The Belmont is on Saturday-?Triple Crown
- Thread starter bronxgirl
- Start date
No 3yr old has won the Triple Crown in so long it has become a almost a given that we'll be disappointed again. Since he's not a thespian, I guess "break a leg" is completely inappropriate! 
Anyway, poor Smarty will undoubtedly lose sometime. I just hope it isn't on Saturday. I want a Triple Crown winner crowned!
Anyway, poor Smarty will undoubtedly lose sometime. I just hope it isn't on Saturday. I want a Triple Crown winner crowned!
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2003
I sure hope he does!
I get so excited every year when the TC rolls around. This year seems the most promising yet. Heck, I cried when he won the Preakness. I was screaming like a kid on a rollercoaster, too!
I don't know what I'll do if he wins the Belmont!
I get so excited every year when the TC rolls around. This year seems the most promising yet. Heck, I cried when he won the Preakness. I was screaming like a kid on a rollercoaster, too!
I don't know what I'll do if he wins the Belmont!
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Unfortunately, I have to work after the Belmont - I made sure to not be scheduled DURING the race, but I know I'm either going to want to go out & celebrate, or drown my sorrows 
But I will be online the second its over to join the Smarty Party, no matter what!
guinevere
ps - for once, being on the West Coast has its advantages, telecast-wise!
But I will be online the second its over to join the Smarty Party, no matter what!
guinevere
ps - for once, being on the West Coast has its advantages, telecast-wise!
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
spending a day at Belmont can be a most pleasant experience. Just watching those thorogbreds parade around the Paddock before their Race is such a beautiful site.
It would be great if Smarty wins but he pulled post position 9 which means he has to cut in sharply from the start. I think he can do it.
Joe
It would be great if Smarty wins but he pulled post position 9 which means he has to cut in sharply from the start. I think he can do it.
Joe
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2003
The outside post is not necessarliy a bad thing. Gives a colt time to settle in and rate. They also don't have to worry about what's going on on their right side.
Smarty had the 13th post in the Derby and won by two and a half lengths over a field many believe much stronger than those in the Belmont.
My fingers and toes have been crossed for a week and half!
Go Smarty!
Smarty had the 13th post in the Derby and won by two and a half lengths over a field many believe much stronger than those in the Belmont.
My fingers and toes have been crossed for a week and half!
Go Smarty!
Smarty Jones just creamed the field so much at both the Derby and Preakness that I'm letting myself get my hopes all the way up even if I might be in for a massive let-down. I was 17 when Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973. Then Seattle Slew took it in '77 and Affirmed in '78. I just figured Triple Crown winners, though a big deal, would come along every few years or so.
Boy, was I ever wrong! It's been 26 years since Affirmed and before Secretariat (oh, man, that was a stupendous horse), there hadn't been a Triple Crown winner since Citation in 1948 (25 years for those of us who aren't Mathman
).
Anyway, I looked it up and here's the list of Triple Crown winners. It was 11 years between 1919's Sir Barton and 1930's Gallant Fox. They're pretty evenly spread out between 1930 and 1948 (was there something about the Depression and WWII that made for Triple Crown winners, not to mention Seabiscuit?), then the run of three in the '70s, then the looong dry spell.
If Smarty Jones does win the Belmont (remember, it's a long race and has undone many a TC favorite who has won the Derby and Preakness) and the Crown, man, there will be some partying on Saturday night.
TRIPLE CROWN WINNERS
1919 Sir Barton
1930 Gallant Fox
1935 Omaha
1937 War Admiral
1941 Whirlaway
1943 Count Fleet
1946 Assault
1948 Citation
1973 Secretariat
1977 Seattle Slew
1978 Affirmed
Hey, Bronxgirl. Plush looks like he's got a nice forlock on him in your avatar. No doubt it's common to thoroughbreds.
R-Go Smarty-girl
Boy, was I ever wrong! It's been 26 years since Affirmed and before Secretariat (oh, man, that was a stupendous horse), there hadn't been a Triple Crown winner since Citation in 1948 (25 years for those of us who aren't Mathman
). Anyway, I looked it up and here's the list of Triple Crown winners. It was 11 years between 1919's Sir Barton and 1930's Gallant Fox. They're pretty evenly spread out between 1930 and 1948 (was there something about the Depression and WWII that made for Triple Crown winners, not to mention Seabiscuit?), then the run of three in the '70s, then the looong dry spell.
If Smarty Jones does win the Belmont (remember, it's a long race and has undone many a TC favorite who has won the Derby and Preakness) and the Crown, man, there will be some partying on Saturday night.
TRIPLE CROWN WINNERS
1919 Sir Barton
1930 Gallant Fox
1935 Omaha
1937 War Admiral
1941 Whirlaway
1943 Count Fleet
1946 Assault
1948 Citation
1973 Secretariat
1977 Seattle Slew
1978 Affirmed
Hey, Bronxgirl. Plush looks like he's got a nice forlock on him in your avatar. No doubt it's common to thoroughbreds.
