Legends of the Track: Seattle Slew, 1973 Grand National - Red Rum v Crisp, Jerry Bailey and Happy Valley Racecourse.
Monday Edition - February 26th, 2024 (Edition 13)
IN TODAY’S EMAIL
Horse of the Day: Seattle Slew (USA)
Classic Races: 1973 Grand National - Red Rum (GB)
Legends of the Sport: Jerry Bailey (USA)
The World’s Greatest Racecourses: Happy Valley Racecourse (Hong Kong)
Where in the World - Can you name the British Racecourse?
HORSE OF THE DAY
SEATTLE SLEW (KY)
Seattle Slew at Spendthrift Farm in 1981
"[In the Kentucky Derby], here was Seattle Slew right next to me. I said, 'Wow, this horse came in quick.' And I look and there he was like this, looking at me. And I never noticed that on a horse. Seattle Slew passed me and took every other challenge from behind. And I said to myself, the horse is a champion," says jockey Angel Cordero on ESPN Classic's SportsCentury series.
From humble beginnings, Seattle Slew exploded into the forefront. Four years after the awesome Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont, Seattle Slew duplicated the feat in 1977. And he did Secretariat one better, by becoming the only undefeated Triple Crown champion.
Seattle Slew is the only undefeated Triple Crown winner.
In an era when it was common to see owners spend hundreds of thousands -- even millions -- on horses that they believed would reach Triple Crown status, Seattle Slew was purchased for a mere $17,500. As a colt, Slew didn't look like the typical champion. But looks, it turns out, didn't matter.
*The content and images featured in this article were originally produced and sourced by ESPN.com. We acknowledge and credit the original creators for their work.
Seattle Slew becomes the only undefeated Triple Crown winner by completing the sweep in the 1977 Belmont Stakes - You Tube produced Twinspires
CLASSIC RACES
1973 Grand National - Red Rum (UK)
'He might not have won - but 1973 will always be remembered as Crisp's National'
Crisp and Richard Pitman clear Becher's Brook on the second circuit of the 1973 Grand NationalCredit: Gerry Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)
The Grand National. The world's greatest steeplechase. The race where once-a-year punters dine out on their ability to select a winner which will remain etched in their memory for generations.
It will not take long in those reminiscences for the name Red Rum to crop up. The greatest Grand National horse of all time, trained behind a used car showroom and galloped on Southport beach by a trainer who moonlighted as a taxi driver to make ends meet. By the end of Rummy's Aintree exploits he would open betting shops and even appear on BBC Sports Personality of the Year, such was his celebrity status.
Yet when chat turns to the first of those victories in 1973, it is a race that is referred to not by his name but by the horse he narrowly beat that day. 1973 will always be remembered as Crisp's National.
Red Rum and Crisp lined up as joint-favourites for the race that day, yet the fact they ever met at all was remarkable in itself as they started worlds apart.
*The content and images featured in this article were originally produced and sourced from the Racingpost.com. We acknowledge and credit the original creators for their work.
Watch the full Race - You Tube Video by The Jockey Club
LEGENDS OF THE SPORT
Jerry Bailey (USA)
Jerry Bailey, pictured after his final career race, overcame a battle with alcoholism to become one of the best riders in the country. (Eliot J. Schechter/BloodHorse photo)
Tale of Redemption for Jerry Bailey
For anyone struggling daily against alcohol and substance abuse, no story can be more heartening than the fall and rise of Jerry Bailey.
In the beginning, when his thirst for alcohol led to long, unhappy nights that blurred into unproductive days, he appeared to be another average jockey eking out a living with equally ordinary mounts. When he finally tired of having his life ruled by drink, when he grew weary of the argumentative denials that shoved loved ones away, when he had enough of mediocrity and committed himself to sobriety with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, he was transformed.
Raging arguments with his wife, Suzee, gave way to the love that always brought them back to each other. Now that hangovers no longer dominated his mornings, he awoke with energy and determination, eager to prove he was worthy of live mounts and could make the difference in the slight margins that typically separate winners from also-rans.
“Sobriety let the better side of Jerry Bailey, the kinder side, shine through,” Bailey said. “And I was able to get those mounts that I wanted.”
The physical gifts of the Dallas native combined with his intelligence and preparedness to elevate him into one of the greatest jockeys of any era with 5,892 wins and more than $295 million in earnings in a career that stretched from 1974-2006. He won six Triple Crown races, taking the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes twice each.
JERRY BAILEY
Birthdate: Aug. 29, 1957
Birthplace: Dallas, Texas
Career Record: 30,856 mounts, 5,893 wins, 4,554 seconds, 3,925 thirds
Career Purse Earnings: $296,113,529
Accomplishments: Won six Triple Crown races, 15 Breeders’ Cup races and four editions of the Dubai World Cup; amassed 216 Grade 1 victories and 16 New York riding titles; seven-time recipient of Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey; 1995 inductee into Racing Hall of Fame
Article and Images originally published in the AmericasbestRacing.com
WORLD’S GREATEST RACECOURSES
Happy Valley Racecourse (Hong Kong)
From the stunning skyline to the spectacle of Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong is full of world-class sights for travellers to see. But if you’re looking for fun – to add a little ‘do’ to your ‘see’ – then look no further than Happy Wednesday at Happy Valley Racecourse, the city’s trendiest headquarters for mouth-watering food, thirst-quenching beverages and thrilling excitement both on and off the track. There’s nothing quite like a night at the races in Hong Kong! Week in and week out, Happy Wednesday fans are treated to a full sensory experience, pairing the pulse-pumping entertainment of jousting jockeys with a weekly theme that is integrated into everything from live bands and interactive games to on-course decorations and a delicious, reasonably priced trackside menu.
Watch the stunning light show below at Happy Valley Racecourse created Musco Sports Lighting, LLC.
WHERE IN THE WORLD?
Can you name the British Racecourse?
Riders Up!
Best, Steve
Enjoying the content? Follow me @usasteeplechase on X
The error is mine. Not sure if his dq from the purse counts as a loss.
Justify? 2018 Triple Crown?
You expect readers to pay for this service?