Triple Crown

Nostalgia, they say, isn't quite what it used to be. In times past, it was not so much a wistful state of mind as an outright medical condition. The Union Army in the first two years of the Civil War reported precisely 2,588 cases, no fewer than 13 of which proved fatal. And I must admit to some concern that this may in fact be the version to which I am destined to succumb, nailed into the same coffin as the five-week Triple Crown. The whole premise of nostalgia is...

At this year's GI Preakness S., Shug McGaughey is aiming to win his own version of the Triple Crown. The Hall of Fame trainer won the third leg of the series in 1989, when Easy Goer famously defeated Sunday Silence in the GI Belmont S., and then Orb (Malibu Moon) earned the Kentucky horseman a GI Kentucky Derby score in 2013. This Saturday, McGaughey could claim his final Triple Crown jewel with a promising contender in Perform (Good Magic). On Thursday morning shortly after eight, as Perform walked the Preakness...

Bill Finley (If Baseball Can Change, So Can the Triple Crown, TDN, Tuesday, May 16, 2023) has hit the nail on the head. As one who was and now is again a baseball fan, I agree that baseball's changes have been dramatic and effective. Some traditions are great, but when traditions are barriers to one's existence they need to be rethought. The truth is that only our sport's diehards would even know the difference if we spread our Triple Crown races out a month apart. The reality is that the...

Baseball had a problem. Because games were taking way too long, because stolen bases were near an all-time low, because defensive shifts were cutting down on offense, the product that is baseball wasn't as good as it could be. Too many boring, interminable, bad games could only mean one thing, that fans were and would continue to lose interest in the national pastime. Sound familiar? Horse racing has a Triple Crown where the product has been weakened because trainers, who simply refuse to run their horses back on short rest,...

Next week at this time, we'll know if the sport is on the cusp of another Triple Crown sweep. Of all the potential excuses for GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) not emerging victorious from the GI Preakness S., intense media pressure is unlikely to be one of them. You could make the argument that the diminutive, white-blazed chestnut with the endearing overbite has enjoyed one of the least-scrutinized post-Derby weeks of any winner in recent history. That's not so much because the spotlight on his accomplishment has dimmed....

In the final local prep for the GI Belmont S., Arcangelo (Arrogate) found the wire just in time to secure his first stakes win in the 69th running of the GIII Peter Pan S. With only three prior starts, all at Gulfstream Park, the gray colt debuted second sprinting in the slop Dec. 17 before running fourth behind subsequent GII Louisiana Derby victor Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) going a mile Jan. 14. Facing older maidens for the first time at the same distance Mar. 18, the 2-1 shot cleared in the...

Rodeo Creek Racing's GISW Blazing Sevens (Good Magic) breezed five furlongs over the Belmont main track in his final serious move ahead of the May 20 GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Saturday. Blazing Sevens, who visited the track following the renovation break around 9:00 a.m., worked in company with stakes-winning stablemate Artorius [1:00.18], completing the trip in 1:00.02 over the fast main track. Blazing Sevens was accompanied by Irad Ortiz, Jr. who also rode the Chad Brown trainee in his latest start, a third-place finish in the Apr. 8 GI...

Last Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) is officially headed to Baltimore for the May 20 GI Preakness S. His connections made the announcement via Twitter Friday morning. "Very excited, he's had a magnificent week of training," said co-owner Ramiro Restrepo. "He's shown all the positive signs." The ownership group, which also includes OGMA Investments, Sterling Racing and CMNWLTH, confirmed the colt's participation in the second leg of the Triple Crown at Pimlico Race Course following his Friday morning training session in which he warmed up in the...

Just shy of a century ago, Thoroughbred racing was undergoing a massive transformation in breeding and technology that would set it on a path towards expansion. The importing of international sires, the building of new racetracks, the development of starting gates and the implementation of what was called the totalisator, a device that tracked odds and payouts for pari-mutuel wagering, became all the rage into the 1930s. As you probably know, the 'tote' became linked to a board that everyone on-track could see and was intended to democratize laying a...

Big Ass Fans will sponsor the GIII Maryland Sprint on Preakness S. day at Pimlico Race Course May 20. As part of the sponsorship, Big Ass Fans will have a significant presence at the event, with its logo prominently displayed throughout the racecourse. In addition, Big Ass Fans will provide cooling solutions for both the horses and spectators. "We are thrilled to be a part of such a prestigious event," said Hunter Harris of Big Ass Fans. "The Preakness S. is a celebration of the very best in horse racing,...

It hit me hard the other night how old I have become. My brain was slowly processing that it was 50 years ago I saw Secretariat win the Kentucky Derby. I exaggerate. A lot. I caught a brief glimpse of Secretariat as he flew by my strained vantage point. After insistent begging, my older sister and her friends relented and took me with them to my first Derby. It was May 5, 1973 and we were in the infield. Frankly, at age 14, my day was already complete way before...

From TDN AusNZ Two winners in the space of a few days made it timely on Wednesday for Coolmore Australia to reveal its 2023 Australian fee for Triple Crown winner Justify. The big chestnut will return for the spring at an all-time local high of AU$77,000 inc. GST ($51,271). Justify is part of Coolmore's 15-strong roster this spring, returning after a 2022 hiatus when he didn't shuttle to Jerrys Plains. Previous to that, he had covered books in 2019, 2020 and 2021 at fees ranging from private to AU$55,000 inc....