1979 Preakness Stakes - Spectacular Bid

Last Saturday afternoon at Pimlico following Spectacular Bid's 5�-length victory in the Preakness, one could almost hear the flapping of wings as the last of the colt's detractors took off for parts unknown. Bid ran his best race yet. By picking up first money of $165,300, he pushed his bankroll over $1 million to become the youngest millionaire in racing history, and he ran the mile and [3/16]ths in 1:54[1/5], the second-fastest time in a race that is 104 years old. Appearing to toy with four opponents, Spectacular Bid rolled easily to the finish line to a tremendous ovation from his owners' neighbors in Baltimore, where this handsome gray colt has now become as much of a hero as Brooks Robinson, John Unitas and the blue crab. With the first two legs tucked away, Spectacular Bid must now be considered odds-on to become the third Triple Crown winner in the past three years. On June 9, he will try to complete the sweep in the Belmont Stakes. The main question about that race is how many opponents the New York Racing Association can muster to run against him. There won't be a bunch. An hour after the Preakness, LeRoy Jolley, the trainer of fifth-place finisher General Assembly, reflected on what he had witnessed. "There were times when I had doubts about Spectacular Bid," he said. "No more. My horse couldn't have beaten him if he had cut through the infield. I've had enough of running against Spectacular Bid for a while. So has the General. Spectacular Bid's Preakness was just plain outstanding from any point of view. I'm a believer." Bid's time was only [1/5]th of a second slower than Canonero IIs record of 1:54, which was set on a lightning-fast track. Last Saturday the Pimlico strip was listed only as "good." Spectacular Bid also gave up large chunks of ground by going wide for much of the race. Unlike Jolley, Marylanders believed in Bid all along, and sent him off at 1 to 10. His winning price of $2.20 was the smallest since Citation won the Preakness on his way to the 1948 Triple. Many of the lower-priced tickets purchased on Spectacular Bid will never be cashed; Marylanders will keep them for souvenirs. It's normal during the two weeks between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness for new challengers to surface. This year, however, none did, and the five horses that went to the starting gate at Pimlico made the 1979 field the smallest in 31 years—again, since Citation's Preakness. Yet the four other starters had excellent records, having been in the money 44 times in 47 lifetime starts. General Assembly finished second in the Derby, Golden Act third, Flying Paster fifth and Screen King sixth. At the start of the Preakness, Don Pierce, Flying Paster's jockey, a rider who rarely goes to the lead, found himself in front. He moved his colt away from the rail to get in front of Spectacular Bid, breaking tardily from Post Position 2. General Assembly, in the outside post position, shot quickly away from the gate, and he and Flying Paster battled around the first turn for the lead. The two ran head-to-head for half a mile, with General Assembly gaining a half-length advantage. Bid was in fourth place, losing ground but staying free of trouble. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vaul...