Legends of the Track: Spectacular Bid, 'The Greatest Horse to Look Through a Bridle', Catching Freedom Confirmed for Preakness by Cox and The 2024 Preakness By the Numbers
Legends of the Track: Spectacular Bid, 'The Greatest Horse to Look Through a Bridle', Catching Freedom Confirmed for Preakness by Cox and The 2024 Preakness By the Numbers
Monday Edition - May 13th, 2024 (Edition 84)
Spectacular Bid (Photo by Bob Coglianese)
IN TODAY’S EMAIL
Good Morning!
On a quieter racing day, our focus shifts to the buzz of Preakness week, the entries are locked in and the draw will take place today. The 2024 version is actually shaping up nicely with top contenders Mystik Dan, Catching Freedom, and Muth in the lineup. Yesterday they settled the lineup for Friday’s 14 race Black-Eyed Susan card.
Today’s legend is non other than, Spectacular Bid. ‘The Bid’ dominated the 100th Preakness at 1/9 odds with the help of his young regular rider Ronnie Franklin, straight out of Baltimore. Onto the Belmont and the incident with the safety pin!
Mike Curry from America's Best Racing revisits memorable Preakness moments by the numbers. Did you know that the largest crowd ever to witness the Preakness was a massive 140,237 in 2017. That year, Cloud Computing triumphed against the odds, overshadowing Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming, who unexpectedly fell to eighth place.
In today’s podcast we catch up with Jason Beem who reflects back on the weekend races at Belmont and Churchill Downs.
And a quick trivia to wrap up - can you name the British racetrack that has been hosting racing for nearly 100 years?
Rider’s Up!
Steve
GREATEST WINNERS OF THE PREAKNESS STAKES
Spectacular Bid, The Greatest Horse to Look Through a Bridle (USA)
Spectacular Bid, with Ron Franklin up, celebrated a Preakness win. Photo provided by Maryland Jockey Club.
With his nineteen-year-old regular rider Ronnie Franklin, a Baltimore native, in the saddle, Spectacular Bid went postward as the 1-9 favorite in the Preakness Stakes. A crowd of over 72,000 gathered at the track to bear witness to the Kentucky Derby hero, who was expected not only to win but also to romp.
When the gates opened, the compact field took flight with Spectacular Bid confidently hanging back in fourth early. Content to let his foes set the pace, Spectacular Bid cruised around the very track where his career began. It wasn’t until the field hit the backstretch when Spectacular Bid took command, unraveling his hulking stride and blasting past his competition. With blistering speed and uncanny ease, The Bid soared to victory by 5 ½ lengths, stopping the clock in 1:54.20 for the 1 3/16-mile event.
“A hometown victory was particularly satisfying and celebrated in grand style,” Harry Meyerhoff’s obituary noted years later.
Read the Full Article at theracingbiz.com
Watch ‘The Bid’ win the 100th Preakness Stakes
THE PREAKNESS STAKES
Catching Freedom Confirmed for Preakness by Cox
Albaugh Family Stables' Catching Freedom , the Kentucky Derby (G1) fourth-place finisher, will run in the May 18 $2 million Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course, trainer Brad Cox said May 12.
Cox's initial reaction was not to run Catching Freedom back in two weeks after the hard race the Louisiana Derby (G2) winner had in the Kentucky Derby, in which he finished less than two lengths behind victorious Mystik Dan . But Catching Freedom has been training so well at Churchill Downs that Cox felt the colt deserved another chance at a Triple Crown race.
Flavien Prat, aboard for the Louisiana Derby and the Kentucky Derby, has the mount.
"Obviously we like how he's doing," Cox said. "It's just eight days after the Derby. It's very important to watch the horse. He has been galloping well. I'm happy with the way he's moving. Tomorrow (May 13) is entry day, and we are going to ship tomorrow. We need to get our ducks in a row, and we feel he's shown us enough.
"It's not ideal to run back in two weeks at this level, but that's the way the schedule is. This race provides an opportunity to be very competitive in a grade 1. We don't want to miss that opportunity as long as he's doing well. The Preakness is a very prestigious race. It's not only a grade 1 but a classic."
Read the full article at bloodhorse.com
PREAKNESS STAKES
By the Numbers: The 2024 Preakness Stakes
Oxbow, ridden by Gary Stevens, gave owner Calumet Farm its record eighth victory in the Preakness Stakes in 2013 at Pimlico. (Eclipse Sportswire)
On May 18, Pimlico Race Course will host the second jewel of North American horse racing’s Triple Crown, as a talented group of 3-year-olds including Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve winner Mystik Dan will contest the Preakness Stakes.
The race historically has been one of the most important in deciding champion 3-year-old male honors at year’s end, and the Preakness determines if a Triple Crown will be on the line in the Belmont Stakes three weeks later. Get get ready for this year’s running with some fun stats and facts below.
0 – The number of times the Preakness has been held on a Sunday. The race has been held at least four times on every other day of the week since its inception in 1873. The Preakness has been held on a Saturday every year since 1931; Tuesday ranks second with 14 editions of the Preakness conducted on that day of the week.
1 3/16 miles – The distance of the Preakness since 1925. It’s a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Kentucky Derby.
1:53 – Secretariat’s winning time in the 1973 edition of the Preakness, a stakes record. The race was originally timed in 1:54 2/5, but that error was corrected in 2012, giving “Big Red” the stakes record for all three Triple Crown races. Read more about the 39-year controversy.
2 – The number of people who have both ridden and trained a Preakness winner. Louis J. Schaefer won the 1929 edition as a jockey aboard Dr. Freeland and later trained Challedon to victory in 1939. Johnny Longden duplicated the feat by winning the 1943 Preakness on Count Fleet before training 1969 winner Majestic Prince.
Read the full article at the americasbestracing.net
PODCAST OF THE DAY
Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast
Jason catches up on some news from around the racing world and looks back at the weekend races from Belmont and Churchill Downs.
Listen to Jason’s Podcast Here
TRIVIA QUESTION
Can you name the British Racecourse?
The present course opened in 1923, but racing took place on the old course over 200 years earlier.
Visit USASteeplechase X page and Scroll through the comments for the answer
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Riders Up!
Best, Steve