kentucky Derby winners have come back in two weeks to win the Preakness. Add the number of horses who won the first and third and second and third legs of the Triple Crown and the number of horses who win two legs of the Triple Crown swells to 60 percent. Do we believe more than 40 percent of Kentucky Derby winners will win the Preakness a month later and still be around a month after that?
I am just throwing these statistics out there and letting you come up with your own conclusions before calling for such a drastic change. If it somehow improves the Triple Crown then that’s fine. But we better be darn sure before we do it.
So here we are in 2023 with a budding star in Mage who we hardly know. We have no idea what he will accomplish or for how long we will have him. Will he become just another of our transient heroes? For now, whatever greatness there may be in the colt must resonate only in our imagination.
Racing historian, author, and award-winning retired journalist for the Daily Racing Form and The Blood-Horse, Steve Haskin was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame’s Media Roll of Honor in 2016. Known for his racing knowledge and insightful prose, he has been an exclusive contributor to Secretariat.com since 2020.
Another great column, loved the Twilight Zone reference.
Another great story by the master of stories, thank you!! There has been much talk over the years about changing the dates pro & con, I thought you made some interesting points to consider. The TC is steeped in tradition, given that, changes won’t be easy if at all.
Just read about Pimlico Barney on Steve Byk’s webpage..
What a great story!
Steve, did you ever meet him?
Loved this, Steve! Thank you! How I would enjoy seeing a Japanese California Chrome colt come here to win the Derby!!
That would be fantastic–especially if it led to Chrome returning to the States!
It is easy to look back as a younger person, and be thankful, that I experienced the 1980’s and 90’s at Santa Anita park. I was not interested in horse racing at that time, until my brother, spoke of a horse called Spectacular Bid was running not far from where we lived. He described the horse as a the fastest horse in the world, and he was running in the Santa Anita Handicap in 1980. It was terrible weather so i was not going to go, but my brother convinced me it would be worth to watch the race. Long story short, I fell in love with the Bid, and horse racing. I experienced the following great horses, John Henry, Alysheba, Ferdinand (two previous KD winners rivalry), Bayakoa, Sunday Silence, and many many more. How couldn’t anyone love this era? The Great Charles Whittingham, Bobby Frankel with the Great Europe migration to Santa Anita for turf standouts through the decades. Times have changed and very difficult to get too high about today’s horse races. I think the KD has made the point system all wrong, with no change in sight. Personally, I dont think today’s horses can hold yesteryears horses in a race, except Flightline, American Pharoah, or Justify. I was fortunate to witness those 3 horses, and hold Flightline the best and reminded me of ” the Bid”. It is a shame Flightline didnt campaign like a Secretariat or a John Henry running on turf and dirt as I believe Flightline would have destroyed horses on turf. I really lowered my expectations to this era of horses, and remember the greats I witnessed. Steve’s posts reminds me of a very pleasant time and I am appreciative.
I wish Hollywood Park was still around.
Thanks for reminiscing Jeff. Very special memories.
Joseph Saffie asked to remove his horses from Belmont by the NYRA.
Joseph currently has no horses stabled in NY.
Per a statement late today the NYRA spokeperson said 16 stalls assigned to Saffie are empty. One horse was stalled there but was taken away on May 14. The NYRA has denied asking him to remove his horses and a retraction has been written by the person or person’s who wrote the article.
The NYRA did say that the situation would be looked at as things evolve….whatever evolve means.
Blood Horse has reported that KHRC is looking at videos, photos, etc, etc regarding the deaths of the horse in Mr Saffie’s stalls at CHD.
Regardless of what is or is not truthfulness, it is another black eye on racing.
Transparency has been promised but it is not being delivered.
Will this all change on May 22 when HISA takes effect? Who knows.
I too remember the Washington D. C. Invitational (great article, by the way). I started becoming interested in racing in 1972 and was thrilled that the race was being televised. That year, if I remember, correctly, America was being represented by Big Spruce, who raced in the Derby but really came into his own in the Fall. The favorite was Dahlia, a French filly, and most of the really good horses came from Ireland, Great Britain, and France. The Japanese horses were very mediocre and, if I remember right, just wanted some representation. Now, the Japanese horses are competitive and excelling with their horses. They are spending large amounts of money to purchase some of our best horses.
What are your thoughts about Big Spruce? He never gets mentioned with the great horses in the 1970’s but I think that he was one of the greats racing during that time period.
The Washington DC International of 1973 had Dahlia, making her big move she won by three—I remember hearing it on the radio, in San Francisco, and the announcer compared Dahlia to Secretariat, she ran some terrific races that year, I saw her in person several times, after she came west to Whittingham ‘s barn…..she had a regal bearing, but she did not win very many races as she grew older….
Big Spruce wasnt a great horse boy was he tough..on grass and dirt. Chased Secretariat and Dahlia and beat Forego twice.
