1979 Belmont Stakes (Spectacular Bid finishes 3rd)

[LaChocolateLady]

He should be behind the pack.. .he would won that race if his jockey dont push him to front.

[iunstoppable1]

If ridden correctly no doubt he wins. Ran out of gas halfway through the stretch. Unfortunately, this horse simply was not destined to win the Triple Crown. Still, legendary in his own right 26 wins 2 shows 1 place in 30 starts.

[rscarbro100]

If any horse in history that had a bad ride it would have been Secretariat. He ran fractions much faster than The Bid. I mean way faster. Check the record. The difference was Secretariat was a stayer. Delp also made the statement maybe just he is not a 1 1/2 miler. The Bid was a stronger horse as a 4 years old. He is right up there in the top 5 of all time & his record proves it without a doubt. IMHO Man 0' War & Citation would not have a chance against him to a 1 1/4 mile And maybe 1 1/2 mile.

[Millie9509]

@rscarbro100 I'm not sure it's fair to compare any Belmont winner/ loser to Secretariat.  He was a monster that day and really shouldn't have been able to win the way he ran. The Bid was a stayer in his own right, this just wasn't his day IMO. The ride didn't help.

[rscarbro100]

It very odd so many believes the bad ride is why he lost the Belmont. Red Smith '"To the Swift' quoted the words spoken by Delp himself concerning Franklins ride.

Now they were saying that Franklin pulled his mount’s cork by sending him to the front early and going the first mile in 1:36. On the back side, Buddy Delp sipped his beer.

“The kid rode a fine race,” he said again and again.

[sumanmariya]

One of the worst most impatient rides i've ever seen, Spectacular Bid was butchered! Should have won comfortably.

[thelongshot99]

i have to agree with the ride. although i think the importance of a jockey is generally overrated i wouldve never used Ronnie Franklin on a serious racehorse. You might as well get the best jock if you have a great horse. And I do not believe the "pin" story effected the outcome of this race. Bid was empty in the stretch. If his foot was bothering him he wouldve stopped a lot sooner.

[jkmooreelle]

@thelongshot99 The foot was bothering him. Bid lost 30 lbs after his layoff to recover from the 'pin'.He was lame and never changed leads. Just shows what a great champion he was. Check out SI Vault. They have some awesome articles on The Bid

[dunsta69]

what a woeful ride

[romancap]

bad bad ride

[joefederico]

Agree that Ronnie Franklin blew the Triple for Bid. He's chasing a horse who had no chance of winning setting fast fractions while a fresh, good horse like Coastal was primed for the race. Delp did a good job guiding Bid and Shoemaker, who subsequently took over the mount, only lost 1 race with Bid if I recall and that was when Bid was 3 and Affirmed was 4. Shades of Risen Star who had an awful trip in the Derby, through no fault of the jockey, or there would be 2 more Triple Crown winners.

[playitsafe20]

Horses lose races for many reasons. I think it's fair to say a safety pin was NOT the reason 'Bid lost this one.

[rscarbro100]

@playitsafe20 I do not believe the pin was the reason for the loss either. Don't believe the ride was too. The Bid was truly a great horse but at a 1 1/2 mile distance he quite did not measure up IMO as a 3 year old,.But if he ran at that distance at 4 years old I believe he would have been much better.

[jkmooreelle]

This race makes me sick.Spectacular Bid deserved a better ride. The best horse never to win the triple crown.

[bnegs521]

The jockey chased Gallant Best who wa 99-1 or so. It was a terrible ride. Delp was so sickened by this race he has made up a million excuses for this loss. Including a mysterious "pin in the hoof" conspiracy. But nobody wanted to hear him because he was so arrogant. The Bid was still a spectacular horse though.

[Arps103]

Marshall Cassidy's first Belmont Stakes call, very well done, though he does say "Around the Far Turn" 3 times, one of which was on the Clubhouse turn.

[all66books]

He was the greatest horse that ever looked through a bridle. The only two horses that I believe would have given him a run were Citation and Secretariat. — Trainer Grover "Buddy" Delp

Personally, I'd like to have seen Slew & Dr. Fager take a shot at him as well. In any case, Delp was reportedly still furious about Franklins ride in the Belmont right up until the time of his death in Dec. of '06.

[susannreno]

Delp was so sickened by Bid's performance he refused to ever watch the race.

[anisapologist]

I was a kid when I watched this race. I was a HUGE Spectacular Bid fan and was heart broken when he lost!

[keenelandlex]

I agree jimchait. We will likely never see a worse ride in a big race. Franklin flat out choked. He was chasing a hopeless longshot early on. Andy Beyer said it best: "Spectacular Bid was not beaten by a pin, but by a pinhead!"

[Rodney81818]

The only ride that I can think of that was this bad was Chris McCarrons ride on Alysheba in the 1987 Belmont

[drfager01]

they dont make them like the bid anymore,you can take him to the front, you can place him last, he can sit of the pace,this horse could make a move whenever wherever he wanted, oh what an animal.hay folks let us all be conciuos of the horses who are not the spectacular bids,but those who are the unfortunates,plese lets stop thoroughbred slaughter around the world.

[bnegs521]

Amen to the thoroughbred slaughter statement by you. The owners should be ashamed of themselves.

[majesticbob2007]

I liked Bid, living in the 70's, I saw some great horses,Seattle Slew, Affirmed, Bid and the greatest in Secretariat. Also had great loser in Alydar and Sham. Watches races like this make you really see how great Secretariat was, he never tired. Bid tired, I feel to many wanted that Secretariat ride to show what they have, only Secretariat could be that. Bid was a great horse.

