Affirmed vs. Alydar- 40 years ago

Forty years ago this weekend, the teen-aged Head Bozo attended his first Triple Crown Race and history was made. No, not just the first of many torn up $2 Bozo win tickets, but the first witnessing of a Belmont Stakes win and a Triple Crown for a resilient horse named Affirmed. Affirmed prevailed by a nose over a tough and classy colt called Alydar. On that day, Affirmed and Alydar were forever locked together in thoroughbred lore finishing 1-2 in all three legs of the 1977 Triple Crown. From the spring of 1977 through the late summer of 1978, the two horses met 10 times, highlighted by their epic clashes in the three Triple Crown races.

In the 1978 Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, Harbor View Farm’s Affirmed and Calumet Farm’s Alydar raced against each other for a combined total of nearly four miles with about two lengths separating them in the three races. The Derby was the largest margin of victory when Affirmed prevailed by 1 ½ lengths. Affirmed won the Preakness by a neck and then took the 1 1/2 mile Belmont by about three inches when they engaged in that memorable stretch duel.

On racing’s biggest stage, with the Triple Crown on the line in the Belmont Stakes, they battled in what many regard as the sport’s greatest race when they jockeyed alongside each other for the final seven furlongs, neither giving way. You don’t just remember the winner. You can’t say Affirmed without Alydar. On that date, the rivalry surely tilted in Affirmed’s favor. He was victorious in seven of the 10 meetings. Yet what made their races such unforgettable blockbuster events was that in those 10 meetings they finished one-two in nine of them and one of them was the winner in all 10 of the races.

“They were so much better than the other horses that raced against them, I think it will resonate with people 100 years from now. Without a question it’s still the biggest rivalry in horse racing,” Steve Cauthen, who rode Affirmed in seven of the 10 races, including all three Triple Crown races, said in an interview that the Bozo’s lifted off the radio. “It was like an Ali and Frazier fight. You’ll always remember what was going on in your life when it happened and what you were doing at the time. It was that special.” Alydar was well-bred but Affirmed was more of a street fighter whose will to win was unrivaled. There were nine times in Affirmed’s 29 career starts where his margin of victory was less than a length. The rivalry began in 1977. But the 1978 Triple Crown captivated the world of horse racing through the next spring.

The Triple Crown 1978

Kentucky Derby, May 6, 1978

Alydar was sent off as a 6-5 favorite in the Derby, while Affirmed was the 9-5 second choice in a field of 11.The mile and a quarter opening leg of the Triple Crown started routinely for Affirmed as he rated in third early on and waited for Cauthen to call on him. But Alydar had a miserable trip as a clump of dirt hit him in the eye and he fell behind by as much as 17 lengths. Predictably, Alydar charged into contention on the final turn, but he had spotted Affirmed too big of a lead. He made a strong move but it wasn’t strong enough to catch Affirmed, who took control leaving the quarter pole and was able to fend off the late-charging Alydar by 1 ½ lengths.

The Preakness, May 20, 1978

Affirmed capitalized on a small field of seven in the Preakness, taking the lead by the first turn. Alydar started sixth and made his move approaching the final turn. In an oft-repeated scene, Alydar collared Affirmed and strained to get past him, but Affirmed was relentless. He owned a half-length lead at the eighth pole and as hard as Alydar tried in that final furlong, he fell a neck shy at the wire. The show horse, Believe It was 7 ½ lengths behind the two rivals.

The Belmont Stakes, June 10, 1978

A crowd of over 65,000 turned out at Belmont Park in hopes of seeing a third Triple Crown sweep in five years, but the mood was different this time. Unlike the years when Secretariat (1973) and Seattle Slew (1977) captured the Triple Crown, there was not a majority of fans anxious to see a coronation of greatness. The crowd’s rooting interests at Belmont was as evenly divided as the odds on the board, with Affirmed a 3-5 favorite and Alydar at 6-5 in a small field of only 5. Affirmed led through a half-mile in a leisurely 50 seconds. Alydar’s pilot, Velasquez, though, was not about to let Affirmed cruise along on the front end. With about seven furlongs left, he put Alydar into gear and went after Affirmed. Only he didn’t catch Cauthen by surprise. He felt Alydar coming. Alydar quickly joined Affirmed from the outside and for the next seven furlongs, with the ultimate prize on the line, they remained locked together, picking up the pace with each furlong and embarking on a heroic duel that is widely considered the greatest in the sport’s long and proud history. True to his nature, Alydar continued to fight after Affirmed grabbed a slim lead in the final 100 yards, but the Belmont proved no different than the Preakness or the Derby, Affirmed won by a head. The Head Bozo to-be tore up his $5 ticket on Alydar to win.

“The most satisfying thing is that we went into the race knowing that we couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, and we didn’t,” Cauthen said. “I don’t think Alydar made any either. We were three inches good enough to win the Triple Crown. It was pure talent and greatness between two horses. You almost felt sorry that somebody had to lose, yet you also knew you were a part of something that was spectacular.”

Affirmed won fourteen Grade I stakes races and 22 of 29 over his career and was a champion each of the three years he raced. Of the seven races he lost, he finished 2^nd in five of them.

Affirmed won fourteen Grade I stakes races over his career and was a champion each of the three years he raced.

Affirmed, and oh yeah, Alydar.

The Head Bozos’ first losing ticket, a harbinger of things to come.

-HB

2 Comments