Lots to chew on here, Steve. After reading your thoughtful column and the many comments I find myself wondering if the breeding market may implode in on itself at some point. Such a small percentage of high-priced yearlings and 2YOs even get to the track, much less become stakes winners. It takes skill and talent to not only pick a real racehorse out of the catalog pile, but a tremendous amount of knowledge (as well as luck) to develop that horse into a graded stakes winner, and that rarity of rarities, a Kentucky Derby winner like Mage. It isn’t the price you pay for the horse, it’s what you do with the horse after he or she is in your barn.
Ms Blacktype, what really impacts the price of expensive yearlings et al is the market. A Stockmarket crash, yearlings etc drop phenomenally in value and there is a glut of stud farms on the market. You can follow the pattern from the 80s onwards. There are quite a few investors doing extremely well acquiring thoroughbreds as potential stallions, hence stud fees, at present but I doubt that’s news to anyone.
I am hoping that Gustavo Delgado’s methods of training a horse to have stamina will influence other trainers to follow suite. I read that he has had Mage gallop 1 1/2 miles in preparation for the Preakness. Mage has the speed, he’s training him to have the stamina. He doesn’t need to breeze fast as well.
And what a smart and versatile horse he is. I am looking forward to the final two legs of the Classics. And wishing Delgado and team the best of luck.
Good luck with that, I remember in 1976 Kieth Stuki attempted to train in stamina, on Ancient Title, would send him out for 9 furlong works, all it did was dull his natural speed!
Matthew W:
Delgado doesn’t always give Mage the same type of works. I believe he varies it. And Mage is given plenty of exercise. Delgado is nicknamed “The Puma” for a reason.
And don’t forget that Mage has stamina from his broodmare sire Big Brown. And he’s a fast learner like Big Brown as well.
Let’s just see what happens.
Hopefully, Mage doesn’t see the video of Bodexpress in the Preakness (when he threw Johnny V off before the starting gate).
Matthew W, really good article on Blood Horse about his training methods and his achievements in his home country.
You might also look at his work out regime on Equibase (Mage).
A horse can have the highest speed records in the world, but that is worthless if the horse does not have the stamina and endurance to carry that speed through the wire and the gallop out in a race.
That is basically what Mr Delgado is doing with Mage and all his horses.
I stand to be corrected of course, but I think that is how Lucien Laurin and other trainers from his era trained Thoroughbreds.
I’m rooting for Mage, I don’t believe you can work stamina into a horse, I think Mage has the right stuff and hope he stays fit and race ready..
LL loved speed. Tumiga, known for his speed, finished 2nd to Dr. Fager in the Withers & 3rd to Damascus in the Travers. Speedball Spanish Riddle, held the 3/4 mark of 1:08 in Saratoga for 44 years., yet managed to finished 2nd to stablemate Upper Case in Fla. Derby, equaled Hialeah’s turf mark at 1 1/16. As a footnote, he also won races on the undercard of both Riva & Secretariat’s Belmonts, both at a route. Laurin won many early 2-y-old races in NY, right off of his farm in SC. But, he also loved stamina in pedigree. He never took speed out of a horse that had it, and managed to win 2 Derbys and 3 Belmonts. The trick is….know your horse. As did many of his peers, as you stated. Imagine that, without availability of the numerous fig sheets out there today.
Terri Z, great article on Blood Horse about the Puma Method.
Thanks Lynda King, that’s a terrific article on Delgado’s training method.
Today’s thoroughbreds are not exercised, trained, or raced often enough. Keeping them in their stalls for 22 hours a day does nothing for their bone density or soundness.
Wishing for a lovely Preakness and Black Eyed Susan days of racing.
People have their favorite Preakness memories and Saturday another running of the second jewel of the Triple Crown might give others a memory to cherish.
However, the Preakness Stakes that really stands out to me, for all the wrong reasons, was in 1988. This was the race that had a rough early duel between Winning Colors and Forty Niner, whereas both horses were bumping each other dpwn the backstretch with Forty Niner on the inside of Winning Colors and appeared to carry WC wide into the far turn.
Both horses failed to finish in the top two.
That prompted The Racing Form to print a rare front page editorial entitled “The Spoiler” blaming the situation squarely on Forty Niner’s trainer…Woody Stephens-calling Stephens acts both ‘comtemptuous and dishonorable tactics’. If I remember correctly the western edition of The Racing Form had the big, bold font “Integrity”on its front page. There were no inquiries made by Pimilco at the time but the Form also said that Stephens had given the sport a ‘black eye’ and that his actions with Forty Niner was ‘totally uncalled for’.
Both Stephens and Forty Niner’s jockey, Pay Day, denied accusations with some accusing the Racing Form of being ‘mad’ because Winning Colors was a California horse and the Racing Form’s publisher was based in Los Angeles.
Then following that Preakness watching Woody Stephens walking out with his horse Cefis in the Belmont Stakes to a standing ovation.
Go figure.
Woody also said things! I thought Forty Niner DID overdo it, with the filly, but Lukas did as much or worse, to Genuine Risk, when he had Codex/Cordero herd her out, on the first turn, and I thought it was ironic that he was complaining about it being done to him..
