Don’t stop at Big Red for the key moments of the Derby

Now that the 149th Kentucky Derby (G1) has arrived, it’s time for fireworks to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Secretariat’s spectacular victory in the 1973 race renewal. The victory lasted 2.5 minutes. his victory against Sham that afternoon of May 5 not only achieved the race record and time record that stands to this day, but also set the stage for the first successful Triple Crown campaign after a partial run. century pose.

People are fascinated by important numbers, and anything that happened half a century ago is usually a blessing for those capable of becoming famous. The race will spend the rest of the spring basking in the glory of the Secretariat, most especially on June 10 at Belmont Park. That’s where a blue and white checkered pole rises just inside the main track, marking the point at which Twice a Prince and My Gallant entered their own race for second place in the series. The Belmont Stakes were won by the Secretariat, then a small red dot on the horizon, 31 lengths to the east.

Then again, regarding milestones, it’s important to remember:

A hundred years ago, the formidable Zev won the 49th Kentucky Derby a week after a bad result in the Preakness Stakes (G1), when he was kicked by another horse during the start of the walk. Apparently smart from the incident, Zev was careful to drive around Pimlico Earl Sande’s course at the end of the yard. Three days later, Zev proved he was fine by beating the older horses in Rainbow Handicap in Jamaica. I shipped the goods quickly Churchill Downswhere the skeptical public saw him pay off 19-1 in the Derby.

This is the 90th anniversary of the 1933 “Fighting Derby”, titled by the authors inspired by a rope photograph of teenagers Don Meade and Herbie “Bad Boy” Fisher tugging at each other at the finish line. The umpires gave Meade and Brokers Tip over Head Play in the nose race, there was a predictable brawl in the room, and both riders had a month on the field to reflect on their guilt.

Eighty years ago, presenting something as frivolous as the Kentucky Derby was just touch and go. America was plunged into wars in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Heavy restrictions were placed on train travel and the domestic consumption of gasoline and rubber required for weapons. Churchill Down promoter Matt Winn promised to promote only to the local crowd, thus naming the 69th run the “Street Car Derby”. The Earl of Fleet, starting his 17th, expended very little energy to win the three-part waltz.

As Derby’s major milestones pass, the events of both 75 and 70 years ago were sizable deals. Citation’s 1948 Triple Crown began at Churchill Downs with a show of power against his stablemate Coaltown. A similar performance by the Indigenous Dancers was expected at the 1953 Derby, the first nationally televised match. Gray Ghost played well on old black and white Motorolas. Then Dark Star and Hank Moreno twisted the plot with the biggest Derby shock since Donerail. Native Dancer never lost again, which is of little consolation to those who played with him in the Derby for 70 cents per dollar.

All right, Sherman. Now let’s set the Machine back to 2003 and let’s give a round of applause to the 20th anniversary of a truly unique winner of the Kentucky Derby.

Would you believe a gelding was bred in the state of New York?

It happened. Victory of Funny Cide in the 129th Derby is a rarity from every angle. By that time, there had been more Derby winners born in Montana or Kansas – one each – than in the Empire State. A gelding hasn’t won a race since 1929, when Clyde Van Dusen wired to win for his coach, Clyde Van Dusen.

On the other hand, Funny Cide isn’t named for his trainer, though “Barclay Tagg” would be an interesting choice. Tagg vividly recalled seeing the young Pureblood for the first time.

“I saw him as a 2-year-old on a friend’s ranch,” Tagg said this week while grazing a horse at his Belmont Park barn. “I was standing there talking to someone about another horse when this thing flew by. It was a four-legged machine I had never seen before.

“Remember those classic black Schwinn bikes the kids used to have, looking so fast and efficient, the kind I wish I had?” Tag said. “That’s what he reminded me. I’m usually a pretty conservative thinker about those things. I’ve been in the horse business long enough to not take anything for granted. But he changed his mind. changed my brain. I said to myself, ‘That’s my Derby winner.'”

Later, Tagg said the same thing to his partner, Robin Smullen, who put it away for safekeeping. After Tagg acquired a horse at the age of 2 for the Sackatoga Stable partnership led by Jack Knowlton, the trainer never had a reason to change his mind.

Tagg said: “I believed in him from day one. “It was an unbelievable, very strange feeling, like something you would wake up from a dream. But I stuck with it.”

Through his ups and downs, Tagg has stuck with Funny Cide, including losing three of his first three games in 2003. The game before Derby, however, he overcame the widely-acclaimed Empire Maker. at the end of the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) finished in the second best place Tagg had ever seen. When the same pair faced off three weeks later in the Derby, Funny Cide won by 1 3/4 with a lucrative 12-1 scoreline.

In his post-race interview that day, Tagg seemed elated, but not exactly surprised. Is that how he remembers it?

“I guess,” Tagg replied. “I don’t know. I’m a bit numb. I just remember it being beautiful. It’s what you dreamed of as a child.”

Tagg joined the most recent Triple Crown mix in the 2020 season which changed when the Derby took place in September. Tagg finished second with Tiz Law who previously scored a level 1 hat trick in the Travers Stakes (G1), Florida Derby (G1) and a stripped down version of the Belmont Stakes.

Funny Cide raced until the summer of his 7 year old. In addition to the Derby and the decisive victory at Preakness, the son of twisted humor also won the Eclipse Prize as a 3-year-old men’s champion, the 2004 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) and an underdog with earnings of $3.5 million. He’s still with us, enjoying life at Kentucky Horse Park as the star of the stars in residence at the Hall of Champions. Tagg visited him a few years ago and declared him healthy in the flesh and glowing in his coat. Only one Fusiachi Pegasus And Silver Charm older of the surviving Derby winners.