R-Go Smarty-girl
Last edited:
A.H.Black said:
I saw those three as well. I thought that Affirmed had the most exciting races as Alydar was a truly worthy rival, Secretariat was the greatest horse, but it seems that Seattle Slew, the horse that was purchased for only $17,000, probably has had the biggest influence on the breed through his success as a sire.
I am very nervous, very scared.
Friday, Seven Moons, a daughter of Sunday Silence, is running in an allowance at Belmont. Sunday won the 1989 Kentucky Derby and Preakness.
Magical Illusion is runnig in the Acorn on Friday. She's a half to Shah Jehan.
Shark (Danzig x Surfside) is making her racing debut at Churchill Downs Saturday.
Sundrop, a daughter of Sunday Silence, is running in the Epsom Oaks in England.
Home Court (Storm Cat x Jewel Princess) is running at Arlington on Sunday
Friday, Seven Moons, a daughter of Sunday Silence, is running in an allowance at Belmont. Sunday won the 1989 Kentucky Derby and Preakness.
Magical Illusion is runnig in the Acorn on Friday. She's a half to Shah Jehan.
Shark (Danzig x Surfside) is making her racing debut at Churchill Downs Saturday.
Sundrop, a daughter of Sunday Silence, is running in the Epsom Oaks in England.
Home Court (Storm Cat x Jewel Princess) is running at Arlington on Sunday
bronxgirl said:
I think I remember reading that the offspring of Secretariat's daughters have been fairly successful, and that's where his effectiveness as a sire is seen, rather than through his direct offspring. Although I do remember a daughter of Secretariat, Lady's Secret, having a pretty good racing career.
Go Smarty!
True, having Secretariat as a maternal grandsire does seem to help with "dosing" and has produced some fine horses as well. Lady's Secret was the best of his fillies (IMO), but I still believe that Slew had a wider and more profound effect through all of his offspring.
Secretariat was a good sire, but Slew was an outstanding sire.
Lady's Secret, btw, died awhile back, I think from foaling complications. She never did produce much as a broodmare, unfortunately. Gorgeous grey mare with lots of talent.
Her record: 45 Starts: 25 - 9 - 3, $3,021,425
Lady's Secret, btw, died awhile back, I think from foaling complications. She never did produce much as a broodmare, unfortunately. Gorgeous grey mare with lots of talent.
Her record: 45 Starts: 25 - 9 - 3, $3,021,425
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Who can come in second to Smarty?
Assuimg all goes well, and the track is sloppy, and he doesn't step on a safety pin, who do you pick for second to our Smarty? I think Rock Hard Ten seems to have the conformation and the pedigree to potentially make this interesting. Whether or not he's matured any with such little racing experience remains to be seen.
Run Smarty Run!!
Assuimg all goes well, and the track is sloppy, and he doesn't step on a safety pin, who do you pick for second to our Smarty? I think Rock Hard Ten seems to have the conformation and the pedigree to potentially make this interesting. Whether or not he's matured any with such little racing experience remains to be seen.
Run Smarty Run!!
Johar & Bronxgirl,
I am impressed. You really know your horsies. I followed the Triple Crown races assiduously as a teen. They were the only horse races on TV growing up in Arizona. Lady midget wrestling--now that we had plenty of.
My father took my to the track once when I turned 18, but I think only because I kept annoying him to take me. Greyhound Park was the big draw in Phoenix, not horses. Our track (I can't even remember the name anymore--Santa something, I think) was certainly no Belmont or Churchill Downs, but I remember the horses doing their warm-up parade actually ore thanthe races. The sheer beauty and majesty of those horses was a jaw-dropper.
Anyway, the forecast for Belmont today is rain all day and, of course, a muddy track. I understand that the track a Belmont has a lot of sand in it and is deeper than most other tracks, which makes for tough running for almost any horse, unless he runs well in deep sand. But deep muddy sand--it could be a mess.
The cable channel ESPN Classics has been doing a whole week on the Triple Crown winners. Bummer I only realized it late last night. I only saw their shows on Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed. I remember the basic stories, but the details are fascinating. I'd forgotten about the whole controversy over whether Affirmed was murdered for the insurance money in an effort to save the grossly mismanaged, after the original owner died, Calumet Farms. Calumet went under in the end anyway.
Affirmed's trainer said something about strategy that I hope won't affect Smarty Jones. His philosophy was that because of the mile and a half distance at Belmont after the Derby and Preakness, that what he wanted to do was run the horse in the first to races just enough to win so they'd have plenty left to run the extra length in the deep sand of the Belmont. It looked like Smarty won the Derby and Preakness by a lot. I hope he's got enough endurance left in him to win the long muddy Belmont. Of course all the horses will be in the same boat, but not all have run the other TC races, plus a muddy track, especially if it's raining, can cause slips and problems manuveuring. Bummer.
