Risen Star - 1988 Belmont Stakes (Dave Johnson's ABC-TV Call)

[MAA8772]

Seen this race in 1988 just like the one in 1973 gives you that same feeling of suspense toward the end an unbeleavable finish!!!

[wolfsmother14]

Dave Johnson... a great race caller.

[pjny21]

He really did look like his sire, similar build and speed. Wow.

[Secretatiat159224]

Great lines in this one "He Looks Like his daddy at this poitnt!" "And that is the second fastest time in Belmont history, second only to the great Secretatiat!" Man, Secretatiat's blood lines sure came out in Risen Star, too bad the rider did such a bad job in the derby or he would have won the triple. but he just did not judge the time of the race, can happen to anyone. what a horse he was, the only horse close to his daddy.

[711ATOM]

Steven Crist in the New York Times (July 5, 1988) wrote "The drama surrounding Risen Star these days is a familiar one, a set piece played in four acts: Horse gets good. Horse gets syndicated. Horse gets hurt. Horse gets retired." Injury didn't end Risen Star's career, the ankle problem was one for which the prognosis was good, it was syndication that did the horse in. Racing needs heroes to succeed and retiring top horses at 3yrs has severely hurt it.

[danielle38134]

that's how u run a race! He was horse of the year to me!!!!

[PhantomSephiroth]

''Just like is daddy Secretariat did!''

[MyAwsomo]

I'm sorry Risen Star, but your dad is still my favorite :)

[huntinalaska]

One thing that caught my attention about the way Risen Star ran this race. He was on the outside for most of the race, which means he ran farther than his father did when he ran on the rail from the word go in 1973. Put RS on the rail, and he may well have approached his father's time.

[gashrocks1]

man this is insane...m getting goosebums

[BigRedTC73]

His daddy would have been proud !

[murr2744]

"coming to the 1/2 mark and that's in 47 and 1, so Winning Colors in front by about 4 lengths, probably not as slow as Gary Stevens would like it to be"... did this race make anyone think that poor Winning Colors was playing the role of Sham on this day?

"asks the son of Secretariat for speed and gets it"...

"the Preakness winner takes command from the Derby winner"...

"RISEN STAR DRAWING AWAY, HE LOOKS LIKE HIS DADDY AT THIS POINT!"

A great moment in sportscasting... and a great horse...

[bbigjohnson]

@murr2744 Yeah, I miss Dave Johnson sounding like his head is going to explode at any second. Those are some good calls. But something about...  "He is moving like a TREMENDOUS machine!" That's right there. Right there.

[BettorOffSingle]

Risen Star paid 5-1 to win the Belmont in part because people had been bashing Secretariat as a sire forever, despite his daughter Terlingua producing Storm Cat.

This one came closest to duplicating what Big Red did on the track, and it was a great sight to see, as I did in 1988 from Garden State Park.

[latinostallion94]

I love how the announcer says Risen Star looks like his daddy 2:52

[twoking10]

In many ways the race looks like his father's race, albeit not winning by the same margin, but still a large margin, and just pulls away from the field towards the end. Shame he got boxed in at the Kentucky or we could have had another Triple Crown winner, and to be the son of the great Secretariat, what a great story that could have been! Risen Star, largely overlooked in talk of the best of all time. By the way, the SECOND fastest in Belmont history... and the great one's son, go figure, lol.

[littlescratchykitty]

As the horses enter the homestretch clouds of smoke are visible beyond the trees. What was that from?

[711ATOM]

From June 20, 1988 edition of SI "Like Father, Like Son" by William Nack - Joseph(Harold, Risen Star's groom) got to his feet and stepped back to admire his handiwork. "His daddy jumped out of him today!" said the groom. "He run the second fastest Belmont of all time. Second only to his daddy's 2:24 flat. Oooo! Man, I'm tellin' you! This colt told us all today: 'I'm the force to be reckoned with now. You've got to beat me.' "

[gajdijaa]

"he looks like his daddy at this point"....gave me goosebumps

[RAV52]

Just reliving the greatness of the incomparable Secretariat through his descendants is an unbelievable honor! It makes you appreciate the fact that another horse of that caliber will not originate on this planet!

