Citation's 3yo season

[Calzone Lord]

Great season. Won 19 out of 20 starts. Lone defeat was a 2nd place finish going 6 furlongs in the mud.

[Calzone Lord]

The final 10 starts of Count Fleet's career...




Not the deepest crop to say the least -- but he certainly pummeled them.

Just think how awesome they would have been with Lasix.

[Calzone Lord]

Secretariat's 3yo season:



A couple of sub-par defeats ... but he was ruthlessly fast during the entire triple crown series...and he loved turf.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

Just think how awesome they would have been with Lasix.

Probably would have brought some of their competition closer to them.

Coaltown might have had Citation's number.

[Calzone Lord]

Seattle Slew's 3yo season:





Beyer on Slew:




On the Ragozin Sheets ... Seattle Slew was Giacomo like slow during his entire 3yo season. Speed horses are usually faster on Beyer style numbers and this was no exception.

[Calzone Lord]

Assault won a race at odds of 70-to-1 as a 2-year-old.





He was never a favorite in his career until the Preakness Stakes -- which he won.

After winning the Derby by 8 lengths and the Preakness -- he was NOT favored to win the Belmont.

[Danzig]

didn't he defeat armed in his first start at three?

Was the Ky Derby seen as the premiere race for 3yo back then or were there other races like the JC Gold cup seen as the race to win.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by helicopter11

Was the Ky Derby seen as the premiere race for 3yo back then or were there other races like the JC Gold cup seen as the race to win.

Derby has always been a premiere 3yo race -- pretty much right from its inception. But it didn't truly establish its dominance until the 1910's.

The NY Handicap Triple Crown races (Met Mile, Brooklyn, and Suburban) were a MUCH bigger deal in old times. The Met Mile is still a big deal -- but the other two races have lost major importance and are no longer hard races for a top horse to win because of shrinking weight concessions.

Jockey Club Gold Cup has always been a premier stayer race. It's still a huge race -- but now the distance is only 10fs and its just a final prep for the BC Classic.

Santa Anita Handicap was also once a great, great race. Easily the best race on the West coast. Good 3-year-olds would get in light carrying 95 to 108lbs. It was not an easy one to win, especially early on.

[Linny]

Based on it's purse and (lack of) popularity amongst the biggest east coast outfits, I'd say the KY Derby was more of a regional race than a national fixture until around the time of the blackout of racing in NY. It did take off in a big enough way that by 1920, when MOW skipped it that his absence was worthy of note.

I like studying the historyof some of the great races. It's sad that some have lost favor. The Realization was once of the most important 3yo races and was initially a race you became eligible for by nominating to the Futurity. The name implied that the colt had "realized" the potential he had shown at two. The Suburban was also THE big summer race that any outfit with a good older horse wanted to win. I think it was the opening day feature at Belmont in 1905.