The blame was Buddy Delp wow!

[TheEdge07]

Clip below from HRTV by Jeff Siegel.Delp told Franklin rider of Spectacular Bid dont worry about any horse,,,, RACE against the clock..WOW

http://www.hrtv.com/videos/jeff-siegel-flashback-1979s-failed-triple-crown-bid/

[tucker6]

who actually believes the safety pin story anyway? This story seems like the truth. The Bid was great, but anyone trying to match Secretariat in the Belmont is coming up short.

[GaryG]

That is incredible. Didn't he blame Franklin and then switch to Shoemaker? The safety pin story was obviously bs, but I never would gave guessed that Delp was that cavalier about winning the Triple Crown.

[clocker7]

He believed in his horse, and that the rest of the crop was not in his universe. Not the first time such a mistake was made. Look at what Calumet thought about Citation.

[dilanesp]

He believed in his horse, and that the rest of the crop was not in his universe. Not the first time such a mistake was made. Look at what Calumet thought about Citation.

Veitch and company thought the same way about Alydar. Even now, if you ask him about 1977 and 1978, he has great pains acknowledging that Affirmed could beat his horse in a fair fight.

Look, honestly, even though you have to love the result, what Turcotte did in 1973 was itself irresponsible. Had the normal thing that happens when you get into that sort of a speed duel in a 1 1/2 mile race happened, Turcotte would have been in for a lot of criticism.

The Belmont is very difficult to win. Nobody should go into it thinking they have a great horse and are going to crush the competition.

[classhandicapper]

Look, honestly, even though you have to love the result, what Turcotte did in 1973 was itself irresponsible. Had the normal thing that happens when you get into that sort of a speed duel in a 1 1/2 mile race happened, Turcotte would have been in for a lot of criticism.



If the horse wasn't so incredible on that day he would have lost. Assuming "incredible" is not a good riding strategy.

[ultracapper]

"The greatest horse to ever look through a bridle" That's what Delp thought of The Bid. In his wildest dreams he couldn't have envisioned him losing the Belmont.

Yeah, crazy. Race the clock. Bad advise.

[ultracapper]

On another note. There were people whispering at the time that Bid losing the Belmont was good for horse racing. The TC was starting to look cheap. He would have been the 4th in 7 years, and the 3rd in a row. If only they knew what was to come after that loss.

[clocker7]

On another note. There were people whispering at the time that Bid losing the Belmont was good for horse racing. The TC was starting to look cheap. He would have been the 4th in 7 years, and the 3rd in a row. If only they knew what was to come after that loss.
I don't recall that part of it. Sure, we were becoming a little blase. But the sport was still so healthy that no one thought that it required TC excitement to thrive ... yet. That was decades into the future at that point.

[ultracapper]

I started playing the horses in '82 and dived into it with everything I had. I remember an article in the Seattle Times when they still had pretty good horse racing coverage suggesting that betting the TC races was useless because they were a forgone conclusion. Win the Derby, win all 3. That was 3 years later.

[dilanesp]

I don't recall that part of it. Sure, we were becoming a little blase. But the sport was still so healthy that no one thought that it required TC excitement to thrive ... yet. That was decades into the future at that point.

Yeah, at that point in time the rest of the industry was still pretty healthy. Handicap racing was still popular. Forego was an immensely well known horse even though he blossomed long after the TC. Seattle Slew and Affirmed had just raced against each other on national network television the previous fall, and Affirmed had come to California and was racing before gigantic crowds at Santa Anita, which averaged 25,000 a day in attendance.

Part of the reason why so many people hope for a TC winner now is because the TC is basically one of the few parts of the sport that isn't completely moribund. That wasn't the case in the 1970's. Indeed, the Bid went on after the TC and had an amazing career, and tens of thousands of people attended his races.

[ILovetheInner]

I don't recall that part of it. Sure, we were becoming a little blase. But the sport was still so healthy that no one thought that it required TC excitement to thrive ... yet. That was decades into the future at that point.

I recall it. I think a part of it was all of these colts were dominant juveniles also. There was a monotony starting. Brilliant at two, going all the way through. The concept of suspense or anticipation was starting to wane. You can throw Ruffian in there, too, while you are it. With the exception of Affirmed/Alydar, it was just seeing a horse showcase him or herself over and over. Even recalling everyone gathering to see Bid presumably win the TC, it wasn't the same as before. With Slew you had the undefeated thing, with Affirmed you of course had Alydar. With Bid, what you had was Bud Delp....at least he kept it interesting as a walking sound byte of cockiness. Besides that, it would have been yet another horse dominating in impressive style, which you'd basically seen before. And with the redefining legend Secretariat was still recent in your memory, it wasn't even that you could feel you were witnessing history. I am glad he lost, for it was a return to reality with Bid more than redeeming himself in the aftermath. I think history will always note him as an honorable mention.