In the Belmont, Spectacular Bid, they discovered afterwards, had a pin from his bandage sticking into his leg.
Just now learned this as I was looking for info on Bid's Belmont loss.
"[Jockey Ronnie] Franklin died of lung cancer in Baltimore on March 8, 2018, at the age of 58."[3]
Spectacular Bid’s attempt at the Triple Crown began with the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in May 1979.
The crowd of 125,000 made him the 3/5 favorite, with California champion Flying Paster the bettors’ second choice. Spectacular Bid seemed nervous before the start, but Delp was so confident of victory that as the horse paraded in front of the fans, he called, “Go bet! Go bet!”
Spectacular Bid was restrained by Franklin in the early stages before moving up on the outside to take the lead on the far turn.[13] He drew clear in the straight and won by 2¾ lengths over General Assembly, with Golden Act in third.[4]
After suffering a leg cut during the race, Flying Paster finished fifth. Spectacular Bid was the last two-year-old champion to win the Kentucky Derby until Street Sense in 2007.
Spectacular Bid’s next step in the quest for the Triple Crown came at the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
Bumped early, he ran wide and by the final stretch was in command. He handily won the race, outpacing his competitors to win by 5½ lengths from Golden Act, with nine lengths back to Screen King in third. His time of 1:54.2 was faster than that of Seattle Slew or Affirmed, and by official time faster than Secretariat (though Secretariat’s time in this race was disputed and in 2012 changed to 1:53.0).
When asked about the colt’s prospects of winning the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, Franklin claimed that “we’re a cinch.”[14]
On the morning of the Belmont Stakes, a freak accident was discovered: Spectacular Bid had stepped on a safety pin.[15] The pin had become embedded in his hoof, later leading to an infection that required the hoof to be drilled to cure the problem.
However, after the discovery of the injury, Spectacular Bid did not seem lame and was entered into the race.
Three days prior to the race, Franklin was fined after he engaged in a fist fight with Angel Cordero, Jr. in the jockeys’ preparation room due to a dispute over an earlier race at Belmont.[16] In the Belmont, Franklin rode Spectacular Bid aggressively early in the mile and a half race and went to the lead before half way.
Spectacular Bid held a clear lead entering the stretch but began to struggle and was overtaken by Coastal, who challenged along the inside rail. The favorite faded in the closing stages and lost second place to Golden Act near the finish.
Some commentators speculated that Delp and Franklin had been intent on emulating Secretariat’s performance in 1973 and that their tactics were intended to maximize the margin of victory.[17][18]
Delp, who had commented dismissively on Coastal’s chances before the race, offered few excuses: “[Spectacular Bid] may not be a mile-and-a-half horse.
The best horse won. I got beat, that’s all.
Tomorrow’s another day.”[19]
Franklin, who was replaced by Bill Shoemaker in Spectacular Bid’s subsequent races, admitted that he had ridden a poorly judged race, explaining that he had very little experience of race-riding over long distances.[20]
Spectacular Bid’s failure to win the Belmont began a record-breaking drought: after Affirmed in 1978, no horse would complete the Triple Crown until American Pharoah achieved the feat in 2015.
Spectacular Bid and American Pharoah are also the last two 2-year-old champions to run in the Belmont with Triple Crowns on the line.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectacular_Bid#Triple_Crown_attempt