Still a Cinderella Story by CCA Director of Communications Stevie Ipsen
Residents from towns like Yuba City, Reno, Nev., Coalinga and Los Angeles, rarely have anything in common. But they – along with millions of other Americans from cities small and large – recently had their hearts stolen by a tall, slender red head named California Chrome. You don’t have to be a longtime horseracing enthusiast to be familiar with the 16.2-hand thoroughbred. But those who are longtime lovers of the sport agree with Chrome’s other fans when they say the blazen-faced, socken-footed sorrel is something special. Despite not being a high-dollar initial investment like many young racetrack prospects, California Chrome’s owners and trainers have had faith in him from the beginning. Trainer Art Sherman has frequently commented to the media how calm and consistent he is while his owners and handlers often comment to the mass media about his fun-loving nature. In the minds of many racehorse industry greats, California Chrome was a long shot to win the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. Sure, he was fast, he was solid, but at best he only had a modest pedigree compared to some of the other horses that would run for the roses. In addition to his mediocre bloodlines, Chrome was backed by a 77-year old trainer and a team of blue-collar owners who were both relatively new to the racing world. When early odds on the 2014 Kentucky Derby were released last summer, California Chrome was a 300-1 longshot to win the most coveted prize in horse racing. Earlier this spring, his chances were slightly bumped up to 275-1. On race day, he had many more faithful followers as his odds were drastically up at 5-2, still not a clenched winner in many minds. But, as we all know, Chrome proved all the nay-sayers wrong. Not just once, but twice. In the 140th running of Kentucky Derby, he outpaced the competition by one and three-fourth horse lengths. Two weeks later, he won his place in the winner’s circle at the Preakness Stakes by beating Derby contender Ride On Curlin by one and a half horse lengths. By winning both races he joined an elite club of horses who could call themselves Triple Crown condenders. While his THE BLEACHER REPORT© 90 California Cattleman July • August 2014
owners and many industry hopefuls thought his chances of winning the third and longest leg of the Triple Crown – the Belmont Stakes – were good, his trainer remained cautiously optimistic. Lifelong horse trainer Art Sherman has seen a lot of good horses and had been to big-time races before. “You have to have a very good horse to win these three races,” Art Sherman told Fox News, the winning 77-year-old trainer. “I’m hoping I’ve got one right now.” Sherman was just being humble. No one disputed that he had a very good horse on his hands, but he was right in admitting the task was a daunting one. Since 1978 only 12 other horses have made a bid for the Triple Crown. None of them have been successful. The three races, held within weeks of one another, are exhausting even for the world’s fastest horses. With fresh, well-rested horses, being allowed in the Belmont Stakes, a horse that has been raced recently faces an uphill battle. On June 7, in true California Chrome fashion, the flashy sorrel calmly made his way to the racetrack with fans roaring support for him. No matter what would happen, his owners, trainers and Americans could be proud of his journey. Rarely do Americans come together for one common hope. But in the honor of tradition and doing the undoable, California Chrome was able to unite people around the world. Upon first glance, it appeared that Chrome simply ran out of gas and his fourth place finish was outpaced three