When Two Out of Three is Bad: Alysheba

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1987: Alysheba


Alysheba was going to be Alydar’s revenge. His Daddy had finished second to Affirmed in all three Triple Crown races but Alysheba won the 1987 Kentucky Derby after being “nearly knocked to the ground” by a horse named Bet Twice, (can you do that?). He then won the Preakness. He’d been taking lasix, a drug that prevents horses from bleeding through the nose during races. It had been made illegal in New York and he ran 4th in the Belmont, which was won by Bet Twice by 6 lengths. Bet Twice beat him a couple of times afterwards, as well. He was owned by Preston Madden and Hamburg Place farm in Kentucky, trained by Jack Van Berg and ridden by Chris McCarron and had an 11-8-2 record in 26 races.

 

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That was a tremendous crop of 3YOs in 1987. Bet Twice blew that Belmont apart with a decisive move to the lead about one mile into the race. The official margin of victory was 14 lengths. He clearly relished the 12 furlongs of the Belmont while the others he faced that day did not.