Official Free Republic Kentucky Derby Thread - It's Smarty Jones!

Kentucky Derby 2004 - 130 Web Site ^ | 5/1/04 | 3catsanadog

[3catsanadog]

Hear ye! Hear ye!

This is the Official Free Republic Kentucky Derby Thread.

Get those mint juleps mixed now, my friends, because the race will start in about an hour and 45 minutes.

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2004/

This site will provide all kinds of information on the race today - the horses, the odds, the hats, the history, the celebrities, a multimedia slide show on today's race, a store, etc.

[I still care]

I wonder if he would have won if he hadn't gotten bumped and ended up next to last. He came all the way up.

[xp38]

Secretariat broke the record in two of the triple crown races. The third they say he did too but there was a claimed malfunction in the official timer and he missed that one.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Any idea which Kentucky Derby winner has been the best performer after leaving the track?

[Miss Marple]

That's what I think. I would favor him at Belmont.

[fiftymegaton]

Imperialism got bumped twice right out of the gate. VERY impressive for him to end up third.....too bad I had him winning.

[apackof2]

That was an exciting race!

I am happy for Smarty Jones & Co

Do we dare hope for a Triple Crown winner this year?

[Mr. Mojo]

And not only did Secretariant break those records, he annihilated them.

[Mr. Mojo]

Secretariant = Secretariat

[elbucko]

He came home very upset. He used to go to Belmont all the time, and he never went again after that.

I can understand. It is a heartbreak to have a healthy horse go down, no matter what the use is, money or pleasure. I lost my first horse a few days before my 17th. b'day. I'm still not over it.

[Ramonan]

Lot of people would like to tell Eli Manning just how much he does not measure up to Pat Tillman. As one pro said this week, thatOffensive Line in New York isn'y as big as Manning thinks it is.

[fatima]

They are kind to us and Big Frank is a help to us,he shoes the horses.

[prisoner6]

Imp is gonna be a tough horse in the next two jewels. Especially if those are dry. SJ and the >jockey< did a fantastic job this race. Next one could be VERY interesting!

prisoner

[Peach]

Secretariat was a great horse; I used to watch him race with my grandpa who owned a race horse when he was young named Doc who I named my dog after.

[apackof2]

Secretariat (sp) still my favorite.

Mine too, what a horse!
I cried the day he was put down

[prisoner6]

Do we dare hope for a Triple Crown winner this year?

YESSIR!

In fact I'm ready with my 2 bucks...hehehe!

prisoner6

[elbucko]

Couldn't we freepers poll our money together and get a race horse? Like a syndicate?

That would really be something, i.e.; "Right Wing Conspiracy", owned by Free Republic Farms.

[The Raven]

It's VAST Right Wing Conspiracy

[Miss Marple]

I think that it would be a great idea!!! There are all kinds of possibilities!

[apackof2]

June 18, 1973

It was the greatest performance by a racehorse in this century. As Secretariat thundered down the homestretch at Belmont Park to the roar of nearly 70,000 fans, he took on legendary stature. His long stride carried him to the finish by an ever-increasing margin in poetic rhythm. And when the wire was reached, the mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes won and the ninth Triple Crown in racing history earned, the closest competitor—if he can be so called—was 31 lengths to the rear. Sham, who had lost both the Secretariat is 50 feet from the finish line and the race is won. (Neil Leifer)

Kentucky Derby and the Preakness to the wonder horse by the identical margin of 2 1/2 lengths, this time finished a rubber-legged last in the field of five, outdistanced by 45 lengths. And, as if consciously seeking to silence the critics who had persistently argued that any son of Bold Ruler was suspect at classic distances, particularly over 12 furlongs, Secretariat shattered Gallant Man's track record by two and three-fifths seconds, the equivalent of 13 lengths. Along the way, he also smashed the record for a mile and a quarter.

The 105th Belmont Stakes will rank among sport's most spectacular performances, right up there with Joe Louis' one-round knockout of Max Schmeling and the Olympic feats of Jessie Owens, Jean-Claude Killy and Mark Spitz. Even in horse racing, where track records are a fairly common occurrence, an animal just does not go around beating an established mark by nearly three seconds. It would be as if Joe Namath threw 10 touchdown passes in a game or Jack Nicklaus shot a 55 in the Open.

Amazing

[The Raven]

Well....I had the exacta (didn't bet....just wrote it down).....I had #8 as third.....