[tomandsuehunter1]

"And down the stretch they come!" Ya just have to love Dave Johnson and his calling of these great races.

[BackstretchUnderdog]

It's a terrible shame that this guy didn't get on the top 100 list. He never finished out of the money in eleven starts!

[heiseimonozuki]

Because the development when running through in the goal is the same as father's time, it is impressed further more.

[jetdr]

He should have won the triple crown, he got caught in traffic in the derby. He still would have been 15 lengths behind the greatest. his daddy!

[bon1042]

@jetdr yes, and his jockey told trainer RS shld be allowed to go to front. If he had raced the best way for him, he probably WOULD have won the Derby and the TC Q

Shame. 17 hands high, what a beauty !

[lovedbysweetie]

Yup, " Just Like My Daddy!"

[grizzles03]

I have to agree with Wabstat on this one. He and Ghostzapper were the best two horses since the Bid retired in 1980. The others would be running for second.

[Iwastherein1969]

I saw Risen Star break his maiden at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, Louisiana in a 2 year old stakes race...he was amazing even then, he broke last, looked like he was out for a jog and won for fun....his talent, dare I say matched his father's but he wasn't given his 4 year old year to bloom....he would have been special at 4

[Jazzgirl8888]

I never get tired of watching this race cf ! Watching Risen Star and listening to Dave Johnson's call in this thrilling race absolutely makes my day :) I want to thank you again for giving us the opportunity to watch this excellent footage :)

[bon1042]

General Assembly did the Travers in 2:00 flat, a record which still stands. He didn't win any TC titles but second to Spec Bid in both Derby and Belmont I think, may be wrong. He looked the most like Sec, tho filly Secrettame and the great Terlingua looked so much like him. And don't forget Lady's Secret, that little "grey bullet" who was 1986 horse of the year !

[farfieldacresracing]

Not that I hate Winning Colours at all, in fact, she is actually one of my favourites, but I do believe Star shoulda won the KD. (: Especially when I saw how he did in the Belmont.

"He looks like his daddy at this point!" or something like that. x3

[docinohio]

He looked just like his daddy in the final stretch...Secretariat would have been proud.  Too bad he couldn't have won the KD and been a Triple Crown winner

[ittelotrab]

If he wouldn't have gotten caught in traffic in the Derby, he would have won the Triple Crown. The jockey took the blame for that one.

[bbmtge]

Excellent point. As far as the Belmont, Risen Star looked like he was out for a Sunday morning jog. He made the time and the distance look incredibly easy. A lot of gas in the tank.

[jhordanian]

Risen Star was just putting it all together at this time. Who knows how good he could have become? Just imagine Risen Star in the Travers with Forty Niner and Seeking the Gold and then taking on Alysheba in the Breeders Cup Classic!

[wabstat]

I believe that Risen Star would have become a superhorse. He was getting better and better during the spring of '88 and had already beaten 2YO champ Forty Niner at 1 1/16 miles at Keeneland. He wanted classic distances, he could run on dirt or turf and was just growing into his massive frame at the time of his retirement. Alysheba and the '89 crop with Sunday Silence and Easy Goer were great horses, but IMO they all would have played second fiddle to RStar IF he reached his full potential.

[porkrollboy]

i agree. i think he would've been one of the great ones...and to see those 3 horses on the same track in 1988 would be a breath taking moment. i would be in awe.

[bon1042]

@wabstat hi watstat.... my horse magazines are still packed in box... I thought I read that after Belmont they found a hairline fracture in Risen Star.

[NebulizerChi]

Absolutely eyepopping when he comes flying out of the turn from about 2:42 in. Yikes.

I'd be most interested to see the splits of this one --he rocked those final two furlongs.

[cf1970]

I agree, Risen Star sure made it look easy. He was a strapping 17 HH, so having that big body and carrying 126 pounds in the running time that he did is very impressive indeed.

The fractions of this race were: 23 2/5, :47 1/5, 1:11 4/5, 1:36 2/5, 2:01 3/5, 2:26 2/5. The Star ran his final quarter mile in 24 4/5, 1/5 faster than his papa Secretariat did. A remarkable performance, I'd say.

Take care.

