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American Pharoah wins Triple Crown

It's being reported this morning that the owners and trainer intend to run him again this year, with his next race being one of the stakes races at Saratoga or the Haskell in Monmouth/New Jersey as his next race leading up to the Breeder's Cup Classic. The owners are based in New Jersey and favour going to the Haskell as supporting their home base. The owners are also quoted as saying the people who bought he stud rights have no say in whether he runs again or not - that tells me the only issue is whether American Pharoah remains sound and comes back training well in the late summer.
Ultimately, it is the call of the owners, I wouldn't risk his bloodline on further races but can commend the owners for letting him compete still.
 
I saw Secretariat at Saratoga. He lost to a a horse called Onion. But he was easily the greatest horse I ever saw. The greatest of all time. Very, very few people will argue that point. He had record times in all 3 Triple Crown races. In the Belmont I think not only was his time the fastest Belmont stakes time ever but it is the world's record for any 1 1/2 race.

Affirmed was maybe the most fun to watch. Every race he was in was close and an adventure. He got beat at Saratoga too. I saw that too. Maybe it's me. lol

I don't think Pharoah is an all time great, BUT I will give him credit for having the 2nd fastest Belmont time(obviously 2nd to Secretariat's time). The Belmont is a beast of a race, any horse that can run it in the time Pharoah did deserves some accolades.
 
That's it exactly. Mostly comes from a fracture in the leg, almost unstoppable.

Yup and it comes from any injury to the legs, really. When they aren't getting the blood flow into their legs and hooves, laminitis sets in. While it isn't fatal in itself, the pain is so unbearable that it usually results in euthanasia. Very sad.
 
I saw Secretariat at Saratoga. He lost to a a horse called Onion. But he was easily the greatest horse I ever saw. The greatest of all time. Very, very few people will argue that point. He had record times in all 3 Triple Crown races. In the Belmont I think not only was his time the fastest Belmont stakes time ever but it is the world's record for any 1 1/2 race.

Affirmed was maybe the most fun to watch. Every race he was in was close and an adventure. He got beat at Saratoga too. I saw that too. Maybe it's me. lol

I don't think Pharoah is an all time great, BUT I will give him credit for having the 2nd fastest Belmont time(obviously 2nd to Secretariat's time). The Belmont is a beast of a race, any horse that can run it in the time Pharoah did deserves some accolades.

That's why they call Saratoga the "Graveyard of Champions". And beating him in that race was about all Onion did in his career.

AP ran the second fastest Belmont of any Triple Crown winner, not the second fastest in history. He does hold the record for the fastest quarter mile in the Belmont (besting Secretariat's time). AP's Belmont was the sixth fastest in history. Easy Goer ran the second fastest, followed by A.P. Indy (whose Belmont was almost as exciting as Secretariat's).
 
That's why they call Saratoga the "Graveyard of Champions". And beating him in that race was about all Onion did in his career.

There should be an * near Onion's name explaining how he came to beat Secretariat at Saratoga. Secretariat was sick all that week, and even had a fever on that race day. But they ran him anyway, 30,000 people there and all. Turcott didn't want them to run him, but they did, and he loss.

Saratoga's track/dirt was said to be deeper and slower than most other tracks. And some horses don't like that, so a lot of the champions did get beat up there. I don't think it bothered Secretariat though. IIRC he ran there as a 2 year old and won. I think that day he lost to Onion it was simply he was sick, and they shouldn't have run him.

BTW a friend of mines father bet $2,000 on Secretariat to win that day. Boom!
 
There should be an * near Onion's name explaining how he came to beat Secretariat at Saratoga. Secretariat was sick all that week, and even had a fever on that race day. But they ran him anyway, 30,000 people there and all. Turcott didn't want them to run him, but they did, and he loss.

Saratoga's track/dirt was said to be deeper and slower than most other tracks. And some horses don't like that, so a lot of the champions did get beat up there. I don't think it bothered Secretariat though. IIRC he ran there as a 2 year old and won. I think that day he lost to Onion it was simply he was sick, and they shouldn't have run him.

BTW a friend of mines father bet $2,000 on Secretariat to win that day. Boom!

Oh man. That would under normal circumstances have been a damn solid bet, too.
 
Oh man. That would under normal circumstances have been a damn solid bet, too.

That's why he did it. He thought it was easy money. They had money, so it wasn't like they lost their house and ended up living in the street, but still $2,000 was a a lot of money in the 70's, hell still is.
 
Yup and it comes from any injury to the legs, really. When they aren't getting the blood flow into their legs and hooves, laminitis sets in. While it isn't fatal in itself, the pain is so unbearable that it usually results in euthanasia. Very sad.
Absolutely sad indeed. If addressed early the horse has a chance of survival, but not much chance at a decent life afterword. One of the last few year's contenders had to be put down for that exact issue, they thought it was going to pull through.
 
That's why he did it. He thought it was easy money. They had money, so it wasn't like they lost their house and ended up living in the street, but still $2,000 was a a lot of money in the 70's, hell still is.

I never made a bet that high, so yes in 1973 that was like a King's ransom. Gutsy bet. I'm sorry it didn't work out. Not Big Red's finest day, sadly.
 
Absolutely sad indeed. If addressed early the horse has a chance of survival, but not much chance at a decent life afterword. One of the last few year's contenders had to be put down for that exact issue, they thought it was going to pull through.

That was Bond Holder, and I was devastated when that happened.
 
I never made a bet that high, so yes in 1973 that was like a King's ransom. Gutsy bet. I'm sorry it didn't work out. Not Big Red's finest day, sadly.

I like horse racing but I would never, ever make a bet that large. It's not just horse racing, but any sport. The teams, the athletes always hide injuries, and sicknesses, etc. Th general public doesn't know. If the Secretariat's brass let it known the horse was sick all week there's no doubt the odds, attendance, etc. would have been much different. How many times after an upset in football was it released that the QB was hurt, or the running back had a sore knee?

I like sports. But you got to be crazy to bet big money on them. There's too much going on behind the scenes that the general public just doesn't know.
 
I like horse racing but I would never, ever make a bet that large. It's not just horse racing, but any sport. The teams, the athletes always hide injuries, and sicknesses, etc. Th general public doesn't know. If the Secretariat's brass let it known the horse was sick all week there's no doubt the odds, attendance, etc. would have been much different. How many times after an upset in football was it released that the QB was hurt, or the running back had a sore knee?

I like sports. But you got to be crazy to bet big money on them. There's too much going on behind the scenes that the general public just doesn't know.

As my mother always said about horses, "They're only human." :mrgreen:

Yup, they're living animals. Like us, they have bad days when they don't feel good, or they're cranky, or they just feel lazy. Thoroughbred horses are particularly sensitive creatures. I had many off the track TBs as show horses, and all of them would melt down at a falling leaf.

As for betting, I like to go to the track and play some Exactas or exotics, but keep my betting very low. I never bet more than $150 in a day. My biggest payoff was a few years back, we were at the track and I made a simulcast bet on a race at a California track, the El Camino Real, on a 60-1 shot named Autism Awareness. I bet $5 across the board on him. Made a damn bundle.
 
Thought I'd share this. It's AP's first official baby pic. He was never a looker.

AP baby pic.jpg
 
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