Columnists
Triple Crown
For a large contingent of North American sports fans, the possibility of a Triple Crown winner on the racetrack in New YorkState brings pure excitement. Such was the case last Saturday, as California Chrome sauntered toward the starting gate in the Belmont Stakes.
More than 120 000 fans gathered at the track, hoping to witness history. And when it comes to horse racing, history is most important. Race fans will tell you the names of at least three or four Triple Crown winners without hesitation.
California Chrome started well on the rail. From that point in the race, it was mostly downhill. Despite the fact that jockey Victor Espinosa tapped the horse at least 23 times with a crop, Chrome did not have the stuff to win the final leg for the Crown.
In 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont with a 31-length margin of victory. His victories in that Preakness and the Derby were equally convincing. Several racing pundits declared the horse to be the greatest ever.
Many years earlier, another great horse dominated the track. But Man o’ War did not win the Triple Crown because his owner failed to enter him in the Derby. However, his son War Admiral, won the Triple Crown in 1937.
In 1948, another brilliant horse won the Triple Crown. In fact, Citation was in the money in all but one of the races he entered— all 45 of them.
In 1978, Alydar and Affirmed battled for the right to be names “Horse of the Year”. When they were paired in races, Affirmed bested Alydar seven out of nine times. Affirmed did win the Triple Crown; however, Alydar is the only horse ever to come in second in all three races.
Naturally, there was a great sense of disappointment after the race. Almost $10 million had been wagered on California Chrome. He finished tied for fourth. Tonalist won the race, but did not run in the other two Crown races. Chrome’s owner spouted off about the fact that several horses did not run in all of the races. Chrome’s jockey said he was tired because he had to run back-to-back races, on different tracks. Track observers disagree with the owner. All other Triple Crown winners faced the same circumstances.
Ron Turcotte suffered serious injuries during a race later in his career. He now lives in New Brunswick, and works at improving conditions for patients that have spinal injuries similar to those he received. He is a member of several Halls of Fame, and he is a member of the Order of Canada.
Without question, he is one of Canada’s greatest jockeys.
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