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Friday, January 01, 1999
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
COLUMN: Richard Eng
Go Baby Go! 1998 was great for racing
Just as Sports Illustrated called 1998 "The Best Sports Year Ever," it was also an exceptional year for thoroughbred racing.
SI rated Real Quiet's Triple Crown attempt in the Belmont Stakes the ninth best sports story of the year. That's pretty good considering the hundreds of worthy candidates for its Top 10 list.
The following are my top half dozen most memorable stories from last year:
-- 6. Da Hoss and Cavonnier -- Two oldies but goodies returned from 2-year layoffs to thrill us.
Trainer Michael Dickinson gave Da Hoss one prep at Colonial before winning the Breeders' Cup Mile in heart-stopping style.
Bob Baffert brought Cavonnier back in winning fashion last week at Santa Anita.
Here's to two classy guys, Da Hoss and Cavonnier. Welcome back.
-- 5. Owners Sonny and Carolyn Hine, Bob and Beverly Lewis -- I laud any horse owner who races his Grade I star into the 5-year-old season.
The cost of insurance being what it is for a future megastar stallion, earnings must reach seven figures before breaking even for the year.
The Hines took Skip Away before fans in Miami, Baltimore, Boston, Los Angeles, Jersey Shore, New York City and Louisville, Ky. The Lewises raced Silver Charm in Los Angeles, Dubai, Louisville, San Diego and northern Kentucky. At each stop, Skip Away and Silver Charm became racing's best ambassadors.
Silver Charm starts his 5-year-old campaign in the San Pasqual Handicap at Santa Anita.
Here's hoping the National Thoroughbred Racing Association can build a racing landscape where healthy stars like Favorite Trick and Coronado's Quest race beyond their 3-year-old seasons.
-- 4. Go Baby Go! -- Kudos to the NTRA for its inaugural ad campaign. I liked Lori Petty; I loved the message.
After working in advertising for a few years, you learn "cutting through the clutter" is more than a clichˇ. When I traveled during the Triple Crown, I heard non-racing fans quote the ads, "Pay the lady" and "Go Baby Go." It's no different than "Where's the Beef?" or "You Deserve a Break Today."
It is no wonder market penetration is happening for horse racing.
-- 3. Breeders' Cup Classic -- A fantastic finish of noses and heads among winner Awesome Again, Silver Charm, Swain and Victory Gallop.
I've seen horses other than Swain end up closer to the outside fence, but never in a race as important as the Classic. No explanation from jockey Frankie Dettori on Swain will assuage me that he didn't commit a royal screw-up.
There was comic relief in seeing startled photographers, sitting next to the outside fence near the finish, get buzzed by Swain as he passed no more than 10 feet from them.
-- 2. Preakness -- The ABC-TV rehearsal was ready to roll at 1 p.m. Then fire marshals ordered an evacuation of our tape truck located 50 feet from Pimlico's main generator box. Something was amiss. There was no power in the grandstand, which short-circuited mutuel machines, refrigeration, lighting and air conditioning on a hot, sweltering day.
An hour later, Maryland Gov. Paris Glendening unknowingly proclaimed from the infield, which was not affected by the power outage, that this was "the single greatest day in Maryland racing!" Ouch!
It was a miracle no one was injured and a credit how composed the crowd stayed. One of racing's darkest days, in more ways than one.
-- 1. Belmont Stakes -- I watched the race next to Jim McKay on the ABC anchor stand by the finish line. As Real Quiet and Victory Gallop neared the wire together, the crowd roar was deafening.
Jim asked me, "Who won?" I said, "I'm not sure."
With the photo sign still up, the steward's inquiry sign lit up, too. Finally, the verdicts were in. Victory Gallop by a nose, and the inquiry against Real Quiet became moot.
Later, jockey Kent Desormeaux was criticized for moving Real Quiet too soon, maybe costing him the Triple Crown.
All I know is, I never cashed a bet on a jockey who moved too late.
Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Friday and Sunday.
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