Jackson Jambalaya

American Pharoah was just 2 seconds slower than Secretariat. Amazing! Two observations. I watched this on TV and when the camera panned the audience I was struck by how many people where in the grand stands. All these people must have a ton of discretionary income because you know everyone was betting. I couldn't ever afford the entrance fee. Also, a 900 pound horse + rider can do a mile & a half in 2 minutes vs. a human can in 7 minutes.

Wow, 12-13 lengths difference. Secretariat was a once in a lifetime horse.

The entrance fee for standing room is not that expensive (about 35 dollars). Most came to see history, make a 2 dollar bet and have an over priced watered down drink.

I saw this yesterday;

lengths behind Secretariat in the Belmont (1973)

13 American Pharoah (2015)
14 Affirmed (1978)
21 Count Fleet (1943)
21 Citation (1948)
23 War Admiral (1937)
28 Seattle Slew (1977)
33 Omaha (1935)
34 Assault (1946)
35 Whirlaway (1941)
38 Gallant Fox (1930)

The attendance was limited to just 90,000. The Kentucky Derby had over 173,000. This is a super horse and should race 2 or 3 more times before retiring at Coolmore at the end of 2015.

I wonder how Alydar would fare on that list.

Secretariat was FLYING !!!

Congrats to Am Pharoah

You have to remember that Secretariat came along before Obamacare and Common Core.

Affirmed finished in 2:26.80, therefore Alydar would have finished behind Pharoah (2:26.65) and well behind Secretariat.

Did they test horses for PEDs back then?

Two seconds is a long time in racing.

alas! they all wind up as Elmer's glue, Alpo dog food, and Jello.

Affirmed usually came in just ahead of Alydar so I was curious how he did.

From Alydar's Wikipedia entry:
Affirmed won by 1.5 lengths in the Kentucky Derby, by a neck in the Preakness and by a head in the Belmont Stakes

Therefore, Alydar would be 14+ lengths behind Secretariat.

So glad to finally see another triple crown winner! FINALLY! And Pharoah (sic - there's a story behind the name!) showed no signs of faltering in the long, long Belmont that's been the downfall of so many weary triple crown hopefuls.

That said, my favorite clip is of Secretariat's owner watching Pharoah from the stands at age 93. He joined the ranks but like so many others, couldn't best her own. Love it!

If American Pharoah was 13 lengths behind Secretariat, that means Keen Ice (7 1/2 lengths behind Pharoah) and Mubhaatij (7 3/4 lengths behind Pharoah) ran a faster Belmont than the great Citation (21 lenghts behind Secretariat). The times at Belmont were unusually fast on Saturday.

I always thought that the tracks varied significantly - with wetness and "depth" of looseness and even differences in soil sand, clay, and other differences in the longer term. How easy is it to compare times alone if they are running on vastly different surfaces? Is that a fair comparison? Cramer famously said "He's a mudder. His mother was a mudder."