Guaranteed winner.
Cannot lose.
Greatest horse in history.
Race decided before it began.
Followed by:
Totally ripped off.
The rules are stupid.
Those other horses were more rested.
His foot was hurt.
Whoever is doing PR for the owner is doing an outstanding job. There has been an ocean of ink spilled for this horse. I'm in no position to judge the horse, but the publicity team is the best on the planet.
Publicity or con to make millions?
In the handicapping aspect of the race, the concept was to find value and try to maximize the availability. California Chrome was a good horse who benefitted from a subpar year of three year olds. I follow the sport nearly year round including watching the prep races early in the calendar season. He got stronger and was more successful especially under the current jockey after a switch.
In the Derby, it was a 19-horse field and the unknown commodity was how would he react to a larger field. Oftentimes, value can be found in that race, too. However, he won, though not overwhelmingly, and so the journey took the next step.
In the Preakness, he was the class of a reduced field and the story was magnified.
I likened him to Big Brown who had a similar journey back in 2008. A solid horse but one not facing what I thought was a stellar field of opponents.
Yesterday, the horse named Commissioner had arguably the top jockey and top trainer in the nation. It finished second but at a price of 28-to-1. That is a dream for handicappers. It doesn’t always win but these races often have value.
Running three races in five weeks is difficult. One of those three finished in last place yesterday though that may also be injury related. He finished second in the Preakness.