SWC75
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AFFIRMED
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9DidbmwH5U
There has never been a rivalry like the one between Affirmed and Alydar, who would be on this list if it weren’t for Affirmed, as he finished second to Affirmed in every Triple Crown race- by a length and a half, a neck and head. Altogether they faced each other ten times with Affirmed winning 7 and Alydar 3, (one after a protest). Alydar had actually been the favorite going into the Triple Crown season but he became racing’s most famous runner-up. Affirmed “had a lethal combination of speed (which allowed him to get early position and not have to rely on a good run to win) and courage (which allowed him to fend off challengers)”. His trainer, Laz Barrera "Affirmed is greater than Secretariat, or any Triple Crown winner, because only Affirmed had to face Alydar."
Affirmed was foaled at Harbor View Farm in Florida. He was owned by Louis Wolfson, whose 1969 conviction for securities law violations had been “Affirmed” on appeal. There is speculation that Wolfson got the idea for the horses name based on that but it’s hard to believe he wanted to commemorate such an occasion by naming a horse after it. Maybe he just liked the sound of the word. His trainer was Laz Barrera and his jockey for the triple Crown races was the 18 year old sensation, Steve Cauthen. Lafit Pincay replaced Cauthen after he was injured. In 29 races, he had a record of 22-5-1.
Alydar has been foaled at and owned by the legendary Calumet Farm in Kentucky. He was trained by John Veitsch and his jockey was Jorge Velasquez. His career record was 14-9-1 in 26 starts. After their careers, as we see in Jim McKay’s report, (he says Seattle Slew was 14 years old so these reports were probably filmed in 1988), both horses were stabled at Calumet in adjacent stables. You wonder how well they got along.
Horse racing is sometimes compared to dog fighting or rooster fighting- animals trained to do something they don’t naturally want to do for the entertainment of humans. One only has to watch Secretariat at the Belmont or Affirmed going head to head with Alydar to see that these are athletes and competitors in their own right.
But that’s not to say that these horses are always well-treated by humans. Unbeknowest to outsiders, Calumet had been poorly managed by it’s latest owners and were facing bankruptcy. In 1990, Alydar was found to have a broken leg. It could not be healed and he was put to sleep. A $36,000,000 insurance claim was put in. And investigation produced testimony that Alydar’s leg had been intentionally broken by tying the leg to a truck, which was then floored: essentially the leg was “hung”. Calumet’s manager, J.T. Lundy and his attorney, Gary Matthews, wound up in jail.
Affirmed was transferred to Jonabell Farm, (also in Kentucky),where he died in 2001 of the same virus that killed Secretariat. He was given the rare privilege for a horse of being buried whole and with an appropriate ceremony.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9DidbmwH5U
There has never been a rivalry like the one between Affirmed and Alydar, who would be on this list if it weren’t for Affirmed, as he finished second to Affirmed in every Triple Crown race- by a length and a half, a neck and head. Altogether they faced each other ten times with Affirmed winning 7 and Alydar 3, (one after a protest). Alydar had actually been the favorite going into the Triple Crown season but he became racing’s most famous runner-up. Affirmed “had a lethal combination of speed (which allowed him to get early position and not have to rely on a good run to win) and courage (which allowed him to fend off challengers)”. His trainer, Laz Barrera "Affirmed is greater than Secretariat, or any Triple Crown winner, because only Affirmed had to face Alydar."
Affirmed was foaled at Harbor View Farm in Florida. He was owned by Louis Wolfson, whose 1969 conviction for securities law violations had been “Affirmed” on appeal. There is speculation that Wolfson got the idea for the horses name based on that but it’s hard to believe he wanted to commemorate such an occasion by naming a horse after it. Maybe he just liked the sound of the word. His trainer was Laz Barrera and his jockey for the triple Crown races was the 18 year old sensation, Steve Cauthen. Lafit Pincay replaced Cauthen after he was injured. In 29 races, he had a record of 22-5-1.
Alydar has been foaled at and owned by the legendary Calumet Farm in Kentucky. He was trained by John Veitsch and his jockey was Jorge Velasquez. His career record was 14-9-1 in 26 starts. After their careers, as we see in Jim McKay’s report, (he says Seattle Slew was 14 years old so these reports were probably filmed in 1988), both horses were stabled at Calumet in adjacent stables. You wonder how well they got along.
Horse racing is sometimes compared to dog fighting or rooster fighting- animals trained to do something they don’t naturally want to do for the entertainment of humans. One only has to watch Secretariat at the Belmont or Affirmed going head to head with Alydar to see that these are athletes and competitors in their own right.
But that’s not to say that these horses are always well-treated by humans. Unbeknowest to outsiders, Calumet had been poorly managed by it’s latest owners and were facing bankruptcy. In 1990, Alydar was found to have a broken leg. It could not be healed and he was put to sleep. A $36,000,000 insurance claim was put in. And investigation produced testimony that Alydar’s leg had been intentionally broken by tying the leg to a truck, which was then floored: essentially the leg was “hung”. Calumet’s manager, J.T. Lundy and his attorney, Gary Matthews, wound up in jail.
Affirmed was transferred to Jonabell Farm, (also in Kentucky),where he died in 2001 of the same virus that killed Secretariat. He was given the rare privilege for a horse of being buried whole and with an appropriate ceremony.
