Legends of the Track: Northern Dancer: A ‘Pocket Battleship’ Who Became a Worldwide Influence, “It’s New York’s Easy Goer in Front” + Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast
Tuesday Edition - March 19th, 2024 (Edition 31)
IN TODAY’S EMAIL
Horse of the Day: Northern Dancer: A ‘Pocket Battleship’ Who Became a Worldwide Influence (USA)
Classic Races: “It’s New York’s Easy Goer in Front” (USA)
Podcast of the Day: Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast (3-19-24)
HORSE OF THE DAY
Nothern Dancer (USA)
Northern Dancer at age 22 in 1983. (Milt Toby/BloodHorse photo)
Northern Dancer: A ‘Pocket Battleship’ Who Became a Worldwide Influence
Back in the day when a truck stacked with hay rumbled into Windfields Farm, Northern Dancer never paid it a lick of attention from his stall across the lane from the breeding shed. But if he laid eyes on an approaching van with a mare aboard, all hell broke loose.
“He would rear up, rest his forelegs on the sill of the bottom half of the door, whinny and squeal as the loading ramp dropped,” laughed Benny Miller, who would become the Windfields Maryland farm manager. “He acted like every mare on the farm would be his conquest. To calm things down we moved him to the back side of the stallion barn.”
Northern Dancer and jockey Willie Shoemaker in the Gulfstream Park winner's circle after winning the Florida Derby. (Jim Raftery/BloodHorse photo)
Small and stocky, the bonny bay colt was built more like an old-style Quarter Horse than a sleek Thoroughbred. In 1962, he was offered for $25,000 at his yearling sale. There were no takers. Two years later, in the lead-up to the Kentucky Derby the press poked fun at the colt’s pint-size (15.1 hands) stature. Then Northern Dancer uncorked a jaw-dropping two-minute flat run breaking the 89-year-old track record and become the first Canadian-born and -bred horse to win the world’s most famous race.
Read there full article at americasbestracing.net
*The content and images featured in this article were originally produced and sourced from the americasbestracing.net. We acknowledge and credit the original creators for their work.
Good Read
Want to read more about Northern Dancer? Dive into Northern Dancer: The Legendary Horse That Inspired a Nation.
by Kevin Chong (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 24 ratings
In every sport there are a select few competitors who come to define the excellence that all others aspire to. In “the sport of kings,” there is one that stands alone. Northern Dancer is not only a Canadian legend, but the cornerstone of his breed. It has been estimated that 70 percent of the thoroughbreds alive today are his descendants, which includes the majority of the horses running in the biggest races around the world. His offspring received record-breaking prices on the auction floor.
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CLASSIC RACES
A Classy Champion, 1989 Belmont Stakes Winner Easy Goer
Easy Goer was impressive from the start of his career and was the betting favorite in all but one of his races. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)
For once – and only once – Easy Goer was an underdog in the Belmont Stakes, but in a race that should have warmed the heart of his sire, he ran the race of his life and denied Sunday Silence racing’s greatest achievement. Back home in New York for the Belmont Stakes, Easy Goer ran to his regal breeding and recorded the most one-sided victory in his rivalry with Sunday Silence. Flying past the Triple Crown hopeful midway on the final turn, he posted a lopsided 8-length win as the 8-5 second choice in the wagering and earned praise as “New York’s Easy Goer” in track announcer Marshall Cassidy’s call of the final yards of the race.
The Belmont restored much of the glory Easy Goer had lost in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, and his next few races only reinforced a notion that the Kentucky Derby and Preakness were merely glitches and that Easy Goer would be the dominant 3-year-old by year’s end.
Read the full article at americasbestracing.net
*The content and images featured in this article were originally produced and sourced from the americasbestracing.net. We acknowledge and credit the original creators for their work.
Listen to Marshall Cassidy’s classic call “It’s New York’s Eeeeeeasy Goer in front”
Easy Goer had been favored to beat his West coast rival in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, but for the Belmont Stakes it was Sunday Silence who was the odds-on choice after narrow victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. But Easy Goer turned the tables in the Belmont, barreling home a resounding eight-length winner in 2:26, the fastest running since Secretariat.
PODCASTS OF THE DAY
Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast 3/19/24--Guest Gary Palmisano
Jason opens the show discussing some NHC final thoughts. Then he welcomes in Gary Palmisano from Churchill Downs to talk the upcoming Louisiana Derby Day at Fair Grounds, Jeff Ruby Steaks day at Turfway, and much more!
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Riders Up!
Best, Steve