THE DECADE
It was the 1970s. This was the decade that the racing gods rained superstars onto the Kentucky blue grass. The immortal Secretariat was the first to arrive. He needs no introduction here. His exploits are legendary. From the same crop came the handicap monster Forego. He became the last of the great weight carriers. Imposts of 130 pounds and more were the norm for this beast.
Next up Seattle Slew. He became the second Triple Crown winner of the seventies. A year later it was the great Affirmed. He would be the third Triple Crown champion of the decade at the expense of bridesmaid Alydar. There would be one more to add to this list of great champions.
A SPECTACULAR BID
Grover G Delp, better known as “Buddy” was relatively unknown as far as major league racing was concerned. He plied his trade on the less lucrative Mid Atlantic circuit. There he had built a solid reputation. Year in and year out, he could be found among the top trainers in that racing venue. A once-in-a-lifetime racehorse was about to catapult Buddy Delp to the forefront of the American Racing establishment. It was the fall of 1977. Keeneland was the scene of their annual fall yearling sale. Harry Meyerhoff, owner of Hawksworth Farm, bid 37,000 dollars on a dark gray yearling. Soon he would look at this as the smartest investment he had ever made. He gave the handsome colt the name Spectacular Bid. In the summer of 1978, Bud Delp unleashed the Bid at his old stomping grounds, Pimlico racetrack. Ronnie Franklin, a relatively unknown jockey and protege of Delp had the mount. The Bid took the maiden race easily. In his next start it was more of the same, only this time he equaled the Pimlico mark for five and a half furlongs. After a couple of disappointing performances, he began to roll. He decimated a seven-horse field at Atlantic City in the World’s Playground Stakes. Bid was fifteen lengths clear of the rest at the finish line. Then it was on to Belmont for the important Champagne Stakes. He toyed with the field and added another notch to his growing resume. His conquests were beginning to befit his name. Bid’s efforts were becoming Spectacular. He headed back home to Maryland for the Laurel Futurity. Brilliant was the word that late fall day as Bid demolished a track record for a mile and a sixteenth by a full second. Racing fans across the country were now wondering. Will he be the fourth Triple Crown winner of the decade? It would not take long to find out.
SOPHOMORE SEASON
Buddy Delp decided to take the South Florida route to prep Bid for his appointment in Louisville. He easily took all three of Gulfstream Park’s Derby preps. Bid’s victory in Florida is a testimony to his incredible talent. His young, inexperienced rider, Ronnie Franklin, took his mount on a sightseeing tour of the racecourse. In what has to be the worst ride a horse of Bid’s caliber ever endured, Franklin made every conceivable mistake that can be imagined. The only place he didn’t end up was in the auxiliary parking lot. Despite this the Bid turned it on and unbelievably drew clear to an easy five length win. To the surprise of the racing public, Bud Delp had no intention of changing jockeys for the upcoming Kentucky Derby. Ronnie Franklin had dodged a bullet. He was heading to Churchill Downs with a horse that looked like a mortal cinch to take the Triple Crown. The Derby was all Bid. He took an early lead and never looked back.
Then it was on to Pimlico for the Preakness. This was Grover Delp’s home turf. He was not to be denied where he had won so many races over the years. Bid was happy to oblige with another easy score. Belmont Park was next up. It was a foregone conclusion. Bid was about to take the Belmont Stakes and become the twelfth Triple Crown champion. Or was he? The night before the race the unthinkable happened. Spectacular Bid stepped on a safety pin that had been used to bandage his leg. The pin was dislodged. Then the horse stepped on it causing a one-inch incision in his hoof. The wound was intensely worked on overnight. The next day the horse seemed okay. Bud Delp made the decision to run him. The Belmont Stakes at a mile and a half requires a masterful trip from a seasoned rider to get the job done. Unfortunately for Spectacular Bid, Ronnie Franklin was ill-equipped for the task ahead. Young, inexperienced, and stressed from the nationwide coverage, Franklin succumbed to the pressure. When the bell rang, he chased a long shot who had no chance at winning the race. The foolish move most likely caused Bid to tire midway down the stretch. He slogged home a well beaten third. Spectacular Bid had seen the last of Ronnie Franklin. Bud Delp was rightfully disappointed.
