Congratulations American Pharoah! The 12th horse to win all three races in the Triple Crown! The 37 year drought is over!
(Winslow Townson/USA Today sports)
Tag Archives: triple crown
Will There be a Triple Crown Winner This Year?
Go American Pharoah!
(Adam Coglianese)
Can American Pharoah actually make it this year? 37 years have passed since the last Triple Crown winner, and many are giving up hope that it can be done in this day and age. Last year saw the same situation with California Chrome. He won the first two races, with high hope for the Crown, but unfortunately another horse stepped on him and he could not make the distance.
The Belmont Stakes is this Saturday, on NBC with coverage starting early but post time is approximately 6:50 ET. This is the longest race of the three, a mile and half, competing against 7 others many familiar from the past two races and most fresh from only racing one of them.
American Pharoah is clearly the favorite with so much riding on a win. Only 11 other horses have ever done it. 22 others have done exactly what he has so far and lost. Our hopes are with you Pharoah!
Amercan Pharoah at Belmont with pony friend Smokey:
(Susie Raisher)
Share this:
No Triple Crown This Year
Did you watch the disappointing Belmont Stakes race? For another year there is no Triple Crown winner.
Tonalist won:
(BostInno)
It was clear that California Chrome just didn’t have what it took to make it to the end. He finished a very disappointing 4th. Was it the injury he sustained to his foot? Did he really just not have the power? And more, what of his owner’s attitude on the loss? The first and second place horses were both fresh to the competition and had placed the same way at the last race they both ran on the same course. Sure, it would be quite a different race if no new horses competed for these three races. It is much different to push a horse so much in so few weeks while having them compete with fresh animals who have experienced no such stress. And while that might be a way to see more Triple Crown winners, the sport has never been that way. If a horse can manage with all the stress and competition they are truly worthy of their title but if they only raced only the same horses it would be less of an accomplishment. I think the words of Chrome’s owner have overshadowed Chrome’s actual accomplishments and place a negative light on the whole thing. We must lose with grace and dignity, and it isn’t like Chrome is done earning them money. They are probably set, and Chrome will never be anything less than a champion.
– Fizz
Share this:
2014 Belmont Stakes Saturday
The Belmont Stakes, the final race in the illusive Triple Crown, is this Saturday June 7! You can watch on NBC, the live coverage starts at 4:30 but I think the actual race takes place around 6 pm. On NBC sports you can see a show about California Chrome at noon, and then race day coverage from 2:30 on until post race coverage at 7.
Can California Chrome make racing history? Many horses have won the first two races only to fail to win the third and longest.
Chrome at Belmont Park:
(Jason Szenes/EPA)
There are 11 horses in the race, some of which have been contenders against California Chrome since the Kentucky Derby. Wicked Strong is back for a second race against Chrome, and Ride on Curlin and General a Rod are back for their third go. Chrome will be running from the number 2 post position, which is sort of unfavorable (5 is the most favored) but the race is one of the longest, with the widest turns, and fewer horses than other races. Maybe even more important, Secretariat ran from an inside post position when he won the Belmont Stakes (even though he only had to beat 4 other horses no one is disputing his raw strength and ability).
Wicked Strong is a favorite to steal the win from Chrome because he is more fresh, placed well in his past two races, and has run best in New York. Ride on Curlin finished second to Chrome in the Preakness, who took the most favored post position number 5, could also pose a big threat. No one should forget Commanding Curve either, he raced against Chrome in the Kentucky Derby and finished in second place. The newcomer to the race which poses the biggest threat to Chrome is Tonalist, who won the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park, which has historically indicated a horse prime to place well in the Belmont Stakes.
Tonalist:
(Chelsea Durand/NYRA)
Everything is uncertain at this point, I want Chrome to win but he has some impressive competition. It all comes down to race day, don’t forget to watch!
Interested in picking up some official California Chrome merchandise? I had no idea you could get such items, but given his popularity and the chance for a Triple Crown I am guessing this stuff is selling! Find it at the Belmont Stakes store here.
– Cola
Share this:
No Triple Crown This Year
I’ll Have Another has been scratched from tomorrow’s Belmont Stakes race due to a leg injury. Thus ends the possibility of a Triple Crown winner this year.There is a press conference scheduled for 1 pm today to address the scratch and reasons behind it. Only two other horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and then not run in the Belmont – but that was before the Triple Crown title was such a prestigious goal.
This is an incredibly disappointing turn of events for horse racing, I’ll Have Another really had a chance. Maybe next year…
(Mark Lennihan/AP)
Share this:
Preakness Winner!
The Preakness Stakes took place earlier today at Pimlico Race Course, and the performance was almost the same as the Kentucky Derby. I’ll Have Another came from behind and won by a head, just in front of Bodemeister.
(photo Mike Stewart/AP)
With wins at the Derby and Preakness, I’ll Have Another has a real chance of winning the Triple Crown! The final race of the three is the Belmont Stakes – with takes place June 9. The last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978.
Do you think we will have a Triple Crown winner this year?
Share this:
Preakness Stakes
I have been very busy, so sorry for not posting much recently.
Saturday was the 136th Preakness Stakes! Unfortunately, Animal Kingdom lost so there will not be a triple crown this year. He was rather untested though, having run only 4 races before entering the Kentucky Derby and having never raced on dirt before. Had he run more races then maybe it would have been understood how much time he needed to make up for how far behind he was.
Shackleford was the winner!
The Belmont Stakes is still to come!
Share this:
Secretariat
Disney is making a movie called Secretariat, based on the true story of the race horse! Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973, or winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Only 11 horses have ever won that achievement and the last horse to do so was Affirmed in 1978.
The film will open in theaters on October 8th. To read more about the film, check out comingsoon.net.
Here is the trailer:
Actual footage of Secratariat running in the 1973 Kentucky Derby:
A couple shots from the movie:
I am excited to see this movie! I really like true stories made into movies, and I love horses.
I think that this movie is also coming out at a good time to bring a little hope back to the racing world, a reminder that even the most impossible of prospects can turn out for the best. I saw this article the other day: Gamble Sours for Many Kentucky Horse Breeders. The article explains that many horse farms are not doing well and are now up for sale. Money going through horse auctions and races has decreased in the past couple years, so even the best horses are not going for the money they once did nor earning as much by winning or breeding. The Pimlico Race Course, which hosts the Preakness Stakes is going through bankruptcy. The Belmont Stakes is also in jeopardy this year if enough money cannot be raised. Sadly, what happened to the housing market in the US has happened to the racing world – many no money down loans based on the idea the prices and value would always be rising for horses. The article quotes Arnold Kirkpatrick as saying, “We bred too many horses, overborrowed to do it, and are now caught trying to sell them to people who don’t want them.”