[brown22shu]

bid should have won this race, it was not the pin but franklin, franklin was a shit rider and he was tiring out bid before the final turn, franklin made a common mistake aat belmont, he does not realize that the final turn is no where close to the finish, bill shoemaker had rode spectacular bid then bid was a triple crown champion

[jdavidcole64]

Yes a horrible ride by RF n the whole mount was known as a cute case of nepotism by Delp until he messed up- which the kid picked a fine time for. I must defend him on 1 count- this threads got alot of the same characters as the 2004 Elliott haters who think these guys just show up after lunch or such n take a quick spin around BP, forgetting what the poles look like. Id say RF just figured he was on Citation, or perhaps got excited n lost the clock in his head, thinking they were going slower.

[smartyjonesfan]

@jdavidcole64 This does remind me some of 2004 Smarty Jones Belmont, but Bid took the lead even earlier and his jockey seemed to push him a little harder. It's easy for all of us to sit here and bash the jockeys, but they have to do what they think is going to win them the race, not what might make the most sense to the fans watching.

[nuness20]

This race is the only horse race where I was literally pissed off. I was swearing at the television at Ron Franklin for screwing up the race. Nothing in almost 30 years has changed my mind. Bid should have won that race and would have had Bill Shoemaker rode him.

[decroo21]

I totally agree. Who the hell makes their move coming off the clubhouse turn at the Belmont? Only Secretariat can pull that one off, Ron.

[mjdkmiller]

He should have won the triple crown. Pin or no pin, Franklin blew the race by chasing an 80-1 shot and he ran out of gas in the stretch. He was the best horse I have ever seen, in person. He was unbeatable as a 4 yr old and he could have held his own against any horse. I'm not saying he was better than Secretariat, but to watch him during his 4yr old campaign at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park is something I will always remember, simply awesome!!

[all66books]

It wasnt such a shame that the 'Bid' lost to Affirmed in the JCGC. Affirmed was a 4YO, Bid a 3. horsebakken-good for you. I saw Coastal win the '79 Mth. Inv. in Jersey that year. There sure were a lot of outstanding 3YOs that year. 'Bid, General Assembly, Golden Act, Czaravich, Coastal-good crop.

[bigroan]

Just for the purposes of the record, and once and for all: Safety pin my butt, that horse was beaten clean and on the square. Blame it on Nick Knucklehead for a rider, if anything.

[mastiffs36]

Come on lets give the bid some credit. That belmont should not keep him from bieng one of the best of all time. he did have an awesome career the only knock on his is his speed did not hold at a 1 1/2 miles losing to affirmed and coastal, every great horse has his own chink in his armor of brilliance.Well lets say maybe harry was smoking weed

[yummee2]

one of the worst and stupidest rides in history cost Spectacular Bid his rightful place in history...111 to the 3/4's??!! for no reason yet!

[rewturn]

Too much, too soon. A tragic defeat...

[horsebakken]

No doubt that SB was a fabulous horse. But I say bravo Coastal! I own and ride Miss Coastal - his daughter - she looks just like him and is a SUPER horse - so when I watch this I see COASTAL's race - coming from behind (4th or 5th) - it is thrilling to me and an outstanding performance.

[dukeblue0524]

The Bid stepped on a nail that morning!

[WhiteCamry]

At the risk of starting a flame war, I'd like to point out that, great though he was, SB never won a race over 10f. For example, he was second in the JCGC which that year was also 12f on a fast track at Belmont. The Bid carried Willie Shoemaker but finished 3/4 length behind Affirmed -- on the plus side, he finished 3 in front of Coastal.

[InverseSun]

I have a white Camry, too. I like horse wars. I have been fighting on behalf of Citation the Great for many months now. The Bid was a much better horse than Affirmed, and why he lost the JCGC with The Shoe up, is anyone's guess. I doubt if it was the distance. The Bid was a very strong horse, carrying huge imposts.

[POniell]

I haven't been able to bring myaelf to watch this race since 1979. Bid overcame every bad ride Franklin gave him except one. I sure would like to see Bid's FL Derby again. Thank you for this video.

[AwsiDooger]

I was at that Florida Derby. Franklin charged Bid into a wall of horses three times, then had to manuever around. The joke was you already knew Bid could go a mile and a quarter, because Ronnie Franklin turned a 9 furlong race into 10.

It would be great to see it again.

[flatonia]

On top of the injury jockey Ronnie Franklin poorly judged the rapid pace and moved too quickly on the rabbit.

I think this was Franklin's last ride on The Bid. Willie Shoemaker got the mount and Franklin ended up getting suspended after his arrest for cocaine possession.

[Bassman968]

Franklin did the Bid in with a 3rd quarter in 23.3, when all he had to do is track the cheap speed and gun him down on the far turn...Coastal was a nice horse, but Bid still should have won comfortably.

[InverseSun]

You're probably right. The lead horse looks suspiciously like a "rabbit", and I'm surprised The Bid, who usually laid back, tried to keep up the insane pace. That sprint speed and the hairpin in his foot is what made him lose. But guess what? He came in second in spite of all that!

[mjdkmiller]

Correcton Inverse Sun, the Bid ran 3rd in the Belmont, Golden Act beat him too.

[doacavs55]

that was on the jockey

[gfn02]

Damn this race is frustrating to watch . . . The Bid shoulda been a Triple Crown Winner! How cruel fate can be sometimes.

[oleum65]

This was a great race.After Delp said SB was the greatest horse to look through a bridle.Was he smoking crack or something?SB would have never beaten Secretariat,Forego,Man-O-War,C­itation,Dr.Fager,etc.He was good,but come on...the greatest???