Fame in 1973...Carrera RS and Secretariat

[62S-R-S]

For browsing..
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http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse...ttle-slew.aspx

[69Sman]

Thanks for posting that. I remember the day Exceller beat Slew....I was there...THOSE were the days.

[letsrollbabe]

Thanks for posting that article about Slew. I watched again all three of the 77 triple crown races just to see the Slew in action. He was an impressive horse, and his wins show his 'guts' in the stretches. It is also interesting how much a great horse affects the lives of the humans involved with them. Not all for the good, as the 2 couples who owned Slew came to know. But they all know that the ride they enjoyed with a truly great race horse is one that is never forgotten.

I lived on 6 acres near Lexington in the mid 70s and next to a family who boarded a few thoroughbreds on a small blue grass farm. In 82, this family, JT and Cindy Lundy became the owners of Calumet Farm, a 762 acre show place of thoroughbred breeding fame because Cindy was the only heir of the Wright family. Old John Lundy, JT's dad who was a sharecropper in the area used to come by our house for coffee in the mornings. He was quite a talker, with stories that never seemed to end. They mowed our pastures with their huge 'bat-wing' mower. My kids played with the Lundy's kids, but we moved to Alaska in 76, so were out of touch when this family stepped into thoroughbred limelight in 82. Early on JT had some success, gambling on Alydar who proved to be a successful sire, and who battled Triple Crown winner Affirmed down to the wire in each leg of the 78 races. Alydar died (suddenly at age 15) in 1990 after becoming America's leading sire of thoroughbreds, and a $36 million insurance payoff led to investigations of fraud. Bad decisions and investments made by JT forced them into bankruptcy and they were forced to sell Calumet in 91, and JT was later convicted of fraud and bribery and sent to prison. Fortunately, Calumet Farm survived a bankruptcy sell-off into small parcels, and still thrives today, with a Preakness winner...Oxbow, in 2013. The farm is one of the most beautiful and interesting places to visit in the Lexington, KY area.

Back to the Slew...his Belmont victory was a thrilling dual leading to a 3.5 length win, and does bring some goose bumps watching it...knowing you are witnessing a Triple Crown winning horse in action. But as fast and gutsy as it looked, his time was 2:29 3/5 seconds compared to Secretariat's Belmont time of 2:24 flat...a full 5 3/5 seconds faster.

[nickb4]

But as fast and gutsy as it looked, his time was 2:29 3/5 seconds compared to Secretariat's Belmont time of 2:24 flat...a full 5 3/5 seconds faster.

That 2:24 flat of Secretariat's still stands as the 1.5 mile track record at Belmont Park.

Speaking of Slew he sired poor Swale who won two legs of the tripple crown but unfortunately passed away about a week after he won the Belmont Stakes.

[letsrollbabe]

A California bred and trained horse won the Kentucky Derby today...California Chrome...The central California 'back yard breeder' owners who call themselves...'Dumb Ass Partners' spent $8000 for the dam, and then bred to a stallion for not much, and then had the colt trained by a 77 year old man with his first Derby starter....pretty neat 'little guys' story. Who knows, maybe another Secretariat...although the winning time was over 3 seconds slower than Secretariat's 1:59 2/5.

It was especially meaningful Derby for me as 2 of my son's GE Capital commercials ran during the race coverage. He lives in Orange County, so he fits right in with the 'California twist' to the story. He is a 24 year employee of GE, and makes a 37 year GE career father proud.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq_p5dyb-oY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKjxmttesNg

[nickb4]

It was especially meaningful Derby for me as 2 of my son's GE Capital commercials ran during the race coverage. He lives in Orange County, so he fits right in with the 'California twist' to the story. He is a 24 year employee of GE, and makes a 37 year GE career father proud.

Thanks for sharing the links to your son's GE commercials. You certainly should be proud.

[letsrollbabe]

Well, we are on that somewhat familiar course again...2 legs of this year's Triple Crown won by California Chrome, which means he will be aiming for that most elusive of all the racing records...Triple Crown Champion. Chrome's time was 1:54 4/5 sec, which was a good time, but not as good as Secretariat's...now officially recorded at 1:53 flat. The official track timer malfunctioned during the 73 race, and recorded Secretariat's time at 1:54 2/5 sec, but other timers put the time at 1:53 2/5. Ms. Chenery appealed the time and in 2012 the Maryland Racing commission changed the official time for Secretariat's time to 1:53 flat, which is still the record for the event.

It will be very exciting to watch the Belmont to see if 2014 will have a new Triple Crown Winner, the first since Affirmed's 1978 achievement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLGZbeC1kzc

[letsrollbabe]

Well...once again no Triple Crown winner. California Chrome just didn't have it in the stretch. A horse that didn't run the Derby won.... a fresher horse that didn't run the other 2 races. Running 3 big races in 5 weeks is a real challenge. The winner was Totalist in 2:28 2/5...4 2/5 seconds slower than Secretariat, so the track record still belongs to Secretariat at 2:24. Kind of a sad day for a lot of fans of California Chrome and the 'DAP' partnership of little-guy breeders...but they still own the horse that won 2 legs of the Triple Crown. Also, it could have been a big day for Thoroughbred Racing had CC won it because it would have generated a lot of 'good' news around the world, which is needed in the world today. But alas, it was not to be...13-2 TC race winners since '78 have now failed to win that elusive Belmont trip. And none have even come close to Secretariat's time.

[69Sman]

CC was done in by a shitty ride. Should've stayed on the rail......Where's Shoemaker when needed most???? Remember his rail hugging ride on Ferdinand in the 1986 Derby from post 1? In his prime, (and even in his later years)...nobody could sneak thru on the rail like Shoe....

[letsrollbabe]

I just watched the movie '50 to 1', which is the story of Mine That Bird's trip in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. The horse was owned by some 'cowboys from New Mexico' and the trainer personally hauled the horse from NM to Louisville's Churchill Downs. It is a fun movie to watch as these cowboys had all kinds of problems with the horse which had won some stakes races in Canada as a 2 year old, but hadn't won a race in the US as a 3 yr old. The Canadian record got the horse invited to the Ky Derby, and they showed up with the horse whose odds were set at 50-1 for the race. Here is the Youtube race which reminds me of Secretariat's race because the horse was dead last (30 lengths off the pace) through most of the back stretch. Calvin Borel road the gelding on a sloppy track and scooted through on the rail with some almost unbelievable acceleration through the pack as they headed into the stretch. As 'Bird' first came through to the lead, the announcer didn't know which horse it was until near the end. It's a fun race to watch, and 'Bird' won by at least 6 lengths...but his time...2:02 3/5 didn't challenge Secretariat's time of 1:59. However, it was a sloppy track. Bird went on the place second in the Preakness, beaten by a filly... Rachel Alexandra, and then was 3rd in the Belmont. The horse's winnings were $2.25 million before retirement to NM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is4q1L6JiSI