That said, Winning Colors defeated one of the strongest Derby fields ever put together, Genuine Risk was genuine, but she beat two Cal-breds, in her Derby win….
You can read the Stephens Vs Stevens repartee spat on the race riding in that Preakness Stakes in the Los Angeles Times article:
Stephens Critical of Stevens’ Ride in Preakness : Trainer Says Jockey’s Strategy May Have Cost Winning Colors the Victory“ by Bill Christine
In brief, Gary Stevens exonerated Pat Day on the ride while blaming Woody Stephens for the nasty tactics while Woody Stephens blamed Gary Stevens on his ride. The “war of the Stephvens(s).”
It sounds like DRF was wrong, not Woody Stephens.
Being an old timer myself, I always enjoy your excursions into racing history. Seeing the greats of the mid to late 1960s in person is indelibly engraved in my brain. Dr. Fager, Damascus, Buckpasser, Graustark, Tom Rolfe, Bold Bidder, Gun Bow and Dike among others.
A few random thoughts:
There are literally dozens of reasons why horse racing is no longer as popular as it once was. Very few of those are reversible. It has become a “niche” sport and there is little likelihood of that changing. Let’s enjoy it for what it is as long as we can.
Leave the Triple Crown alone.
Flightline is the most under appreciated super star in racing history. Clearly the most talented horse ever. But the haters gonna hate and whine. Such is life.
Go Mage GO!!
Racetrack Bill, I am in agreement with you.
Yes, leave the Triple Crown alone. Is that what the sport does now, accommodate what is fashionable in the market place rather than by breeding sound horses that have stamina and can race as many times as horses did 40 -50 years ago?
Changing the Triple Crown sounds like band aid approach to me…holding these horses together with duct tape, baler twine and chewing gum until they can be retired at the end of their 3 year old career to a lucrative stud deal?
I also agree with your description of horse racing as a “niche sport”. That goes along with a comment way down from I think “Todd” that eventually there will only be a few racetracks like Saratoga and Keeneland.
Love this post! Clearly stated….Horse Racing has become so valuable on the breeding side of things…it has become too expensive to pay the insurance premiums and race—and horses like Justify and Flightline get disrespect, as if THEY made the breeding market…. just WHO would be favored, against Flightline? What all time great? Because I’ve seen them all, for 50+ years, and there aren’t many who would go off favored against that horse …
Go Mage go!
All of them. No way does he measure up to nor would he go off favored against Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, to name a few. That’s just your opinion/ hope. And you haven’t seen them all in person. BS.
I said there aren’t many who would go off favored against Flightline, and I stand by my opinion, you can stand by yours, we do not need to cry BS—turn that frown upside down, when I get to Heaven meet me at Clockers Corner, and we can see about how Flightline does against your list!
He wouldn’t have a chance going off favored. ML and public bettors would favor famous greats of the past over Flightline. Maybe you aren’t, but many horse racing fans are, very fond of those old chestnuts and bays and grays. There are probably at least 20 who’d be favored and most of them would land in the winner’s circle, against your pick.
Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed. Those names bear top billing on the race marquee that day, located at Belmont Park.
Seattle Slew seems to be under estimated by the posters on these websites, and by horse racing writers, but I’ll go with the public, he was 2nd in popularity to Secretariat in the 70’s, and to me he’s still right next to him in the pantheon. I’ll go with the public, any day, over horse bloggers. I think he would take it to Flightline the whole way, and outlast him, maybe they’re most alike.
I can name at least three
Secretariat
Dr. Fager
Spectacular Bid
Maybe throw in American Pharoah after his BC Classic win. There are a few others
Steve, as much as some of us (me personally) would like to walk into a time portal and be whisked back to a place and time we more closely identify with than the time we are living in, we know that it is not possible.
Truth is, we can never go home again.
After a particularly difficult time in my life with my horses I seriously considered selling or rehoming all of them. A very wise person told me that we have to strive to find peace and joy in what we have left.
After reading your article (for the second time today), those few words of wisdom from a friend came to mind.
As we ponder the future of horse racing in America after recent events and in this, the 50th Anniversiary of Secretariat’s Triple Crown, I actually think you and I and many others who comment here and remember the yesteryears of horse racing and all the legendary horses, trainers, owners and jockeys are the lucky ones.
It is very much akin I think to reminiscing about our childhoods and how we wish our grandchildren could have the same experiences we did.
There is always hope and we can never give up on hope. Even in the midst of all this turmoil, there will special memories to be made; Mage and of course Cody’s Wish.
Great post Lynda. Writing about those horses is cathartic for me. I need to try to balance then and now. My memories prevent me from living in just now.
Absolutely magnificent statement, Ms. King…
It can be frustrating trying to get through to younger generations the wonderful things that used to be. No matter how hard we try, we can’t make them understand, and we certainly can’t make them feel it. Our parents probably felt the same about us, but the world does seem irretrievably fractured and slight now. As you said, they can’t take away what we have. And youtube is a valuable time machine when needed.
Todd, equestrian sports are as popular as ever with our youth, it’s just that horse racing isn’t.
