The Triple Crowning Achievement

[Tucumcari]

As always Tuc, you are correct my Luv!!!!

[Mali]

You know, no one has brought up anything about Shiek Maktum going and buying up the best horses all over the world. I believe there is an article in the BH about him or his brothers buying up horses in South America. Not one peep from anyone about them buying Fasig-Tipton. The ones here that think people are getting away with murder should stop ranting over BB and look at who will be owning the sales, farms, tracks and the best sires in the world. They have all the money and at $140/barrel for oil have the ability to control the racing world. If there is someone to be cautious of it could be the Arabs. They are trying to buy the Derby and the TC by buying up every good young horse today. Wake up folks!!!!!

I think its rather apparent you haven't looked at the business model for this "hedge fund" type of venture. By all means, look at it closely, and then if you feel the same way then so be it. But I'm in the process of writing a piece for one of the major trades and I was shocked at the actual numbers and models being used.

Playing up to the ignorance of investors who have no background in the sport and parlaying numbers to reflect as if this industry is comparable to that of the stock market in trends and stategy, is in no way a good tactic to secure long-term blood in the industry. It just further shakes the already crumbling foundation.

As far as the Dubai boys, they've put more money into this sport than anyone else. They've created farms in every major racing market and support breeders big and small.

They've owned up to past mistakes on more than one occasion, and anyone who has had an experience with their associates on the track will tell you that everything is dealt with the upmost respect for both human and equine alike.

They use trainers and staff that are respected by their peers and the industry, and you would be hard pressed to find anyone who will say they're anything but a classy operation. The horse is reveered by them and they prove it time and time again.

They certainly are hurling a huge hammer right now, but I don't believe anything they're doing is really jeopardizing the integrity of the sport long term. They're spending money made from their own natural resources, no different than we did for a very long time.

If you want to make an interesting comparison, they're taking their rightful advantage for our need of oil due to our short-sighted dependency on oil as a nation and superpower, not unlike the short-sightedness that will happen, in my opinion, if connections like those of BB become the norm.

And on a sidenote, as far as the Dubai group that bought Fasig-Tipton, yes they have had dealings historically with the Dubai ruling family, but you have been in this sport long enough to know that almost every major venture, company, compound, farm, etc. in this industry, have all been owned by the same very small and concentrated group of people. It's always been a "you scratch my back..." type of method business.

[spex4me]

Mali for a suckling you know how to swing a hammer!

[cewright]

This has been a very thought provoking thread. Thank you Dray for putting into words the frustrations we face in today’s game. The influence of money, the need by some to win at any cost, and the idea that it is only cheating if you get caught are too often the realities of both racing and life. But time heals all wounds, and perhaps wounds all heels, and only time can define greatness.

By the time Affirmed won the third Triple Crown in less than ten years there were some that were saying the achievement was losing significance. It was too easy. And his owner, Lou Wolfson had been sent to prison over improper financial dealings. Certainly no one now holds this against Affirmed. In fact, as time passes Affirmed seems to grow in stature. (I may be biased here as I own an Affirmed daughter).

In fact as we look back the ownership matters less and the horse more. To quote Pete,whose wisdom on this forum I greatly miss, talking about the seventies

…Secretariat, Forego, Ruffian, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Alydar and Spectacular Bid. It was a wealth of riches to be sure. Every one of them was an epochal champion of Olympian proportions – Titans

We remember and honor these horses for the totality of their achievements. Their greatness was not defined by their connections nor solely by their TC record.

So tomorrow when they line up in the starting gate I am going to remember this is really about the horse and I will remember that win or lose Big Brown has thrilled me with his sparkling performances in both the Derby and the Preakness. Perhaps I will witness the crowning of the next TC champion, perhaps not. But as long as they all return safely to the barn I will let the results speak for themselves.

Chuck

[Barbaro06]

It's my choice if I refuse to watch the Belmont. I didn't watch the 1998 Belmont...I was at the beach that day. I'm not that spun up on this horse. His connections leave a bad aftertaste. The last two TC races were BORING. Need I say more?

I turned on TVG and there was the show "Legends" with Kent and Dutrow. The kicker that made me turn the channel was that it was sponsored by none other that IEAH Stable. Good Lord, how self-serving is that???