[roasted420]

@NebulizerChi

i think Eddie D tapped him twice right handed at the top of the lane, and it was over. As the close-up showed, the jock kept him to task, but the race was already over. Delahoussaye seldom gets the credit he deserves as one of the all-time greats. His rides on AP Indy were impeccable.

[shorndjakdaa]

you see, what happened to winning colors in this race against risen star is exactly what would have happened to ruffian if she took on secretariat: the longer the race goes, the more and more lopsided it becomes

but in a short sprint, I think ruffian would have been very competitive - even against a three year old secretariat

[03Z06vette]

I mean just How Cool IS THAT! Winning the Belmont in the second fastest time in the history of the race. Second to who?

Secretariat! ..... and by the way, he's also my Daddy!

Fantastic!!!!!!!!

[bnegs521]

What the hell has happened to Dave Johnson? He was the best.

[theonlygeoman]

Pretty simple, really, when NBC took over coverage of the Triple Crown in 2001, they used Tom Durkin, as he'd been calling the Breeders Cup for them for years.

[westxlcr]

Making his dad proud!! Awesome!!

[raygordon]

Second-fastest Belmont ever at the time...to his dad.

Great horse.  Only the Derby misfortune kept him from the Triple Crown. Good sire too.

[Danolsu]

Risen Star, is def. one of the best in the 20th century. A triple crown that got away. WHY because he was trained to come from 15 out of it. First thing Eddie told Louie when he dismounted after the derby " Louie this horse wants to be up close, you are training him all wrong" well we saw what happened after that. Ashame he was retired with really nothing wrong, BC winner I'm sure and no telling how good as a 4 year old. The best I have ever seen, and I watched him as a baby, A very BIG baby.

[bon1042]

I am SO glad to learn this fm you. What do you mean "fm 15 out of it", trained to come fm 15 lengths behind? I only had read that Risen Star got caught in traffic and/or was very wide. thanks again. Where did you get this info?

[cf1970]

Danolsu, thank you so very much for the information about The Star. Fascinating to read.

Take care.

[BE109]

Secretariat has proven to be an excellent broodmare sire,top sires Storm Cat, Gone West, AP Indy all are out of Secretariat mares. He never produced a really good son to carry on his male line,he also sired the great Lady's Secret,and 55 other stakeswinners. All in all I think he did pretty good.

[raygordon]

Yes, Secretariat DID produce an "alpha" male line. Look up!

[BE109]

I was talking about a son who succeeded in stud to the degree,to keep the Secretariat male line viable as a source of top sires. I was not referring to racing class. Secretariat made a name as sire of top broodmares,some sires are prepotent to that and some are known more for producing top sire sons. Sir Gallahad III was just like Secretariat. The Teddy male line was assumed to be carried on thru sons of SG III,and his bro Bulldog. It wasn't, Sun Teddy was the one,Damascus is his male line heir.

[raygordon]

Without question, Secretariat is a much stronger female influence than male. Secrettame was Gone West's dam and that gave us Elusive Quality and Smarty Jones.

It's possible that some dominant male sires may yet emerge from the Risen Star lines, though this is pretty much the last hope. Secretariat also died relatively young (19?).

From what I've seen, when you add Secretariat to another top line, it generally strengthens or even evolves.

[BE109]

Agreed, that is Secretariats legacy as far the future of the breed. Yes it may still be possible for a son(or a grandson) of Risen Star to emerge,but time is running short. Better to seek son and daughter strains of Secretariat to(regardless of pedigree position) sex balance the pedigree. I'm a big believer in Ken Mclean's philosphy on breeding racehorses. Just to clarify, I do not regard Secretariat as a stud failure,he was just more prepotent to producing top broodmares. He did get 57 sw's.

[shellpen10]

Secretariat's true worth was as a broodmare sire. He passed that big heart to daughter to the daughter's son...How he got his...from Somethingroyal fromo Princequillo....

He did produce some really great...grandsons...

[Jailbirdx]

He was such an awesome broodmare sire because all of his fillies got the X Factor gene from him. They all had larger than average hearts. Not as large as Secretariat himself, but they had the gene, and some of them passed it to their own sons - the top sires, Storm Cat, Gone West, AP Indy.. They didn't do too bad on the track, did they? Think they might've gotten the gene from their dams? :)

[Jude74]

He was totally undervalued as a sire, his name is all over the pedigrees of the most recent big name sires and stakes winners.

