The 2015 horse racing season starts off with 2014's top horse taking center stage.
I traditionally start my first horse racing column of the year with the cliché "hope springs eternal," as a way to describe the feeling owners, trainers and fans get as the Road to the Kentucky Derby renews for another year.
So what, in fact, is the road to the Kentucky Derby and why is it so special? In 2012 there were 23,500 thoroughbred racehorses foaled (born). Of those 30,000, owners and breeders of about 429 horses, pay a nominal fee of $600 to have their horse "Derby" Eligible. This does not guarantee your horse will run on the first Saturday of May, rather it gets you the right should your horse be good enough to compete.
But I digress -- what makes the first major horse race of 2015 unique is that it is not a Derby Prep race for three year-olds; rather, it is a little known stakes race, outside the world of horse racing, called the San Antonio Stakes for older runners (4 years old and up). Traditionally, the top few three year-old's conclude their racing career at the end of the year and go directly to shed row to become stallions. Considered the "holy grail," having a racehorse become a stallion is often worth eight figures to the owners. And that is why there have been few races in recent history with newly turned four-year-olds that have the notoriety of the San Antonio Stakes, here's why:
California Chrome, winner of the 2014 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and 2014 Horse of the Year, captured the hearts of casual racing fans around the country and is now racing as a four year-old. His owners Steve Coburn and Perry Martin made the decision to race for a couple speculative reasons: there is plenty of money to be made by racing; Chrome himself cost only $8,000 (and a son of Lucky Pulpit who stands for only $2,500 as a stallion), which makes him a question mark as a stallion; he's got a huge fan base that supports the horse both on the track and on TV. In fact, Chrome is the most important name in horse racing as we stand today.
And while there is a field of eight other competitors in the San Antonio Stakes, Chrome's arch nemesis is another four-year-old named Shared Belief. Owned in part by sports broadcaster Jim Rome and his Jungle Racing, Rome is to Coburn as the Odd Couple's Felix is to Oscar (this reference clearly dates the author).
Shared Belief was a late developing three-year-old whose owners opted to avoid the Triple Crown trail and the wear and tear it takes on a competitor. He strolled a less competitive road until the 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic when he met face to face with California Chrome. Marred with a collision at the start of the race and a 15 minute inquiry after the horse crossed the wire (while the racing officials re-watched the impact 50,000 times), Shared Belief was taken out of the race and really never had a chance while finishing in fourth pace, just three lengths behind Chrome who finished third. Shared Belief is a gelding which means his money-earning career is only in racing, and not as a stallion.
Now the stage is set for the San Antonio Showdown. Here's a rundown of the race and how to watch:
The Grade II San Antonio Handicap is run at 9 furlongs on the dirt at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., for a purse of $500,000. Live coverage begins on Fox Sports 1 at 5:30 p.m. ET with post time at 7 p.m. The most famous horse to win the race was Seabiscuit in 1940.
For those interested, here are the San Antonio Stakes Brisnet Past Performances and Predicteform Pace Figures.
Dan Zucker is a co-founder of Predicteform.com (and PredictionMachine.com), a horse racing data analytics company that focuses on how horses are progressing or regressing coming into a race. Zucker is a thoroughbred owner and partner and has campaigned stakes runners - Quiet Meadow, Street Life and Pianist and his current pride and joy, Catch My Drift .
Read more about how Predicteform.com works here.
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