His Triple Crown dream had been shattered. Was it the safety pin incident or Franklin’s poor ride the reason that he lost the race? Maybe it was a combination of both. We will never know for sure. We do know that Bud Delp made an overdue call shortly after the Belmont loss. He named one Bill Shoemaker to replace Franklin as Bid’s jockey. There would be no more excuses or second guessing. A world-renowned race rider was now in charge of Spectacular Bid’s fortunes. He would not disappoint. Delp decided to give his charge a breather. He took three months off. Rested and fresh he was ready to rumble. He did just that on a late August afternoon at Delaware Park. Under the mild urging of his new-found rider, he cruised to an easy seventeen length victory and a new track record for the mile and a sixteenth. The Bid was back.
Next up, the important Marlboro Cup and another easy romp. What would be the race of the year was about to test the Bid to his limits. The Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park was in that time frame the most important event of the racing season. The Triple Crown winner from the previous year Affirmed was entered in the race. Horse of the Year honors were at stake. Affirmed at age four was at the top of his magnificent form. In the early stage of the race he took the lead. Shoemaker aboard the Bid stayed with him the entire race. At the finish Affirmed got it by a slim three quarters of a length. Bid had taken it on the chin from one of the all-time greats. He would never taste defeat again.
CALIFORNIA HERE I COME
Spectacular Bid’s connections decided to open his last campaign at California’s premier racing facility, Santa Anita Park. The rich winter stakes races offered there were the perfect calling cards to attract the Bid. The Malibu came first. On February 5 Bid demolished the track record for seven furlongs when he jogged home by five open lengths. Then he took the San Fernando easily. The Charles H. Strub Handicap was his crowning achievement in the series. Spectacular Bid lit the Santa Anita racing surface on fire. In a stunning performance, he broke the existing World’s record for the classic distance of a mile and a quarter. It is a record that has stood the test of time. He was not finished with the Golden State. He romped in the west coast’s most important event, the Santa Anita Handicap. At Hollywood Park he carried 130 pounds to victory in the Mervyn LeRoy Handicap and another track record demolished.
Next up, the Californian and yet again a record-breaking performance. Heading back east he jogged home in Chicago’s Washington Park Handicap. Then more of the same at Monmouth Park’s Haskell. He was now the megastar that Bud Delp had foretold. There was nothing left to prove. He would make just one more appearance. The Woodward stakes was to be his Swan’s song. On September 25, 1980 an eerily quiet crowd watched Spectacular Bid and jockey Bill Shoemaker. prance onto the Belmont Park racing surface. They were alone on the track.
Spectacular Bid was now horse racing royalty. No one dared threaten his Kingdom. In horse racing terms it is known as a walkover. There is something majestic about these seldom seen events. A great race horse is poised at the top of his game defying anyone to question his prowess. The race was run as a formality. Shoemaker showcased him around the oval.
The crowd watched in awe as Bid came down the stretch to the finish line. His career was over.
He had taken twenty six of his thirty lifetime starts, breaking existing track records in seven of them. Bid had prevailed in no less than fourteen Grade One events. He thrilled fans across the country, winning events at no less than fifteen racetracks. Finally, he was named both two and three-year-old colt of the year. He gathered his third Eclipse Award with the coveted Horse of the Year honors for the 1980 season. Grover G. Delp may have been somewhat partial when he stated that Spectacular Bid was “The greatest horse to ever look through a bridle.” Yet in retrospect he was not very far off the mark. Few have ever matched the thunder and fury that Spectacular Bid brought to the forefront of the American racing scene. In an interview I conducted with Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, he summed it up best. When speaking of Bid, he had this to say. “A great, great champion, the horse was from another planet.” The immortal Spectacular Bid.
