Guest Commentary: Horsing Around

By Charles Palombini

Springtime is here, and for the horse racing world it marks the beginning of a pilgrimage that starts on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs racetrack in Louisville, makes a stop at Pimlico racetrack in Baltimore, and culminates on the second Saturday in June at Belmont racetrack on Long Island . It’s called the Triple Crown of racing and many consider it to be the most exciting competition in the sports world.

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of the three most exciting races of the year. They are…in the order they are run…

1. Kentucky Derby, run over the 1¹⁄₄-mile dirt track at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky; the first Saturday in May.
2. Preakness Stakes, run over the 1³⁄₁₆-mile dirt track at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland; two weeks after the Kentucky Derby.
3. Belmont Stakes, run over the 1¹⁄₂-mile dirt track, the longest in thoroughbred racing, at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York; the second Saturday of June.

All three of these races are restricted to horses that are three years of age (no younger…no older), which means horses have an opportunity to run in these races only once in their lifetime. As three year olds, horses are leaving their adolescence and just beginning to engage their peek performing potential as adults. They will get bigger and stronger at four years of age, but it is at three that they capture the public’s imagination and forge images of the champion they might be.  Indeed, a horse must be something very special to win even one of these races, but to win all three he must be a champion of exceedingly extraordinary talents.  Winning all three of these races is considered the greatest achievement in horse racing, evidenced by the fact that there have only been 11 Triple Crown winners in the 137 years of the three race competition. And the challenge gains more interest each year as it has been 34 years since a horse last won the Triple Crown (Affirmed in 1978).

So will this be the year we see the next Triple Crown Champion? You’ll get your first glimpse of a champion in the making on May 4 as the top three year olds meet in Louisville for the running of the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby. And this appears to be one of the best crops of three year olds in over a decade. The stage is usually dominated by a single horse…possible two…that show the potential to be the next great champion. This year there are no less than a half dozen horses that have the pedigree and record to declare themselves a candidate for the record books. In next week’s article we will review all the contestants and evaluate their chances of winning the first leg of the Triple Crown.

Charles Palombini is a resident of Cortlandt and owner of a stable of thoroughbred racin

Adam Stone

Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.