One thing I have tried to do each week is hit as many different sports as possible. That is why this week’s column will not focus on the Sammy Sosa scandal or the NBA Finals – everyone knows ESPN has already covered those stories enough for me to wonder if there is even anything else going on this week.
Lucky for me, I just happened to remember there is sweet little $5 million prize on the line Saturday for a couple of guys in New York. This lottery-like fortune can only be won by one group of lucky entrants, and can only be won once a year. This lottery or race is known as the Triple Crown.
Tomorrow, Funny Cide attempts to become a part of an exclusive club that includes 11 horses to win all three legs of the Triple Crown. The races – the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont – have a storied tradition that dates back to the late 1800s.
Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed – not just words the president would have trouble pronouncing – are myths, legends, and heroes of a sport deep in tradition.
The skeptics have always questioned these legends, the very athletics of horse racing.
How can horses be athletes?
Before answering the question, I recommend popping in the footage of the 1973 Belmont in which Secretariat won by an outstanding 31 lengths, running a mile and half in a record 2:34. Watching the race with goose bumps, I always wonder if it would have made more sense for the field to get a 30 second head start on the amazing animal.
If you are still not convinced, then check out the footage of Affirmed and Alydar’s legendary three races in the spring of 1978 that captured the heart of the nation. Affirmed went on to barely edge out Alydar three consecutive times, but the races were so close that Alydar’s status and legend were enhanced because of the bitterly close defeats.
Funny Cide has a chance to make his own legend and if history has any sense of irony, then Cide will be the winner tomorrow.
The longest gap between any Triple Crown winner has been the 25 years that occurred between Citation’s 1948 crown and Secretariat’s 1973 crown. This year marks the 25 years since the last Triple Crown winner, Affirmed, in 1978.
Cide, a New York bred horse, will return to an excited home crowd to try and win the biggest race of its 3-year-old life and succeed where others have failed.
The list of failures is long as five of the last seven years a horse has entered Belmont Park with the Derby and Preakness already won including Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic and War Emblem.
But Funny Cide is the first gelding to win the first two legs, and it might be what the horse doesn’t have that separates Cide from the rest. In case you aren’t in on the joke, a gelding is a male horse that has had its manhood removed for medical reasons.
Empire Maker will provide the toughest competition for Funny Cide as he was the overwhelming favorite at the Derby and finished a close second. Empire Maker, who beat Cide easily earlier in the year at the Wood Memorial, will have the benefits of five week’s rest to face the long track at Belmont.
With only six horses in the field including Scrimshaw, Ten Most Wanted, the Dynever, and long-shot selection Supervisor there should be clear trips for both Funny Cide and Empire Maker to make a run at the Belmont.
But I can’t help thinking it’s going to be Funny Cide at the line tomorrow. I think the stars are aligned for something magical to happen. It’s the fastest three minutes in sports, it’s for the Triple Crown and $5 million, it’s a chance to watch to history, it’s a horse without … err … fear.
There is no more important ride for Funny Cide.
Andy Schwartz is a senior in journalism who believes the aerodynamic form of Funny Cide can’t hurt his chances. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].
