Horse racing fans will trudge back to the big oval on the Queens/Nassau border Saturday afternoon hoping to finally see some history.
This is the 14th time a three-year-old thoroughbred has occupied a Belmont barn in early June with a shot at the Triple Crown since Affirmed completed the difficult deed in 1978. All 13 tries subsequent to Affirmed’s success have ended in failure. Some were oh so close. This one Saturday offers some promise of success – although we’ve heard this song and dance before.
It’s ok to be cynical. I think that’s why it’s been kind of a quiet week around here. American Pharoah’s attempt to break the long Crown drought at half past six PM Saturday doesn’t seem to be generating the level of excitement seen in the run-up to tries by California Chrome (2014), Big Brown (2008), Smarty Jones (2004) and Funny Cide (2003).
Some fans have lost faith in the feat’s viability given its extreme difficulty. Others are simply disgusted about the on-track experience with a crown on the line. The six-figure crowd that showed up last year to see California Chrome finish in a dull tie for fourth was beleaguered by day’s end given a series of security, hospitality and transportation lapses that impacted a large percentage of the patrons.
It was such a lousy mess out there last year that some people vowed never to return if a triple crown was at stake.
The New York Racing Association hasn’t been demonstrably confident in its self-assessments re: preparedness for this Saturday’s big Crown party. Rather than a promise to bolster all of the services that fell short last year, NYRA claims it will tell people to stay home when ticket sales reach 90-thousand.
When’s the last time you heard a bookmaker turn away people with money in their pocket? I don’t recall it ever happening but that’s all you need to know about NYRA’s inept action plan to remedy last year’s fiasco.
Still, all of us usual suspects will be out there Saturday in section 3T in the off chance Pharoah can get it done. I’ll sound like the same broken record I am every time a crown is on the line and say Pharoah’s legs turn to rubber well before the line. But I’ll cheer like crazy if they don’t. It’s been a long enough wait. I want to see a crown.