PSA.... Triple crown attempt coming up in a few minutes... nfm

[Obliviax]

personally i know very little about the Sport of Kings

but i did used to hang out in a big horse racing bar for years.

the owner would argue with anyone that Man O War was the greatest horse ever

IDK but a problem measuring these modern horses against back in the day is that these horses (actually, colts) get retired if they have substantial triple crown wins. The value they bring in breeding is far more than any wins after the triple crown....so as colts, they get retired and there is no historical career records to compare. Was Secretariat going to get better or worse? Nobody knows because he went to stud.

 

[Howie'81]

About as good a place as any to put this video. Secretariat with his miraculous Clubhouse Turn at the Preakness. Absolutely breathtaking

View embedded media

As the great writer Jerry Izenberg of the Star Ledger wrote after the Belmont Stakes in 1973, which he attended, "That wasn't a horse. That was Pegasus!" Secretariat was a marvel.

 

[PSUcup1]

IDK but a problem measuring these modern horses against back in the day is that these horses (actually, colts) get retired if they have substantial triple crown wins. The value they bring in breeding is far more than any wins after the triple crown....so as colts, they get retired and there is no historical career records to compare. Was Secretariat going to get better or worse? Nobody knows because he went to stud.

yeah, like i said i have no idea

The guy would always say Secretariat lost 3 races in his career. Man O War lost 1, and apparently it was before they had the starting gates, and he was turned backwards when the gun went off. MOW adidnt run in the Derby, but won the Belmont and Preakness

Also, MOW had much more success as a stud, siring more winners than Secretariat

And MOWs owner was a DELCO guy, so I think he factored that in as well LOL

 

[RU31trap]

Many people don't know the following but in 1995 D' Wayne Lucas won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont but never got credit for winning a Triple Crown because he used two horses. Thunder Gulch won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont and used Timber Country to win the Preakness. Just a little horse racing tidbit.

 

[RU31trap]

I feel like Secretariat was the greatest horse of all time....but give Justify his just deserts. He ran on two really bad, muddy tracks. Secretariat had three clean tracks. Not to say he would have beaten Secretariat but to say this horse was tested in a way Secretariat was not.

If you look exclusively at times, Sham (who finished second to secretariat in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness) would have smoked both Justify and American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and if didn't run heart attack fractions trying to keep up with Secretariat he would have paced himself to run a decent time in the Belmont.

Yes, you are correct, track conditions are critical when trying to handcap a race but does anyone honestly believe that if the track at churchill Downs or Pimlico was dry Justify or American Pharoah would have finished 14 and 21 lengths ahead of where they finished on sloppy tracks, of course not.

 

[nitanee123]

Here is a very interesting article about a guy from Pittsburgh who seemingly figured out how to bet on the horses and win big.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-05-03/the-gambler-who-cracked-the-horse-racing-code

 

[CoastFan]

"...moving like a tremendous machine!"

Secretariat winning the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Here is a very interesting article about a guy from Pittsburgh who seemingly figured out how to bet on the horses and win big.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-05-03/the-gambler-who-cracked-the-horse-racing-code

Good read, thanks for posting.

 

[sluggo72]

I follow the racing game closer than most although not with the ferocity of @Victor E. Bell and @sluggo72.

To minimize what Justify did yesterday is just silly. His 2:28.18 is the fourth-fastest TC winner of all time. He beat 35 horses in three races - most all time. He beat more runners at Belmont than any other TC winner ever. Justify is - in a word - spectacular. He's a LOCK for the Eclipse Award and who's going to beat him in the BC Classic?

You don't see a horse like this very often. Greatness on hooves.

Justify ran wire to wire and was never in doubt. You could have Audible or any 3-yo you like in the field and it would have made no difference. Just way too much horse.

Shout out as well to Bob Baffert, who passed out D. Wayne Lukas - 15 TC race wins and 2 TC's in four years. Only one other trainer has ever done that.

Comparing any horse, even a TC winner, to Secretariat . . . We've seen that once in 118 years, and it's safe to say it will be another 118 years before we see a reprise of that magical Spring of 1973.

Thanks for the complement, but to be clear, Victor E Bell knows his horses, and how to bet. Me? I know how to get to Kenneland, I know where the beer stands are, I know how to get my wife a Makers Mark or 5, and I know how to give my buddy crap for not putting my bet down for Feta Cheese to show at Pimlico 37 years ago! But he did make it right!!

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Just heard today that Justify is permanently retired from racing with a bad ankle. So no Saratoga or Breeder's Cup (which is disappointing).

He's your Eclipse Award winner for sure, which is a great consolation prize.

 

[RU31trap]

Just heard today that Justify is permanently retired from racing with a bad ankle. So no Saratoga or Breeder's Cup (which is disappointing).

He's your Eclipse Award winner for sure, which is a great consolation prize.

I believe that Coolmore paid approximately 60 million for Justify's breeding rights. The owners, Winstar Farm is a 60% and a group called the China Club are 40% owners. Both wanted to race Justify in the Monmouth Park (Haskell), Saratoga (Travers) and the Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs. Assuming Justify won all three races the owners would have pocketed an additional $4,650,000 minus Jockey fees and transportation cost. So what happened? Well, Coolmore stepped in and said you will need to take out an insurance policy if you're going to run the horse. We want our 60 million investment secured plus all potential earnings covering the first two years ($150,000 stud fees). It's always the first two years because his stud fees will not fluctuate until his foals start racing. This is why I think the bruised ankle story is fabricated. Great business decision, terrible for the sport of horse racing.