Here is a re-post of my comments after the Preakness...
My first memory of horse racing was 46 years ago. I was 16 y/o and a friend of mine and I sneaked into Hollywood Park after a Friday night football game. Back then, 'the track" opened the gates (so there was no admission cost) after the 8th race and it was easy to gain entry. My friend (Rhino) had been going to the races with his grandma for years and was quite the astute handicapper even at the tender age of 17. The hard part was placing a wager. I liken it to getting a stranger to buy booze for you in a liquor store parking lot when you are underage.
Somehow we got the job done and I hit a three way exacta box (based on my Rhino's advice) for $12. The return was $78 dollars and I was hooked for life. Back then they issued tickets for each $2 bet. I'l never forgot the moment he opened his wallet and revealed a stack of $2 tickets on the winning combination a half an inch thick. His profit was over $1,500! Keep in mind this was 1969. I was making $1.85 cents an hour washing dishes at the local Mexican restaurant.
I lost touch with Rhino after he joined the Air Force and shipped off to Newport News but I never recovered from the rush of winning. There were times I was spending all my time on the ponies. I recall the year Sunday Silence and Easy Goer dueled in the Triple Crown. 1989 if I remember correctly. I was going to the track, seminars and early morning workouts every single day. I'm not going to bore you with stories of winning and losing but I assure there was a lot of both.
The point of this post is I have a feeling this is the year we will see a Triple Crown winner. I'm not going into details about breeding etc but everything is falling into place for American Pharaoh. He has perhaps the best trainer and jockey in all of racing. If you research it he has the breeding to get the mile and a half at the Belmont. This is a special horse and I hope he get's the job done. It won't be an easy task as he will face opponents that have pointed for this race. It's only a matter of time until we have another Triple Crown winner and I hope it's this year!
'Hail the Champion!