<p>Pretty sure the freshest horse in the world couldn’t have caught Secretariat in 1973 at the Belmont. I just watched a replay of that race, and it is breathtaking. Agree about the sour grapes. I was rooting for Chrome, but that was a pretty awful display of poor sportsmanship.</p>
<p>Agree with teriwitt and intparent about the sour grapes. His horse came back sound and he will make a ton of money breeding him. Coburn’s attitude was like a kid losing a board game who gets frustrated and then wants to change the rules.</p>
<p>Did you notice Coburn’s wife trying to get him to stop his rant? 
Didn’t make him look great, but I do think he has point with these horses just entering the Belmont with the purpose of knocking out a potential Triple Crown winner.</p>
<p>EllieMom, that is awful! Sounds like something I would have done at that age.</p>
<p>I don’t completely understand CC’s owner’s rant. Aren’t all horses in each race in it to win it? Was it different the last time someone won the Triple Crown?</p>
<p>^that’s part of the experience. It always has been. All of a sudden we wnat to turn it into a “playoff” with rules. The greatest horses won under the same system. I hope they never change a thing.</p>
<p>Myself? I’ll always be a Man o War fan. Maybe cuz of the Walter Farley book I read when i was 10.</p>
<p>And Affirmed broke my heart. I was an Alydar girl.</p>
<p>sally, yes it was different last time someone won the triple crown. From an article-</p>
<p>" In 1973, Secretariat was one of just five horses in the Belmont when he won by a record 31 lengths. Five years later, Affirmed also was in a field of five.</p>
<p>There has been no field as small since. And no Triple Crown winner either."</p>
<p><a href=“Brennan: Triple Crown winner has eluded sport too long”>http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/horseracing/2014/06/06/california-chrome-belmont-stakes-triple-crown-secretariat-affirmed/10105011/</a></p>
<p>Mamabear, I read that article and it had some good points, but there has to be more to it. For instance, sure Secretariat only had a field of five. But that’s not why he won. Secretariat was so dominant, owners weren’t that interested in throwing entrance fees down the drain to race him. Secretariat won the Belmont by 31 lengths but despite no horse near him, no bat applied by the jockey, he still won with a time that no one has equalled since 1973. In other words, he would have beaten not just the horses he faced, but all the “fresh” horses who have raced since. Secretariat’s time was 2:24 and the race today was just shy of 2:29. </p>
<p>Exactly. This is all sour grapes because people wan to see a Triple Crown. There wasn’t any between 48 and the 70s. then there were 3. That’s just how it worked. I sure hpe we don’t change rules to make more of them happen.</p>
<p>Wow, just found out my sister’s mare used to race with Joel Rosario as her jockey. My sister got her through a rescue group for retired racehorses.</p>
<p>Well said, Hayden. The 2.24 time was equivalent to Bob Beamon long jumping over 29 feet in the 1968 Olympics, except it was even more amazing considering that no horse since has come even close to that time. If you want your horse to join the other Triple Crown winners in the pantheon of the greats, then you have to take on all comers in the Belmont. Winning the Triple Crown is not suppose to be easy.</p>
<p>“Pretty sure the freshest horse in the world couldn’t have caught Secretariat in 1973 at the Belmont. I just watched a replay of that race, and it is breathtaking.”</p>
<p>A while back I watched a video replay of not only the race but also all the hoopla after the race. As Secretariat was leaving the track after all the ceremonial stuff, the crowd rose in unison and a huge deafening roar enveloped Belmont Park. It was as if the crowd knew they had just witnessed history in the making, and would probably never see anything like this again in their lifetime.</p>
<p>“Secretariat’s time was 2:24 and the race today was just shy of 2:29.”</p>
<p>That time difference is more than 30 lengths in distance. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Hmm … and didn’t Secretariat win by 31 lengths? So the winner today finished about where the 2nd place finisher was when Secretariat crushed the field.</p>
<p>I own the Disney movie about Secretariat … mostly for the race scenes … and my two favorites. </p>
