In “The Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes: A Comprehensive History,” author Richard Sowers made good on both the length of the title and the promise it conveyed. From the birth of the Belmont in 1867 to the series of 2013, when Orb, Oxbow, and Palace Malice cut the Triple Crown three ways, Sowers goes granular on just about every piece of historical data imaginable. There are pictures, too.
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July 20.
Aug. 24.
Sept. 21.
Nov. 2.
Those are the respective dates of the Haskell, Travers, Pennsylvania Derby, and Breeders’ Cup Classic. And those are the dates and races that will, in all probability, determine the champion 3-year-old male of 2019 after Sir Winston’s upset of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park brought down the curtain on an odd and somewhat unsatisfying (if you’re not trainer Mark Casse) Triple Crown season.
Saturday is Met Mile Day at Belmont Park. Go figure. The Belmont Stakes also will be run for the 151st time, at about 6:37 p.m. And yet patrons will need to be careful not to get trampled by the crowd leaving the grounds once McKinzie, Mitole, Thunder Snow, Coal Front, and Firenze Fire have had their way with each other around one fat turn for $1.2 million.
Even from a great distance, it was impossible not to get a thrill at the running of the Epsom Derby last weekend from Merry Olde England. After 2 1/2 minutes of suspense, there were five colts on the line, the winning rider was a 46-year-old plugger who finally got his fair chance, and The Queen was in happy attendance, along with more than 100,000 of her subjects.
It was only five short years ago that the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival was created. And it was created exactly for years like this one.
I hate to throw ice water on this Belmont Stakes, but let’s be real. This year’s Belmont is not the most compelling one we’ve ever seen. In fact, it only suffers more in comparison to very recent Belmonts like the 2018 and 2015 editions, which had live Triple Crown chances that were actually completed.
The premiere of “Deadwood: The Movie” on HBO this weekend offers cause for poignant celebration. Followers of the series have longed for a resurrection since its final episode aired in 2006. From critical reactions, the warning “be careful what you wish for” does not apply, so trust it will be as satisfying as advertised. Please do not call Friday night after 8.
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that in one of his more pragmatic moments. If what he suggests is true, the Thoroughbred racing world must be overflowing with intellectual firepower.
There is “We love horses, and horses love to run” vs. “Serious injuries and fatalities are just part of the game.”
There is “We oppose the use of Lasix because it is not good for our horses” vs. “Our horses run on Lasix because we need to be competitive.”
As was the case in the Kentucky Derby three weeks ago, track stewards were involved probably more than they, you, or I would want them to be in the outcome of one of Saturday’s biggest stakes races.
In this instance, the race was the Monmouth Stakes. Unlike in the Derby, there was no change to the Monmouth’s original order of finish. But like the Derby, I firmly believe the stewards made the correct call.