Spectacular Bid Walkover in Woodward Stakes

Spectacular Bid: The Last Superhorse of the Twentieth Century

    In Fall 2019, the University Press of Kentucky will publish a book by Peter Lee on the champion racehorse Spectacular Bid, the winner of the 1979 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.  The book chronicles the life of one of the most underrated racehorses in history, as well as the horse’s colorful cast of characters.  

    Triple Crown Near Misses: Shut Out Gets Shut Out in the Preakness

      Poor Shut Out. The son of the great Equipoise stood in the shadow of his stablemate, Devil Diver so much that when it came time to choosing a mount for the Kentucky Derby, the great Eddie Arcaro chose Devil Diver over him. He won 2 of 3 Triple Crown races in 1942, yet finished behind Alsab for Three-Year-Old Male Horse of the Year. Shut Out’s 2-year-old campaign was good, but not great. He won 3 of 9 races in 1941… Read More »Triple Crown Near Misses: Shut Out Gets Shut Out in the Preakness

      Triple Crown Near-Misses: Bimelech Goes Wide in the Derby

        Bimelech was a freight train heading straight for the Kentucky Derby, and it seemed like nothing could stop him; undefeated in eight starts, he had won six straight en route to the 1939 Two-Year-Old Champion Male Horse of the Year. However, some bad decisions -both on and off the track – kept him from becoming a Triple Crown winner. The Edward R. Bradley-owned colt took most of the winter and early spring off in 1940, but still took the Blue… Read More »Triple Crown Near-Misses: Bimelech Goes Wide in the Derby