<p>For the Preakness they use the actual TV coverage showing the owner’s family watching from home while the owner is at the race … when Secretariat comes off the last turn the crowd in the the infield in that corner start moving in mass towards for the finish line with the horse. (All 3 actual races are on YouTube)</p>
<p>For the Belmont at the end of the race they show a shot from on the track from near the finish line looking back at the corner … Secretariat comes around the corner … and then no one else appears around the corner for quite awhile … they took some poetic license and made the wait a lot longer than 5 seconds … but it’s a pretty clever shot.</p>
<p>I was 14 when Secretariat won the triple crown … it was an ton of fun … and revived the racing industry.</p>
<p>I was 11 when Secretariat won and in my “horse phase”. I doted on him like some girls followed movie stars, and was delirious when he won. I still get goosebumps thinking about it. My girls never had a horse phase – I kept waiting, and nudged a little (we read aloud a few of the good horse books, went riding on vacation a couple of times, etc.). It just didn’t take… they are polite about horses, but just not too interested. Too bad for them… :)</p>
<p>Affirmed won the Belmont in just under 2:27 - 36 years ago. I would have loved to see another TC winner this year, but with slow Derby and Belmont times, I just don’t see CC being such champion material other than his backstory. He’s a good horse in a field of less than stellar opponents IMO. His owner’s rant after the Belmont made me GLAD he lost TBH. When/if we get another TC winner, I want it to be a worthy competitor - not just one competing against weak competition.</p>
<p>It’s too bad Tonalist wasn’t ready for the Derby. I thought he would be a true competitor after the Peter Pan and now I wonder if HE might have won the TC had he been ready sooner.</p>
<p>The horses I feel sorry for are Alydar and Sham - two horses that would have been great on the track - any other year except the one they were foaled.</p>
<p>I was a huge Alydar fan–I was sure he was going to pull it off in the Belmont. (a few years before, I was a huge Arts and Letters fan, and was thrilled when he crushed Majestic Prince’s TC hopes in the Belmont.)</p>
<p>Glad to see some other Alydar fans here. He was my favorite of all time. A much better stallion than Affirmed, but there aren’t really any trophies for that.</p>
<p>I thought more about Coburn’s sour grapes statement last night. If anything, things have become slightly easier for Triple Crown contenders through the years. Until the last 20 or so years, the Bluegrass was held 2 weeks prior to the Derby. I think that was true of some of the other Derby prep races like the Wood Memorial as well, but can’t say that for sure. The Bluegrass is now run a week or two earlier in order to allow those pointing to the Derby to have more recovery time. Racing is tough game with a mix of so many factors affecting the result and California Chrome’s owners have been around long enough to know that. I thought that rant was terrible, but I also blame NBC for putting a microphone in the man’s face as he was dealing with a huge disappointment. I hope he will walk some of his post race remarks back in the coming days.</p>
<p>I couldn’t believe NBC not only didn’t show Tonalist’s owner after he won; they didn’t interview the owner either. Didnt show anything of owner until trophy presentation. They also interviewed CC jockey before winning jockey. It’s like they had no Plan B. </p>
<p>I think CC’s owner rant was in extremely poor taste. </p>
<p>Putting the microphone in his face may have been in poor taste – but when given the opportunity to walk back his comments today, he doubled down.</p>
<p>I’m with you Emily, they totally shorted Tonalist - and it annoyed me that they did so, but then again, I rarely like NBC’s coverage of any sporting event including all horse races they “cover.” They only cover their favorites - win or lose.</p>
<p>After today’s comments, I’m really glad CC didn’t win the TC.</p>
<p>Count me as another Alydar fan. Does anyone else remember the 1975 Foolish Pleasure/Ruffian match race? I was a huge fan of Ruffian (winner of the filly triple crown) and was completely heartbroken when she broke her leg during the race. She panicked and continued to run doing further damage and had to later be euthanized. What a beautiful horse.</p>