The Triple Crown of Racing (1 Viewer)

[Ashley Seymour]

First up the Kentucky Derby. I watch these each year, but it is hard to root for a horse, unlike Baseball, Football, etc. where you get to the see the athlete year after year.

This year though we - Idaho - has not only a jockey in Gary Stephens, but a local horse Buddy Gil. Not a big favorite as he is expected to finish in the 3-5 spot, but still something to root for and perhaps make a friendly wager in the office pool.

Buddy Gil gets to roam the ranch a lot and has long gotten over being startled when a quail or pheasant flushes beside him. It may make him calmer and less distracted at the track. My handicapping skills don't go much further.

Empire Maker looks to be a solid favorite, but if anything is certain in the Derby, is that the favorite rarely wins.

So, here's looking forward to Saturday and the announcement "And they're off and racing!"

 

[Paul_Fisher]

I bet on Buddy Gil and promptly lost my $10. Oh well, maybe next year.

 

[Denward]

Now that Derby is over, one thing I'm looking forward to is seeing Funny Cide have a long racing career. Since he's a gelding, there's no reason not to keep racing him as long as he's healthy.

A great scenario for horse racing would be for Funny Cide to win the Triple Crown. Since he could be in the public eye for years to come, I'd love to see him become a horse that the casual fan will recognize and follow.

 

[Jay H]

Spoilers ahead

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So much for Funny Cide, it was like watching a field sprint in cycling, Funny Cide led for much of the race, until the final stretch where Funny Cide got beaten to the line by Empire Maker and some other horse...

Just happen to catch the race, didn't stay around for the presentation or anything, but it reminded me of watching a cycling field sprint, the other two horses simply drafted Funny Cide and seems like Funny Cide faded quite fast in the final meters.

Jay

 

[Patrick Sun]

How much longer is this race compared to the other 2?

 

[PatrickM]

I found it odd that the jockey changed his strategy and decided to lead right off the bat. It didn't seem like a good strategy for a mile and half race and Funny Cide seemed to run out of gas at the end against a very strong Empire Maker.

I agree that it will be nice to see a horse of this caliber continue to race for probably quite a few years. Its much better than sending them out to stud immediately.

Pat

 

[Peter Kline]

The Triple Crown is one of the most difficult things to accomplish in the world of sports, obviously.

PatrickM: Funny Cide won't be peforming stud service. He's a gelding.

 

[Ashley Seymour]

Paul Fisher - I lost a "few" more bucks on Buddy Gil. With so many horses, the Derby always looks like a horse round up and massive traffic jam.

How much longer is this race compared to the other 2?

The Belmont is a mile and a half. The Derby is a mile and a quarter I think. Preakness a mile and 3/16th?

I missed the race today, but say the highlights of the horses slopping home.

I watched the ESPN Classic last night on the Triple Crown horses. Citation, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, and Secretariat. PatrickM mentioned the poor strategy of Funne Cide jumping out to the lead and loosing steam. In the Belmont that Secretariat ran he started last, but by the first turn was passing horses and opened up a lead on the back stretch. The sportswriters interviewed for the show thought the jockey Turcott was insane to burn up the horse. As Secretariat came around the third turn he had opened up a seven then a eleven length lead and the track announcer - in awe - said Secretariat is moving like a machine. Secretariat was so far ahead at the finish that the announcer gave him a 25 length lead - missing by 6 lengths the actual 31 length margin of victory.

I watched that race on TV in 1973 and it is still the single most impressive athletic achievement I have ever seen.

 

[Jay H]

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the Belmont is 1.5 miles and the other two are something like 1 3/16th and like 1 1/4 miles so not much longer, but considering the weather yesterday, probably made it more drastic.

Jay

 

[Peter Kline]

One of the difficulties it a horse winning the 3 races is that they are close together and each one is longer then the previous. Empire Maker did not run in the Preakness and he was well rested. For a horse the quest for a Triple Crown is similar to a marathon race. That's why it's so difficult.

 

[PatrickM]

PatrickM: Funny Cide won't be peforming stud service. He's a gelding.

That's what I meant by it'll be nice to see him race for awhile because he can't be put out to stud.

He would be like another horse whose name I just can't recall who was quite a prolific performer in the early 90's. I believe the horse ran competitively until it was 8 years old or so in multiple Breeder's Cups. Anybody remember the name of that horse?

Patrick

 

[Denward]

I think it's too bad that Funny Cide had to race against a well rested Empire Maker. For a few years, Chrysler used to give a $1,000,000 bonus to the best overall performance in Triple Crown races, but you had to race in all 3 to be eligible.

Ashley is right about the distances for the races. The extra quarter mile at the Belmont is a big difference. It takes about 23 seconds to run a quarter mile.

I think the front running strategy was partly due to track conditions. In the slop, trailing horses get mud thrown in their face. Some don't like that.

Here's a list of career earnings for geldings. The page looks like c**p on my browser but I think you can figure it out:

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen...ageId=16994484

 

[Peter Kline]

PatrickM. Sorry I misundestood.