American Pharoah led all the way to win the Belmont Stakes by 5 1/2 lengths on Saturday, becoming the first horse since 1978 to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes - one of the sporting world's rarest feats.It didn't seem that way in the 1970s. But there had been a quarter-century gap when Secretariat won in 1973.
I didn't watch any of the current races and I don't know anyone who gives a frak anymore about horse racing. But I do remember Secretariat. If you had seen the Triple Crown races, you'd have thought that all of the other horses in the races had three legs.
Horse racing hasn't been the same since the Duc de Alburquerque rode in his last Grand National in 1976. He had a habit of falling off of his horses during the race.
ReplyDeleteIn 1963, he made history when bookies offered odds of 66 to 1 against him. Those odds weren't on his winning the race. They were against his staying on the horse throughout the race. Needless to say, he fell off his horse again.
The long shot paid off in 1974. After he fell of his horse during training, he competed with his leg in a cast and a broken collarbone. Somehow, he actually completed that race on horseback.