Most of the equestrians today are girls and women.
When I was growing up and took my horse and pony to the horseshows, it was the guys who ran barrels or rode reining horses or competed in team penning etc. Today it is the opposite, including endurance.
Women and girls have risen to the top in competition sports such as cross country, endurance, barrel racing etc.
In other countries there are a number of female jockeys as well.
Rosie Naprovnik did an interview recently and she talked about hard it was for females to break through the glass ceiling and become a jockey.
Horse racing in the United States is still very much a “good old boy” sport.
Across my lifetime I have known many accomplished female riders and more often than not they were better riders than their male counterparts.
Even female Thoroughbred trainers are somewhat frowned upon in the US.
We are seeing some progress however, several trainers have female exercise riders on their staff.
I have no explanation as to why the younger generation is not interested in horse racing in the US. They certainly are in other countries. Most of the fans for the great race mare Winx were are) women. California Chrome had and still has a huge following.
I do think however, that PETA and other animal rights extremist groups are part of the reason. Many Hollywood celebrities and entertainers are against horse racing and are among the bigger donors to these same organizations.
When Taylor Swift refuses to sing at certain horse racing venues because she finds it cruel and inhumane, then her following is going to listen to what she thinks. Same with Joaquin Phoenix who went on and on about it in one of his award acceptance speeches.
Unfortunate I think that celebrities, actors and entertainers are heroes to America’s youth.
They certainly were not mine when I was growing up; our Astronauts like John Glenn and the ones who walked on the moon were mine as was Madame Marie Curie.
Very good points, Lynda. I think the many young women who grow up with horses generally grow up to be pretty good citizens. I visit north florida regularly and several times have attended an event called St. John’s County Cracker Day, referring to a breed of horse. Several hundred girls and young women participate in barrel racing. It seems that whole families are involved in horsemanship. I am from New Jersey, but at these events, i feel like i am with my people, and i feel hopeful.
Todd, my daughter and her family live in Volusia County as does the niece of one of one of my oldest and dearest friends.
The Cracker horse has an interesting backstory and history that would make for a great movie.
Yes, you are correct, whole families are involved in horsemanship. The equestrian community is by and large a group of the most amazing people and when I am in the company of my ” horse friends” I too am most at home.
The Triple Crown is less about the number of weeks between the races than it is about bringing the best 3 year olds in training together in classic distances. The timing of 2 weeks, then 3 weeks, began in the 1930s, when it was common for TC hopefuls to race every week — or LESS. In those days, it must have seemed like a layoff to wait the 3 weeks from the Preakness to the Belmont! The current schedule is a dinosaur.
Sorry. The 5-week span began in 1969. By that time, TC hopefuls were given a bit more time between prep races, with 10 days to 14 days being the norm. Bottom line is that the Triple Crown has changed many times over the decades. It can change again.
Exactly, Roberta. Pragmatism rules, change for change for change’s sake is stupid but when there is a problem you fix it. The only things written in stone these days are gravestones.
Good points Roberta and Davids. “The only things written in stone these days are gravestones” is a great line to use when pressing for a change to the 2nd Amendment.
Nah, Dewey, just stack the Supreme Court, and it’s democratic. Lol.
In Canada Triple Crown has managed to survive monumental change over the years and even recently. The Queen’s Plate/King’s Plate around June/July for a while then settled for August, while also changing gender at the same time a few times as well, sacré bleu!!
Thank you, Steve, for another well-written essay that is full of food for thought. I am a micro shareholder in Mage, and I thank you for your kind words. I am not in favor of moving the dates of The Triple Crown. If our beloved sport is to survive, we must bring more young people into our ranks. Their attention span favors the current dates. In addition, if horse racing powers do not do more to protect the equines, those young people will leave our tent.
Go Mage!!!
Always remember, micro or not, YOU won the Derby
Great post-race analysis, Steve, and more insight into Mage. I think it takes an extraordinary horse to win the triple crown as it is today, therefore, I hope they keep the TC schedule. The schedule itself lends to today’s trainers who, because of their hesitancy to race with little time in between races, make it more likely that a triple crown champion is going to have to earn it against fresher horses and with less rest. Perhaps, with your mention of horses being run more often back in the day, the Derby-Preakness-Belmont schedule takes us back in time and gives us a glimpse of what today’s horse could really look like at its peak? American Pharoah got better with each race. Possibly Justify got better with each race but then you have War Emblem, Smarty Jones, Big Brown, others…
Today’s triple crown requires an extraordinary horse! Don’t water it down.
Thanks Tex, I couldnt agree more. Smarty actually ran a terrific race in the Belmont.
I agree that Smarty ran an excellent Belmont. Regardless of Jerry Bailey’s actions and motives, or Stewart Elliot’s decisions, i thought maybe Smarty may have been just a bit short. John Servis knows more about training than i could know in ten lifetimes, but i remember Smarty was only being ponied most days between the Preakness and Belmont. As he never ran again, i wonder if Servis was trying to nurse him through the Belmont?
