This mudder won the Kentucky Derby in 2018 and also the Triple Crown. Who is it? Extra credit: Who’s the jockey?
The first Saturday in May – especially at Louisville’s Churchill Downs – rarely disappoints.
Sloppy though it may have been, May 5, 2018, proved to be the start of something special as Justify ran away from a muddied field to claim the Kentucky Derby and the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. The stallion went on to win the Preakness and Belmont Stakes and secure the 13th – and most-recent – Triple Crown in the sport’s history. Justify’s jockey was Mike Smith who, at 52-years-old, became the oldest Triple Crown rider in history.
Jockey Mike Smith rides Justify toward the finish of the 2018 Kentucky Derby. Runner-up Good Magic was two-and-half lenghts off the pace. (Photo by Morry Gash/AP)
Here is the New York Times‘ account of that day’s race.
Later, there was controversy surrounding Justify. It was revealed over a year later that the horse had failed a drug test prior at the 2018 Santa Anita Derby but the ruling was not released by the California Horse Racing Board did not immediately announce the result and, later, dismissed it completely. Had the failed test disqualified Justify’s results from the Santa Anita it would not have had enough points to qualify to run for the roses.
Dr. Rick Arthur, the board's equine medical director, subsequently explained that their investigation suggested that the result was in fact due to feed contamination by jimson weed. One key factor was that horses from five different barns had high readings for scopalimine over the same period, though none of these were as high as Justify's. Arthur pointed out that Justify may well have ingested a seed, or his reading may have been inflated because of dehydration after the race. "Even though the level was relatively high in urine, the blood level was actually quite low", he said, explaining that this and the presence of another drug, atropine, found in jimson weed were consistent with feed contamination.
The 2018 Kentucky Derby.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser was the creation of former Ann Arbor News Sports Editor Geoff Larcom. Longtime friend and fellow Ann Arbor News alum, Pat Schutte, took it to heights previously unknown. We aim to keep it alive here at The Sports Fan Project. The cropped photo and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.
No tease today, but this is a deep cut. This fella’s oneof the GOATs. Who is it?
Eddie Arcaro is the only jockey to have twice ridden horseracing Triple Crown winners.
The Hall of Fame jockey rode Whirlaway in 1941 and Citation in 1948 to wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Arcaro is also tied with Bill Hartack for the most Kentucky Derby-winning rides with five.
Jockey Eddie Arcaro.
Arcaro was known in the profession as “The Master” and won roughly 20% of the races he rode and amassed career earnings of over $30 million. You’re able to read about him here.
Arcaro died in 1997. Here is the New York Times‘ obituary.
Newsreel footage noting the retirement of jockey Eddie Arcaro in 1962.
Just to review, The Fan Teaser comes courtesy of longtime buddy, Pat Schutte. The cropped photo below and the accompanying clue give you an idea as to who or what the image is of. We invite you to use the Comment option to take a crack at solving the Teaser and, if you’re so inclined, participate in some good-spirited banter with your fellow sports fans. The Fan Teaser will appear each Friday morning with the reveal coming to you Sunday.
(About the Series: Based upon my Conversation with guest Derek Meinecke, I’m going back in time to be in the stands at 10 sporting events. This week, it’s #7. You’re able to find links to the previous installments below.)
In full candor, I do not consider myself a horse racing fan. I have never been to a horse race, I do not track early-season stakes events to familiarize myself with the that year’s best 3-year-olds to enhance my enjoyment of the annual Triple Crown Races, nor do I tune normally tune into the season-ending Breeder’s Cup (Programming Note: This year’s Breeder‘s is this Friday and Saturday at Santa Anita Park.)
Having said that, I will almost always find a way to tune into the Kentucky Derby if, for no other reason, to hear Dan Fogelberg‘s fabulous ode to the Derby, “Run for the Roses.” And, if I’m going back in time to experience seminal sports moments from yesteryear I’m sure as shootin’ going back to 1973 to see Secretariat’s 5-week utter domination of the sport.
Most casual sports fans (and even humans) have surely heard the name Secretariat before but, if you’re reading this and are thinking about a clerical temp service, please see this website. Yes, a racing equine which has been gone for nearly 35 years has its own website and its own annual festival (running November 10-12 this year)!
Kentucky Derby – May 5, 1973
The first Saturday in May finds the eyes of the horse racing world cast upon Churchill Downs in Louisville. This Cinco de Mayo was no different. While the odd Margarita may have been served, I’m sure the Mint Julep was still the beverage of choice for most.
Secretatriat went off as a 3-to-2 betting favorite, a touch better than Sham who went off at 5-to-2. While Sham ran near the front for much of the race, Secretariat methodically hunted every horse down, running each successive quarter mile faster than the previous meaning he was still accelerating near the end of the race. Ultimately, Big Red as he was known, won by a touch more than two lengths in a still-standing Derby record of 1:59.4.
The 1973 Kentucky Derby.
Preakness Stakes – May 19, 1973
It was more of the same for Secretariat in Baltimore as jockey Ron Turcotte allowed the rest of the field to go out and then picked his way through to win by two-and-a-half lengths over Sham, again. This race was not without controversy, however, as there were timing discrepancies. The infield teletimer had been damaged so its time of 1:55 was called into question and the Pimlico Race Course timer showed it at 1:54.4 and the Daily Racing Form at 1:53.4. It was not until 2012 when the Maryland Racing Commission was asked by Secretariat’s owner, Penny Chenery, to conduct a forensic review of all footage and determine the time. It was deemed to be 1:53 which set a new Preakness Stakes record (39 years after the race was run and 23 years after Secretariat had died).
The 1973 Preakness Stakes.
Belmont Stakes – June 9, 1973
I had turned 6-years-old the day before this race. If our family watched what became the coronation of Big Red it’s never been shared with me. Part of me hopes my parents brought me in from playing with my Hot Wheels in the dirt long enough to witness this history the same way they had my toddler self watching Neil Armstrong step on the surface of the moon four years earlier.
No matter, I suppose, because any memories of both events have long ago vanished for me. That said, if my wayback machine can only get me back to 1973 for one of these three races, this is the one. The complete and utter denomination that Secretariat showcased at Belmont Park is incredible even on grainy video 50 years later.
And he’d – for all intents and purposes – won the race before it even ran. Just four other horses entered (including 2-time bridesmaid Sham) and Secretariat went off as a 1-to-10 betting favorite. Yes, you’d need to wager $10 to win $1! That doesn’t even seem real.
And he did not disappoint: Secretariat pulled away from Sham (who later was diagnosed with an leg injury) near the end of the backstretch and just kept pulling away. The track announcer referred to him as a “tremendous machine” along the way and even had trouble estimating the margin of victory; announcing it at 25 lengths, but official reviews put it at 31 lengths (over 250 feet). And the time! The time of this race was 2:24 flat, which obliterated the world record for a mile-and-a-half dirt track by 2.6 seconds.
The 1973 Belmont Stakes.Secretariat jockey Ron Turcotte sneaks a peek at the field as he heads down the stretch at the Belmont Stakes.
Check out this wonderful retrospective from Sports Illustrated‘s Pat Forde in advance of this year’s Derby. And, as you read it, keep in mind that Secretariat’s winning times at each of these three races still stand … 50 years later! He was simply the best and for a scant five weeks in 1973 put it all together for the world to bear witness. How cool would it have been to be there?
