With NBC continuing its trip down memory lane by showing American Pharoah's 2015 Preakness Stakes (G1) May 16, I thought we'd also take a trip down memory lane by going behind the scenes of all three Triple Crown races and showcasing some of the more memorable moments....
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The scroll on ESPN's Sportscenter May 3 morning had its priorities straight. The No. 1 horse racing story read: "Secretariat wins Virtual Kentucky Derby." Oh, yes, that was followed by story No. 2, which read: "Charlatan, Nadal Win Split Arkansas Derby."...
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It was just me, American Pharoah, and Jimmy Barnes with not another soul around in as intimate a moment as I could ever recall with a Derby favorite....
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War Emblem will always be remembered as one of the fastest, most brilliant, and fascinating horses in many years, with an aggressive personality that spilled out onto the racetrack....
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Then came a hard-trying, tough as nails colt named Lookin At Lucky, who opened the door for Baffert's "second career," which amazingly has topped his first career....
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As I prepare for the latest onslaught of Derby horses and Derby performances and the same old trainer names, I have come to the stark realization that nothing is the same as it was. Gone is the old formulated thinking. Gone is the same old logic. And gone are the same old historical perspectives.
And there is one horse responsible for that. His name is Justify. ...
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There have always been three stages when it comes to the Kentucky Derby trail. But they have changed dramatically over the years....
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The question that has to be asked is, are trainers beginning to take the same approach to the Breeders' Cup Classic, especially with the recent success of horses skipping the traditional Classic prep races and training up to the race?...
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Baffert, from 2015 to 2018, has trained the greatest horse of all time; only that horse occupied three different bodies....
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History is a never-ending chain of events, trends, and discoveries that determine how we think and look at the present, and often the future. When history tells us something cannot be accomplished, it provides us with new and seemingly unreachable targets at which to aim. And if and when that target is hit, it provides a sense of timelessness and perpetuity. Some call it immortality....
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In some ways it seemed appropriate that all we saw of Justify in the stretch of the Preakness Stakes was a ghostly shroud, with his white silks and white face, emerging from the murk that had settled on Pimlico Race Course. This colt has been shrouded in mystery since he burst on the scene in mid-February as if conjured up by some magical potion. Where did this powerhouse of a horse come from? How...
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Rick Hammerle has been racing secretary at Santa Anita for 15 years and was stakes coordinator at Monmouth Park for 12 years, and he thought he had heard everything. That is until one day in mid-February of this year. Hammerle had carded a seven-furlong maiden race for 3-year-olds, and Bob Baffert walked into his office to make sure that the race was going to fill. It had to. Baffert had a first-time...
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We should remember the Arrogate who raised goose bumps on our arms and left us numb from the experience of watching him run. And we should ignore the phantom who floundered at Del Mar, as we would any mirage....
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Once upon a time, not too long ago, Thoroughbred trainers considered prep races, well, prep races; short for prepare. As in prepare your horse for the ultimate goal. As in have him or her primed, fit, and sharp for their big test, which in the case of the Breeders' Cup, often determines the Eclipse Award winners....
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With his 7 1/4-length romp in the grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby, West Coast has now rattled off four consecutive stakes victories, all dominating scores, including wins in the Travers Stakes, Los Alamitos Derby, and now the Pennsylvania Derby, catapulting himself intro a clear-cut lead for the 3-year-old championship....
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When the Secretariat rocket ship soared to a galaxy never before reached in his 31-length procession in the Belmont Stakes, it gave the colt an aura of invincibility and made it seem inconceivable that he would ever be defeated again. He had raised the bar higher than any horse in history or at least the same level as the previous Big Red, Man o’ War. But no matter how devastating he looked in the...
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The more Arrogate accomplishes, the more we want to see if he can top it. Unlike the vast majority of today's champions, we want to know just how high a ceiling our champions have, as we saw years ago when horses ran every two to three weeks and kept piling new feats on to their record....
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Remember all the fun dissecting the chart of the Travers Stakes and finding all those unique statistical gems that when strung together resulted in one of the most remarkable performances we had ever seen, with stats that boggled the mind? Remember how the fun continued analyzing the chart of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, as we attempted to find out just how Arrogate managed to run down the older California...
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We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming and all meaningful and timely topics to bring you the latest news on the ever-growing dreaded "Haskin Curse" that has quietly plagued the Sport of Kings for well more than a decade....
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What better way to bring color to winter than to envision roses in bloom on the first Saturday in May, scented green leaves adorning glasses of mint juleps, and the famed Twin Spires piercing a bright cerulean sky. Each year those images beckon all those who dare to dream. ...
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Question: How good is Arrogate and do you think he can beat California Chrome in the Breeders' Cup Classic?...
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It was 1996 and Bob Baffert, then a relatively unknown trainer, made his first impact on the classic scene when he brought Santa Anita Derby winner Cavonnier to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby....
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Looking back at American Pharoah's Triple Crown through pictures....
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It's difficult trying to pick the winning Kentucky Derby horse at this early date. But what about trying to pick the winning trainer? Some have one or two live horses, and then there are the powerhouse stables that can reach six or seven deep....
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Sometimes, a brief comment can trigger a deluge of thoughts and images, and such was the case when Bob Baffert said of American Pharoah at the Longines World's Best Racehorse Award Jan. 19 in London, "He showed the beauty of racing." ...
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