Lots to think about in this article. I especially like your comments about Japanese racing. Time to sit up and take notice I believe. I always enjoy your stories of the battle worn warriors from the past. What an exciting and different time for sure. Great writing Steve!
Thank you Helena. Writing about those old-time horses is cathartic for me
Great article as always Steve. It’s sad that the dollars have almost made it impossible to really become attached as a fan to specific horses and have the rivalries between great horses similar to the major four sports. I think back to the likes of Alysheba and Bet Twice and Easy Goer and Sunday Silence as examples. Oh well, maybe Mage could be the next California Chrome and give a couple of extra years of racing instead of heading right to the breeding barn. Good Luck everyone in the Preakness! Go Mage!
Best,
Hammer
Let’s hope Hammer. Thanks.
This article deserves to be up with your finest. It encompasses all.
I did not think/believe Mage would perform as good as he did in the Derby. I was pegging him for the Haskel/Travers.
I was more on Two Phills to run like he did after all the scratches.
I am finding it hard to change my capping and better yet hard to figure the Lasix issue, some run with and some run without, and how that effects the capping.
I really enjoyed my visit to old friends. It was more than I hoped for and I met some good New friends in the staff. I recemond a visit by all.
Thank you for another great article Mr. Haskins
Thank you Eric. So glad you enjoyed your visit to Old Friends.
Great history lesson Steve. I’m an old timer also and racing has certainly changed over the years. I’ll probably read this column several more times. Really enjoyed it. Leave the triple Crown dates alone. Too much tradition to change. Would love to see more 4 year old racing. Thank you for continuing to write .
I appreciate it Kenny. Thank you.
It’s taken me a while to get over my disappointment that my beloved Tapit Trice (It is a mistake to get emotionally involved. I realize this) was able to do no better than churn on for seventh after running in last early — no excuses, Mage was next to him at one point. Mage ran an amazing race.
The one change I would love to see to the Triple Crown is for the Derby to be limited to a field of 12. I’m sure that will never happen. Every year, a troubled trip affects several top competitors and what they were doing going 22 and change again this year I guess just has to be chalked up to the baneful influence of the Derby gods. The pace did for my other “pet”, Kingsbarns.
In 2010, a filly went through the Keeneland September Sale whom I noted as one to follow; she RNA’d for 200K. She was by Hard Spun (who had an amazing Derby this year). She was named Glinda the Good, and in Steve Asmussen’s stable, she won four of her eleven starts, running in the money an additional three times. She ran third in the Pocahontas, won the listed Island Fashion and Instant Racing Stakes, and ran second in the Sunland Park Oaks before finding the water too deep in the Black-eyed Susan. An elegant bay, she won once more in her 3YO year before becoming a broodmare. Her first foal won but wasn’t special. Her second foal, the champion Curlin colt Good Magic, is the sire of Mage.
Maybe Mage can have the big 3YO win in Maryland that his grandmother wasn’t quite able to attain.
(NB: Good Magic was fourth in the Preakness.)
I’m with you, Kyri, on Tapit Trice. He ran basically the same race that Mage ran, but, encountered bumping twice in his rally while Mage had a smooth trip. Good news is TT came out of the race okay and should be ready to go in the Belmont. Let’s not give up on him…..
he’s yet to reach his peak. Now if he could only get quicker out of the gate, hmmm!
Who’s giving up, Dewey? Ha ha The Kentucky Derby was merely a bump in the road for Tapit Trice. Signator is back in training as well. The only way is up!!
No white flags in this camp, Davids. Tapit Trice’s army has regrouped and are prepared to win the battle of Belmont. Onward to victory.
Glad to see Signator back in training. He should be a factor in the major summer races.
I’m hoping Signator comes back as good as he was for the Travers Stakes.
100% agreed on derby field size, how many potential TC winners were derailed by 20 horse fields. the KY Derby is the biggest
race in the world and we always see a more than a few terrible trips due to field size
The size of the field for the Kentucky Derby has varied since 1875 when the Derby was first run.
The largest field was in 1974 with 23 runners and the smallest in 1892 and 1905 with 3.
The average field size for the Derby from 1875 to 2022 is 13.4 runners.
20 or more runners – 22 years
15 or more runners- 70 years
(combined total 15 or more 92 years
14 or less runners – 78 years
By decade the average number of starters has changed as well:
From 1875 to 1879 – 11
From 1880 to 1919, the average number of starters dropped below 11 (1890 to 1899 with the lowest of 5) and did not begin to climb until 1920 to 1929 with an average of 17 starters. From 1930 to to 1979, average number of starters settled to between 12 and 14. Between 1980 and 2022 the smallest field was 16.7 and highest was 19.4.
In 1975 after all the complaints that resulted from the 1974 entries, the final field was set at 20
The AE of 4 runners was started in 2012 and scratches by 9:00 AM on Friday morning.
The year with most scratches was 1875 (10) followed by 9 in 1933; 6 in 1934; 5 in 1920, 1925, 1929, 1936. Since 1936 the year with the most scratches was 2015 with 4 (does not include 2023).
