If a horse swept the spring classics, writes Tim Layden:
A Triple Crown would be a moment — a beautiful, lingering, memorable moment. But on the Sunday morning following the Belmont in which the Triple Crown drought ended, racing would awaken precisely where it was a month before the Derby.
And that would be okay. We’re onward to the second season, regardless.
Palace Malice earned a Beyer speed figure of 98 for winning the Belmont, continuing the trend of 100 or lower Belmont BSFs that began in 2008.
Nick Kling notes an unintentional tribute in the race’s final time of 2:30.70:
Secretariat’s winning final time of 2:24 was at least 31-lengths better than what Palace Malice did Saturday.
Every quarter of the 2013 Belmont was slower than the one before, with Palace Malice running the final quarter in :27.58 (chart). That’s the slowest Belmont quarter (any quarter) of the past 10 years — the next slowest is the :26.98 final quarter of the 2004 Belmont, won by Birdstone. The fastest final quarter of the past 10 years was recorded in the 2007 edition, when Curlin (Palace Malice’s sire) and Rags to Riches dueled down the stretch in :23.83.
Posted by JC in Racing on 06/09/2013 @ 1:29 pm / Tagged Belmont Stakes, Beyer Speed Figures, Final Fractions, Palace Malice, Triple Crown / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Big Brown at Three Chimneys in May 2012.
Looking back, it’s easy to see Big Brown’s loss in the 2008 Belmont Stakes as the point where the unraveling of IEAH began, and to marvel at how closely that outfit’s rise and fall paralleled the global subprime bubble and 2008 financial collapse, from slick talk and shady deals to ruin. Michael Iavarone and company boasted that they were bringing Wall Street to the racetrack, and in the worst way, they succeeded — all that’s left now of their ambitions, as Ryan Goldberg reports in his detailed, must-read story on Deadspin, is an empty equine hospital and a decrepit sign honoring Big Brown outside what was trainer Rick Dutrow’s Aqueduct barn. The horse, at least, is living the high life of a stud at Three Chimneys Farm, which has “all the charm of a quaint, leafy village, but with the perks of an executive suite” (via).
Turning to happier Belmont memories, what a remarkable moment:
We asked Chenery and Turcotte to watch the 1973 Belmont together. As the video played, as Chick Anderson’s legendary race call began, as the pair saw the timeless race unfold again, with Secretariat shooting up a gap near the rail, Turcotte told his former owner that he could feel the big horse’s heartbeat during the race, that he could feel the horse’s rhythmic breathing through his legs.
Hello Race Fans picks for Belmont day are up. Good luck, everyone!
Posted by JC in Racing on 06/08/2013 @ 12:27 pm / Tagged Belmont Park, Belmont Stakes, Big Brown, Breeding Farms, IEAH, Secretariat, Triple Crown / Follow @railbird on Twitter
If a horse ever looked the part of champion, it was the gorgeous Mr. Hot Stuff. Unfortunately, looks and ability weren’t coupled in the full brother to Colonel John, who never won more than his maiden in 18 chances on the racetrack. He’s doing better in his second career as a steeplechaser, reports Joe Clancy:
Much like his flat career, Mr. Hot Stuff started slowly … but got it together for back-to-back wins in May and June. Then he missed 2012 with a tendon injury and returned in 2013, as a 7-year-old, to win the $75,000 Marcellus Frost Stakes for novices at Nashville last month.
He starts on Saturday in the David L. Ferguson Memorial Hurdle Stakes, four years after he finished eighth in the 2009 Belmont Stakes.
Susan Salk has another story of an OTTB who’s learned to love the jumps: “Once he started to know his job, he started to think he was Superman.”
6/9/13 Update: Mr. Hot Stuff finished fourth in the Ferguson (PDF).
Posted by JC in Racing on 06/07/2013 @ 10:00 am / Tagged Belmont Stakes, Jumps, Mr. Hot Stuff, OTTBs, Second Careers, Steeplechase / Follow @railbird on Twitter