Of course if Smarty Jones does win the Belmont under such conditions, Zowee!
OT re Smarty Jones but general things about the three '70s TC winners:
Something I never knew was about Secretariat's "rump problem." He had a sloping or "duck rump" which is good for jumping but supposedly not good for racing. Secretariat's trainer and owner were wary when he was a two-year-old about his "duck rump," but he was such a formidable athlete that they figured they'd run him as a two-year-old and if he didn't do well, they'd train him to jump. After Secretariat started running, they felt his duck rump was actually an asset--given all his other qualities--because it gave him more power in the hind-leg push-off phase of the gallop.
Secretariat, if you're a younger poster, was also really an icon and for racing fans and in racing circles, remains one. He was just what the country needed with Nixon, Watergate, and VietNam--a great sports hero. BTW, Secretariat was the sixth name submitted to the racing commission before they approved a name. The name was chosen by the secretary of the father of owner Penny Tweedy. She just liked the sound of the name.
Secretariat died at age 19 of laminitis. According to http://www.olympus.net/personal/pvd/pvd.html in horses, laminitis is the inflammation of the thin flat layer or membrane of the hoof. Apropos of just FYI, here's what they say about it:
"Laminitis is a malady affecting the horse's foot. There are many causes of laminitis. Most of the laminitis we see is called Alimentary laminitis. Each different cause may be called by many other names. For example, one form of alimentary laminitis might be called grass founder , another called grain-binge. A mare who has not discharge all of the placenta after giving birth is at risk of getting laminitis, some call this retained placenta, while others might call this metritis. The important thing to know is that there are many reasons a horse might get laminitis and many different names people will use when they talk about it.
"The reason we are so concerned about laminitis is that it can leave permanent scars in the horse's feet. Laminitis will affect each horse differently (even each foot of the same horse), from the barely noticeable case to the fatal case. It is important to think of laminitis as a symptom of other problems the horse is experiencing. Because we become aware of laminitis through the lameness it produces in the feet, if we only fix the feet we are ignoring the real problem, and the lameness may come back."
The site also discusses an alternative model for laminitis, which involves enzymatic processes gone awry.
So Secretariat (aka, Big Red), considered the epitome of the thoroughbred racing horse, died at 19 of laminitis. Seattle Slew had the best stud career of the three '70s TC winners and lived to be 26, when he was put down for humane reasons; Affirmed, who was a true Cinderella story, had a great true rivalry with Alydar, and won the TC mounted in each race by a 17-year-old jockey (Steve Cauthen), broke the same leg twice in different places about six years after his TC win IIRC, injuries that happened in such a way that many people still believe he was killed for the insurance money. If you love horses or horse racing, the details of their stories are fascinating. Horse racing is beautiful, but a lot of ugly things go on behind the scenes.
BTW, at 12pm EST there's a special about the Belmont on NBC. The race starts on NBC at about 6:30 EST. But--all together now--CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS. No matter what the conditions, I still have very hight hopes for Smarty Jones to be the first Triple Crown winner in 26 years.
Rgirl
I am impressed. You really know your horsies. I followed the Triple Crown races assiduously as a teen. They were the only horse races on TV growing up in Arizona. Lady midget wrestling--now that we had plenty of.
My father took my to the track once when I turned 18, but I think only because I kept annoying him to take me. Greyhound Park was the big draw in Phoenix, not horses. Our track (I can't even remember the name anymore--Santa something, I think) was certainly no Belmont or Churchill Downs, but I remember the horses doing their warm-up parade actually ore thanthe races. The sheer beauty and majesty of those horses was a jaw-dropper.
Anyway, the forecast for Belmont today is rain all day and, of course, a muddy track. I understand that the track a Belmont has a lot of sand in it and is deeper than most other tracks, which makes for tough running for almost any horse, unless he runs well in deep sand. But deep muddy sand--it could be a mess.
The cable channel ESPN Classics has been doing a whole week on the Triple Crown winners. Bummer I only realized it late last night. I only saw their shows on Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed. I remember the basic stories, but the details are fascinating. I'd forgotten about the whole controversy over whether Affirmed was murdered for the insurance money in an effort to save the grossly mismanaged, after the original owner died, Calumet Farms. Calumet went under in the end anyway.
Affirmed's trainer said something about strategy that I hope won't affect Smarty Jones. His philosophy was that because of the mile and a half distance at Belmont after the Derby and Preakness, that what he wanted to do was run the horse in the first to races just enough to win so they'd have plenty left to run the extra length in the deep sand of the Belmont. It looked like Smarty won the Derby and Preakness by a lot. I hope he's got enough endurance left in him to win the long muddy Belmont. Of course all the horses will be in the same boat, but not all have run the other TC races, plus a muddy track, especially if it's raining, can cause slips and problems manuveuring. Bummer.