The starting gate has evolved over time from ropes or wires that were lifted to the electronic starting gate that was invented in 1939. By the end of 1940 most American tracks had the electronic gates.
The early gates were either 12 or 14 stalls.
The 6 stall auxiliary gate was used starting in 1942 until 1920 when the single 20 stall gate was introduced.
Use of the auxiliary 6 stall gate was criticized for years for being unsafe because of the gap between the 6 stall and 14 stall gate.
I would agree that CHD is narrow, at least in comparison to the turf tracks and yes, the bumping at the start is s problem.
However the bumping at the start has been an issue in 14 horse fields. Example the 2014 Breeders Cup Classic. At the start Bayern made a sharp turn that knocked Shared Belief into Moreno who never regained his footing.
In the 2014 Belmont, Matterhorn came over onto Chrome and stepped on his heel.
When asked CHD and KDI seem committed to the 20 horse field for the Derby. Their explanation is that the Kentucky Derby is the most popular race in America and draws a large number of entries that try to make the field. Usually the first round of probables for the Derby has around 50 horses listed.
I am not of the opinion that reduction in field size will result in fewer breakdowns and injuries.
Even in a 14 horse field, this horses accelerate quickly to speeds of 35 miles per hour and running fully extended they can reach speeds of 40-45 miles per hour. There is still going to be bumping and “jockeying for position”.
The Japanese have determined as the result of years of studies that most breakdowns happen in the turns and when the horse changes leads. Their tracks are also sand based not dirt based.
If American racing has conducted such research I am not aware of it.
I am also not aware of the necropsy results on the 30 or so horses that broke down several years ago in California.
There is always a call for transparency in both horse racing and in politics (government).
I have yet to see it in either place.
Preakness 1st (recover 3 weeks), Derby 2nd (recover 4 weeks), Belmont 3rd.
+
14 horses max in all races.
=
Better triple crown.
Roberta, you’re right, the younger generation is the key to racing’s survival. How do we get them to participate? It seems to me that a top notch advertising/marketing company could research the viability of getting our youth involved. Perhaps they would find that a widespread advertising campaign isn’t worth the investment as the interest among the younger just isn’t there.
Here’s an example of apathy for our sport….
On a warm, sunny Wednesday, a small group of us from my assisted living community went to Keeneland to enjoy the races. One of the staff who accompanied us was a young man (mid 20’s) who helped me to move. In appreciation, I gave him a tip of $40 and told him to use the money to bet the races when we went to Keeneland. Well, while he enjoyed the atmosphere (there was a good crowd for a Wednesday), he was disinterested in betting. I did my best to help him enjoy the racing experience (displaying joy and excitement when I cashed a couple of winners) yet he seemed indifferent to making a bet even though I offered to help him select a horse and place a bet for him. I mean, he had $40 in his pocket that he didn’t expect to have and he still would not risk it. I was so disappointed that my best efforts failed to produce a racing fan.
Nevertheless, I will continue to do my best to promote horse racing as it’s given me so many great memories through the years.
Really cool to hear about Dike. I couldn’t pick between him and Art and Letters that year for the Derby so I picked two. If racing itself doesn’t fix its reputation for drugging horses, I am afraid Congress will. The idea of which makes me shudder. Good Magic has three of his colts entered in the Preakness. I hope GM develops into a top notch stallion over time.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act was passed in 2020. Special interests have been fighting it in the courts ever since.
To their own peril. Fools.
Awesome blog Steve, your memory is absolutely amazing. All these all time greats & legendary horses you brought back to life for us to enjoy.
I loved the piece you wrote several months back on Jim French. Legends like him will never be seen again.
The Derby for me is just not the Derby anymore. Too many reasons why for me to mention.
Back in the day eastern horses would come west to run & vice versa. Unless its the breeders you almost never see an eastern stabled come west. Hollywood Park is gone and the Santa Anita Handicap is not what it once was.
Not to poo-poo this years Derby but Flavian Prats ride on Angel of Empire was very poor. Basically he finished a little over a length from winning. I bet the Superfecta with him and the 2nd, 3rd & fourth horses. Such is horse racing.
Mage is a great story and he & his connections deserved this.
Thanks for sharing story, I am a follower until the end.
🙂
I appreciate that very much Deacon. Thank you . I admit I miss all the horses who actually raced…and stayed sound. You got to know them and depend on them.
By the way, the woman in the Twilight Zone episode was none other than Donna Douglas, known to many as Elly May Clampett.
Whee, doggies!
Excellent trivia fact.
She was also the love interest for Elvis in Frankie & Johnny.
Beautiful lady!!
I was pleased that some ‘little guys’ did so well while more fashionably-connected colts finished up the track. I’m sure Tapit Trice and a few others will be off to the farm before the end of the year, trying to earn their purchase price and upkeep back in stud fees rather then on the track.
Meanwhile, good luck to Mage!