[Tucumcari]

Ya and the Belmont brought to you by... IEAH... AND TVG even still calls this the, "least contested TC in history...."
Where is Foggy??? I miss him!!! Sorry slightly different tangent...

Yep, I usually watch at home alone. To enjoy the day, the anticipation, and of course the disappointment.
I used to live for this day! Like Christmas! . and tomorrow I will go to SA and watch maybe from a very removed state. It won't bring me joy.
And for the record, that's the saddest part of this TC for me on a personal level.

[Coaltown]

I have to say that I am quite surprised by the amount of people that are pulling against this horse because of his connections. Horse racing to me has always been about the horse. I wasn't the biggest fan of Big Red but seeing that horse win races gave chills. I think that part of the excitement of the early spring is the promising 3 year olds that pop up that give the die hard racing fan hope that just one of them will be that freak that they have been waiting to see. To this point BB is perfect and unchallenged and while it may take awhile for him to be viewed great in many of your eyes you can not dispute that he is unbeaten and unchallenged. When I watch the race tomorrow I will not be thinking about his connections and their past I hope that the only thing I am thinking is how special this colt is and how I wish that one day I could be blessed with one just as talented. Everyone should enjoy him while he is racing while there have been many horse that have fallen short of winning the TC the list of those that were trying to do it while being unbeaten only reads four.

[Tucumcari]

What one more start, tomorrow? He's a cut below.
AND as you brought it up, I was never excited about this particular TC.

[majxmom]

Dear God: Please, sir, one day could you maybe grant me a mediocre horse in a crappy crop that could win by an average margin of 10 lengths just so that I could pretend that he was a great horse and maybe make a few bucks.

I'd kill to have any one of these horses that ran in this Triple Crown. Ok, none of them are Sham or Alydar, but Big Brown has beaten every horse that entered against him. With authority. And will again tomorrow.

[Tucumcari]

I agree he will win, but I am not looking forward to it. And I never will be proud of it or look back on him as one of the truly great and worthy of joining the elite.

[Coaltown]

All anyone can ask of any horse is to beat the ones that show up and he has beaten any horse that he has raced against and easily. As for not being exicted about the TC this year I find that amazing. Only 11 horses have ever won the TC for many fans this could be the first TC that they have ever seen. I don't understand how he is a cut below anything. As I stated 11 horses have won the TC but only one of the 11 did it undefeated. If he wins tomorrow he will be two of 12 TC winners that have never finished behind a horse.

[majxmom]

Well, Tuc, I agree with you in that if he doesn't run against older horses, he won't have the reputation he could. But if he beat Curlin, how might your opinion change?

[Tucumcari]

It would change it significantly, as I DO consider Curlin to be VERY special. BUT the chances of that are slim. Facts are thru the TC he has "lost" one foot per race, not including the one already sporting a patch. So he ought to develop another on the one good foot he has left. And the fact that he runs like he does on two or three wheels actually gets him my respect because he must have one heck of a heart of a good chemist... criss cross

[majxmom]

All anyone can ask of any horse is to beat the ones that show up and he has beaten any horse that he has raced against and easily. As for not being excited about the TC this year I find that amazing. Only 11 horses have ever won the TC for many fans this could be the first TC that they have ever seen. I don't understand how he is a cut below anything. As I stated 11 horses have won the TC but only one of the 11 did it undefeated. If he wins tomorrow he will be two of 12 TC winners that have never finished behind a horse.

Here, here!

For the past few years, people I work with that know I am into racing have asked me about the chance of a Triple Crown winner. Here's what I said:

Real Quiet? Horses that can't win at GGF do not win Triple Crowns.
Charismatic: Horses that ran for a claiming tag do not win Triple Crowns.
Smarty Jones: He might be this good, but he just doesn't have that aura of invincibility. I hope he can win.
Funny Cide: No way. Fresh horses are going to do him in.
Barbaro: This horse is the real deal. I think he will win. (Sadly, he was only undefeated on four legs, not three)

This is the first time I've ever felt it was "a foregone conclusion." He's not my favorite like Barbaro was. But there are no flukes in the Triple Crown. To me, this horse seems like he's got it in the bag. Tuc is right, he still has to prove greatness by running against older horses. Who knows what will happen, but I'm going to enjoy it!

[Coaltown]

As far as this being the least contested TC in history. I am curious as to which TC winner will have beaten more horses than BB in the TC series if he is able to win tomorrow.