Of course if Smarty Jones does win the Belmont under such conditions, Zowee!
OT re Smarty Jones but general things about the three '70s TC winners:
Something I never knew was about Secretariat's "rump problem." He had a sloping or "duck rump" which is good for jumping but supposedly not good for racing. Secretariat's trainer and owner were wary when he was a two-year-old about his "duck rump," but he was such a formidable athlete that they figured they'd run him as a two-year-old and if he didn't do well, they'd train him to jump. After Secretariat started running, they felt his duck rump was actually an asset--given all his other qualities--because it gave him more power in the hind-leg push-off phase of the gallop.
Secretariat, if you're a younger poster, was also really an icon and for racing fans and in racing circles, remains one. He was just what the country needed with Nixon, Watergate, and VietNam--a great sports hero. BTW, Secretariat was the sixth name submitted to the racing commission before they approved a name. The name was chosen by the secretary of the father of owner Penny Tweedy. She just liked the sound of the name.
Secretariat died at age 19 of laminitis. According to http://www.olympus.net/personal/pvd/pvd.html in horses, laminitis is the inflammation of the thin flat layer or membrane of the hoof. Apropos of just FYI, here's what they say about it:
"Laminitis is a malady affecting the horse's foot. There are many causes of laminitis. Most of the laminitis we see is called Alimentary laminitis. Each different cause may be called by many other names. For example, one form of alimentary laminitis might be called grass founder , another called grain-binge. A mare who has not discharge all of the placenta after giving birth is at risk of getting laminitis, some call this retained placenta, while others might call this metritis. The important thing to know is that there are many reasons a horse might get laminitis and many different names people will use when they talk about it.
"The reason we are so concerned about laminitis is that it can leave permanent scars in the horse's feet. Laminitis will affect each horse differently (even each foot of the same horse), from the barely noticeable case to the fatal case. It is important to think of laminitis as a symptom of other problems the horse is experiencing. Because we become aware of laminitis through the lameness it produces in the feet, if we only fix the feet we are ignoring the real problem, and the lameness may come back."
The site also discusses an alternative model for laminitis, which involves enzymatic processes gone awry.
So Secretariat (aka, Big Red), considered the epitome of the thoroughbred racing horse, died at 19 of laminitis. Seattle Slew had the best stud career of the three '70s TC winners and lived to be 26, when he was put down for humane reasons; Affirmed, who was a true Cinderella story, had a great true rivalry with Alydar, and won the TC mounted in each race by a 17-year-old jockey (Steve Cauthen), broke the same leg twice in different places about six years after his TC win IIRC, injuries that happened in such a way that many people still believe he was killed for the insurance money. If you love horses or horse racing, the details of their stories are fascinating. Horse racing is beautiful, but a lot of ugly things go on behind the scenes.
BTW, at 12pm EST there's a special about the Belmont on NBC. The race starts on NBC at about 6:30 EST. But--all together now--CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS.
No matter what the conditions, I still have very hight hopes for Smarty Jones to be the first Triple Crown winner in 26 years.Rgirl
Good post, though it was ALYDAR who was killed, not Affirmed.
Affirmed was at Jonabell and Alydar was at Calumet, which went into financial ruin thanks to J.T. Lundy. He did do jail time but is now out and a free man.
I met Affirmed in 2000, a few months before his death at age 26. He was a friendly stallion, his chestnut coat glistening in the sunlight shining into his stall. I remember crying when I left, as I knew I had touched greatness and would never see Affirmed again.
Affirmed was at Jonabell and Alydar was at Calumet, which went into financial ruin thanks to J.T. Lundy. He did do jail time but is now out and a free man.
I met Affirmed in 2000, a few months before his death at age 26. He was a friendly stallion, his chestnut coat glistening in the sunlight shining into his stall. I remember crying when I left, as I knew I had touched greatness and would never see Affirmed again.
I was always one of those horse obsessed girls who never outgrew her love of horses in any way shape or form. The first horse I remember "following" was Carry Back (even named my blue stuffed horse after him) and how heart broken I was after his loss in the Belmont. He was another "blue collar" champion in my book.
In so many ways (at least to me) figure skating and horse sports have things in common. Now granted, skaters aren't horses, and I need to look at several different disciplines of equestrian events to match against FS, but the power, grace and beauty of both sports is what attracts me to them both.
In so many ways (at least to me) figure skating and horse sports have things in common. Now granted, skaters aren't horses, and I need to look at several different disciplines of equestrian events to match against FS, but the power, grace and beauty of both sports is what attracts me to them both.
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