Tag Archives: Triple Crown

Sports news

What happens now?

By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

Medina Spirit has tested positive or an anti-inflammatory drug and could be disqualified from the Kentucky Derby race he won this past weekend.

This is a big deal for one reason. The horse’s trainer, Bob Baffert, is one of the legends of horse racing. He’s won a ton of Derby races. Including with the most recent two Triple Crown winners.

As for the drug that Medina Spirit took — allegedly! — I am left to wonder if it gave the horse an unfair advantage over the field. I tend to think not.

I don’t usually get wrapped up in horse racing until the same horse wins the Derby and then the Preakness. Then I get interested in the Belmont Stakes to see if the steed can win the Triple Crown.

This thing with Medina Spirit, though, is troubling, given the nature of the substance he allegedly consumed and whether it affected the outcome of the race.

Sports news

Go for it, Justify!

I think I need to have my head examined.

Horse racing is among my least favorite sports to follow. I’ve stated already on this blog that I don’t get excited about a horse race until one thoroughbred has won the first two legs of the Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.

Well, for some reason that remains a mystery to me, I am getting somewhat, sort of psyched about the Preakness, which takes place Saturday in Maryland.

The favorite? Justify, the horse that won the Derby two weekends ago.

For the life of me, I don’t know what I’m going to do if Justify actually wins the Preakness. That puts him in line to be the second horse in four years to win the Triple Crown.

American Pharaoh won the three big races in 2015. It thrilled me to no end, given that it had been 37 years since Affirmed did it.

My sudden interest in Justify might have something to do with the way he won the Derby. He did it in downpour. He took the lead on the back stretch and won it pulling away. It was impressive, man!

The Preakness is a shorter race than the Derby. I hope the weather is good. I thought I heard someone say that Justify didn’t normally do well on a sloppy track. Ha! He fooled ’em at Churchill Downs.

So, they’ll call the ponies to the post on Saturday. I’m going to pull for Justify. If he wins this one, I’ll be holding my breath until the Belmont.

Sports news

How odd? I don’t like horse-racing, but am thrilled today

Someone has to explain this one.

I’m not at all nuts about watching horses running around a track with a mini-man perched on the saddle.

However, I do excited when a horse wins the first two legs of the Triple Crown. And then I get really excited when the same horse wins the third one.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/horseracingspecial/american-pharoah-becomes-1st-triple-crown-winner-in-37-years/ar-BBkMGCO

That was my state of mind this evening as I watched American Pharoah win the Triple Crown, becoming the first horse since 1978 (Affirmed) to accomplish the feat. It’s the longest stretch between Triple Crown winners in Triple Crown history.

Secretariat remains the gold standard for horse-racing excellence. What’s more, Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths. Jockey Ron Turcotte ever laid a land on his steed. In fact, he was unaware of the distance between his mount and the next one until they turned down the stretch and Turcotte said he couldn’t hear any other horse sounds: hooves pounding or horses snorting.

This one was good. American Pharoah led from the gate and took it all the way home.

However, consider this: It comes from someone commenting on a friend’s Facebook post about which horse is the best in history. This fellow said Secretariat’s winning time in the Belmont Stakes would have put him 15 lengths ahead of American Pharoah.

Still, the newest Triple Crown winner joins some heady company.

Well done.

 

Sports news

Now, let's go for the Triple Crown

4 Comments

17preakness-master675

Hey, what’s going on here?

I usually don’t watch any of the Triple Crown legs until the Belmont Stakes comes up. And then it’s only if the same horse has won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.

So, what did I do today? I sat down with my wife and watched American Pharaoh win the Preakness.

What’s more, the horse won it going away … in the slop … in a downpour.

It was impressive.

Now I’m going to watch the Belmont Stakes for sure to see if this horse can become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, when Affirmed beat another great horse, Alydar, in the sport’s greatest two-horse duel over the course of all three races.

I’m pulling hard for American Pharaoh to win the Belmont.

But if you want to see the sport’s greatest exhibition of equine dominance, take a look at this:

Uncategorized

Bring on the Belmont!

How ’bout that California Chrome, winning the Preakness Stakes today?

My interest in horse racing has just increased manyfold. Why? Well, California Chrome has a chance to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978.

Affirmed was the latest horse to win the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.

Seattle Slew did it the year before. Secretariat won it in 1973 by smashing the Belmont field in that fantastic runaway 1,000-length victory … or at least it seemed that way.

Affirmed had to work real hard to win the Triple Crown, which in its way makes his victories even more memorial. Alydar, another great horse, raced Affirmed nose to nose every galloping step on the way only to come up short by, oh, that much.

Horse racing doesn’t never has piqued my interest much. It does, though, when a horse is in position to win the Triple Crown.

I know what I’ll be doing when they sound the bugle in Elmont, N.Y. I’ll be rooting for California Chrome.

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Waiting for the next big horse race

Horse-racing buffs know that this is Kentucky Derby weekend.

I’m not one of them. I’ve never really gotten into horse racing, let alone betting on the ponies. As for racing’s Triple Crown, well, I don’t care much about that, either.

Except when a certain thing happens. I begin to care about when the same horse wins the first two races of the Triple Crown: the Derby and the Preakness.

Then comes the Belmont Stakes and that is when I get interested. I usually tune in to the final Triple Crown race to see if the Derby and Preakness winner can win the Triple Crown.

The first time I got really interested in this three-horse event occurred in 1973, when Secretariat astounded the world by winning the Belmont Stakes — and the Triple Crown — in utterly astonishing fashion. (See link attached to this blog and you’ll see what I mean.)

Of all the great stories and observations about that race I’ve heard, my favorite came from jockey Ron Turcotte.

As Secretariat galloped into the home stretch, Turcotte has said, he noticed he couldn’t hear any other horse noises; no horses grunting, no hooves pounding … only the sound of his own horse’s hooves pounding along at a record pace.

It was then that Turcotte turned around and saw that Secretariat was running all alone. The second-place horse was about 20 lengths back. I should add that at no point in the race did Turcotte hit his horse with the whip jockeys use to make their beasts run faster.

I’m sure some folks will get all excited about the Kentucky Derby. I’ll get excited if the Derby’s winner pulls off another win at the Preakness.

Then I’ll get excited.