Excellent points, balances what people think is a tougher time now to win the triple crown, mostly due to the 20 horse field but it isn’t always 20 even today. I discovered the concept of new shooters entering the 2nd and 3rd jewels isn’t new nor is leap frogging from the Derby to the Belmont Stakes a recent stategy. People were practical then too. Then being, the 1920’s.
I can’t help but feel the trainers nowadays can’t be bothered racing more, so many of them have multiple income streams and wealthier than ever clients of different types – entrepreneurs, financiers, foreign magnates, old money people, it’s not like the purse money is paying the monthly bills. Successful trainers resemble horse boarders and claim high fees for doing just that, mixed in with some workouts. Even the Derby winner has his son do some of the managing.
There’s a great deal for us to ponder in reading Steve’s thoughts on the current state of racing. In the “Magnificent Ambersons,” the forward-thinking inventor Eugene Morgan said, “Old times?…There aren’t any old times. When times are gone they’re not old, they’re dead! There aren’t any times but new times!”
It’s important and useful to acknowledge and understand history, but not necessarily to replicate history. All the great sports have changed over the many decades of their existence. But the essence of the sport never really changes. In horse racing, it’s as simple as guessing which horse gets to the finish line first.
The priority in the third decade of the 21st century should be the welfare of the horse. Everything else is like Twice a Prince in the 1973 Belmont: a distant second.
Perhaps I’m not on the same page, Roberta, but, when I think about the “current state of racing”, I’m not particularly thinking about the way racing is conducted by the participants, but, rather the current popularity of the sport.
Attendance, mutuel pools and TV viewership are all down significantly in recent years. How healthy is our sport today compared to the 40’s through the 80’s? In its heyday, racing news used to be on the front of the Sports page, yet today you can barely find it. If you polled passersby on the sidewalk, you’d be hard pressed to find one out of twenty who even knew who won the Derby last week.
What are some of the obstacles that racing needs to overcome?
Perceptions:
– Racing is a cruel sport with inhumane treatment of horses.
– Understanding racing terminology and how to read past performances is too complex.
– Casinos don’t charge for parking and admission, why should horseplayers have to pay?
The above perceptions, and more, have to be addressed and corrected.
Horseracing might not be on its death bed, but the current state of racing is in intensive care and needs a cure to bring it back to good health.
Dewey, it’s true that the industry needs reform in many areas. The biggest problem for the future of racing is that there’s no future for racing as a popular spectator sport. Steve mentioned sending “today’s younger generation of racing fans through a time portal.” The problem is that there is no younger generation of racing fans, and there’s likely nothing that can be done to draw enough new fans to the sport. It will either die a slow death or become something very different from what we knew or know now.
Racing as we like to remember it will never return, and racing as we now know it will die with our generation. A few quality tracks, like keeneland and Saratoga will go on as breeding crops shrink. This is not all bad; meat grinder racinos are depressing for fans and tragic for horses, so i won’t miss them. Cultural changes are beyond our control, and we won’t be here to lament them anyway. I can’t think of any current sport that lives up to its history.
Tennis is better than it was. Mind you, I’ve lost interest in tennis. I think NYRA have the right idea by turning Belmont Park in to an all purpose entertainment facility. Millennials are ‘the event themselves’ the facility merely provides a platform for them to be seen there. Life has changed. From what I’ve read millennials go to a racecourse for social events around Spring, Autumn/Fall Carnivals – to drink, socialise, bet and ignore the races.
I guess easy access to betting and watching races was a necessary evil for racing’s survival as it has become a fringe sport. I probably handicap and bet to some extent five days a week, but it’s not exciting as it once was. One meet bleeds into another. I remember the opening of the Atlantic City summer meet as my favorite day of the year. Now i partake in racing out of habit most days. As for other sports, the stars have a team of handlers protecting their images for maximum monetization. Quality of play may be better, but we have no Connors, McEnroe, or Nastase to keep it interesting. And that crazy Aussie whose name escapes me seems to get smacked down a lot by the powers that be.
Nick Kyrgios, not a fan. Ilie Năstase was my favorite player as a teenager, so much talent, just wish he had won Wimbledon. Martina Navratilova was my absolute favorite, 9 Wimbledons and I saw a lot of them.
Yes, the internet is wonderful for racing but I regret not having the time you once had to absorb a race fully through reading the newspapers, trade magazines etc. Now, it’s win a Grade 1 then on to the next race a maiden, claimed, Grade 3 everything just melds into one.
Breeding/sales are my real interest these days with race’s filling the obvious void and necessitation. I’d rather see a Flightline than any Triple Crown winner. Restricted races no matter how prestigious are still restricted races.
Actually, drinking and socializing were all the rage at New York tracks in the 1880s and 1890s, where the fashionable arrived at old Morris Park by carriage laden with picnic baskets and champagne.
