At Keystone Racetrack in Philadelphia on November 11, 1978, Bid ended an outstanding 2-year-old season with a dominating six-length victory  in the Heritage Stakes. Trainer Bud Delp wanted Spectacular Bid to run in one more race before his 2-year-old campaign was over—the Heritage Stakes on November 11—which, if he won, would help jockey Ron Franklin […]

Bud Delp, Spectacular Bid’s trainer, was unhappy when he returned home to Maryland for the 56th Laurel Futurity on October 28. The track conditions at Laurel leading up to the race were “cuppy,” which meant that the racing surface was dry and loose, tending to break away under a horse’s hooves. This kind of surface […]

Substitute jockey Jorge Velasquez was up on Spectacular Bid for the colt’s first race around two turns, the Young America Stakes at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., on the evening of October 19. Bid was the bettor’s favorite at 3 to 10 odds, but he almost blew it. Or, rather, Velasquez almost did. A […]