Exactly Ms Blacktype, I wasn’t meaning to knock millennials just to mention that from what I’ve read they don’t really watch the race but enjoy themselves being there. I’m a party boy at heart, nightclubs, house music, and have quite a few friends who are DJs. Lol. Mind you, these days the entertainment tends more to ballet, plays, operas, recitals. Ha ha
Excellent post, Roberta. Good points. You get an extra mark if you’re quoting from the novel by Booth Tarkington or from the Orson Welles’ masterpiece film of 1942 but if quoting from the 2002 television film a mark will be taken off. Lol. “The Magnificent Ambersons,” you’re in good form here, Roberta.
The English, and original, Triple Crown has become an irrelevant quixotic dream these days. Not only is the St Leger Stakes perceived as an impossible feat for a 2,000 Guineas winner to achieve but to win the St Leger would diminish the colt’s value at stud. St Leger winners inevitably become National Hunt Stallions. There has only been Camelot attempting the feat since Nijinsky won it in 1970. Auguste Rodin was going for the Triple this year but he failed on the first leg.
Moving the Preakness Stakes would impact other races but if the US Triple Crown is the Golden Goose to capture the limited attention of the non-racing public then I’d be all for it. As Eugene stated above when times are gone “they’re not old, they’re dead!.” Better a thriving racing industry than celebrating a Triple Crown in an ‘old timer’s mind.’
I will see your Magnificent Ambersons and raise you King’s Road.
“King’s Road” the 2010 the English, German, Icelandic language film?
Sorry Kings Row, I got it wrong. Good American movie from the same year as Mag. Amb. about growing up in a small town.
Now, you’ve talking. Kings Row is/was a film discussing (contemplating) true realism in family life during a time when everything was being confirmed under the Hays Code. There are quite a few gems like Kings Row that have been forgotten over time. Thank you for the reminder and I take your point.
I saw it recently on TCM, wasn’t planning on watching it all but it kept me interested. It does capture something about small town life that I could relate to, but can’t put my finger on. It conveyed that while other movies like It’s A Wonderful Life and The Best Years of Our Lives, didn’t. Sometimes the big epics miss the small, full stories of everyday peoples’ lives.
A couple of films in a similar style to “Kings Row” that you might enjoy are “None but the Lonely Heart” and “Imitation of Life” 1934 version. Finding them could be a problem though but sometimes you’re lucky.
Ha ha! Thanks, Davids. I was quoting from the novel. But I’m pretty sure the line is spoken verbatim by Joseph Cotten in the 1942 movie. Orson Welles was faithful to the source material. Unfortunately, the studio wasn’t.
As for the Triple Crown, I have no answers. But I think adding one week between the races isn’t a unreasonable change. The slight cutback in distance for the Preakness is a thornier issue.
Roberta, I’ve been thinking things over. I remember, as would most people on this site, being told decades ago that what ails US racing was not having a Triple Crown winner since 1978. All racing needed was a Triple Crown winner and the grandstands would be filled once more.
Well, we’ve had not one, but two, Triple Crown winners in the past nine years and have the grandstands filled. No, sir. The supposed panacea for saving US racing, a Triple Crown winner, was a furphy. What has, and still is ailing US racing is the racing industry itself.
What on earth does a message of seven dead horses in a week, leading up to the most popular US horse race, send to the general public? Then a revelation comes out days later that last year’s two year old champion, who was withdrawn from the Kentucky Derby has been disqualified, eight months later mind you, from winning one of the most prestigious two year old races due to testing positive for meloxicam, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication.
You couldn’t write a more villainous plot to defame a sport than what has just occurred. Worrying about moving a major race in the Triple Crown series, and its impact, is akin to an ostrich burying its head in the sand. Unfortunately, US racing looks doomed in the near future unless ‘they’ clean up the sport.
Over the past several years, Europe, and to a lesser degree Australia, they have been reforming/modifying rules to reshape the sport to fit in with present societal expectations. In the US, the reforms are at glacial pace. Is there time for US racing to save racing from itself? I fear the time may be on the verge of running out and, arguably, deservedly so. Sad state of affairs, indeed.
Davids, you make excellent points, and I agree with all of them. My modest proposal for the TC wasn’t meant as a cure for racing. Adding time between races will simply be better for the equine athletes, and it may keep the best 3yos racing through the series. The “new shooters” aspect of the second and third jewels undercuts the assumption that the top 3yos in training will compete. Look at the 8-horse Preakness field. Are these the best?
You’re right, Roberta. This Preakness field is perhaps the worst field I can remember and that covers too much time. Ha ha Isn’t it better having a good field for the Preakness Stakes, with a 4 week break from the Kentucky Derby, than having a weak field for the Preakness Stakes with the Kentucky Derby winner having an easy ride to win two jewels of the Triple Crown?
Never in TC history will a horse have to face more fresh horses than Mage will…..
More like only. On another note, The Milkshake King gets his hand slapped….again.
Baking soda does NOT help prevent or treat gastric ulcers in horses (as he claimed) nor does it help gas colics. The trainer you are referring to denied milkshaking the horse but gave baking soda to prevent ulcers. He is, in my opinion, trying to cover up milkshaking the horse.
It is in his PPs in more than one jurisdiction over several years.
These are serious, even mage-uscule charges.
Who doesn’t love a good milkshake?