[BE109]

Correct!,I've said the exact same thing many,many times before,when someone pops off and says Secretariat was a poor sire. Some people look at just the number of stakeswinners,or if he produced runners like himself, That is not likely,Sec's sire Bold Ruler did it but it is very rare when a great racehorse sires something better than him. Many horses have the large heart gene,but it isn't the only factor. Finally from a breeding point of view,it is a key factor for me. Always zero in on mares.

[shellpen10]

@Jailbirdx

Agree...the large heart went from Terlingua, Secrettame, Weekend Surprise to the son who passed that on to their daughters...look at Rags to Riches....

Who said that Secretariat was a dud at stud...his true value was in the daughters that he produced...

Although this son did great...I love this call....

[BettorOffSingle]

@Jailbirdx Yes, Terlingua (Storm Cat) and Secrettame (Gone West) definnitely improved the Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector lines. I saw Secrettame win her first two or three starts by huge margins before she was injured and tapered off. Gone West, of course, gave us Elusive Quality, who has given us Smarty Jones and Mine That Bird, while Storm Cat speaks for himself.

[Jazzgirl8888]

I love watching this video!Great race and I love to hear Dave Johnson say" He looks like his Daddy at this point!"Thanks for posting!

[cf1970]

Hi. I love this video for the thrill it gave me when hearing that, too. You are very welcome! Thanks for watching.

[jackgotlucky]

great call by davey johnson...

[khasperg]

OHHH I just saw this for the first time! AWESOME! I never knew Sec's son dominated too. Well I guess those Bold Ruler types can do distances afterall. HA! I loved it!

[bon1042]

Isn't it great, I just love how Dave Johnson loses it with all that feeling.

[khasperg]

you know whats ridiculous, isn't risen star ignored by the 100 greatest racehorses of the 20th century list? i believe he is. A preakness and belmont winner who tied his dad's time in the former and won by 15 in the latter...am i taking crazy pills?

[gfn02]

Well, I think you raise a good point. He didn't tie his Dad's REAL time (1:53&2) in the Preakness, but that's beside the point. The biggest reason he's passed over probably rests in the fact that he only ran 14 races and because he didn't win the Derby, 'cuz he'd have been a Triple Crown winner if he had; only because he got caught on the rail did he not win.

[shellpen10]

You are not taking crazy pills....I agree---and they say that Sec did not produce greatness...please....I love that "he looks like his daddy at this point" and when he says Delahousse asks the son of Secretariat for speed and gets it....just like Daddy..."push button"....lol

[shellpen10]

Agree bon....I love this call the best...

[ALYSHEBANDTHEBID]

you are right very nice run by Rstar just like his daddy, as for BoldR line i don't know about that, so far Native Dancer sire line have won about 13 belmont and basically they owned the kderby as well.

[Jailbirdx]

You should be thanking Somethingroyal instead of Bold ruler. If it wasn't for her, Secretariat might not be so good..

..Who knows if Risen Star would be. x)

[Jude74]

Yep, big heart and big stamina comes from Princequillo, his maternal grandpa.

[CaptainHowdy502]

BIG RED'S baby Boy and pride of NOLA!!!

[Myrolex]

Dave Johnson is the best... holly.

[mooks2k]

Just like his Daddy!

[shellpen10]

He looks like his Daddy at this point!!!!

[JugglingTed]

Just like his daddy! :)

[Wings71ny]

and if you go to the video of Mack Lobell's 1988 Breeders Crown thats posted on here you'll one of DJ's worst... there's a skunk on the track and Mack Lobell or John Campbell don't notice....

[cf1970]

LOL...that's a hilarious call by Dave. Just checked it out. I enjoyed his light-heartedness there. He always seemed like the easy-going type. Just sounded like he was having fun to me. Take care.

[bon1042]

WHAT, why one of Dave Johnson's "worst??". He didn't even call the race (?) Can't spoil this moment, it's wonderful.

[cf1970]

Hi Bon. Well said. It sure is an absolutely wonderful moment. I agree, nothing can spoil it. True horse/horseracing lovers would applaud and rejoice at this, regardless of one's preferred horse. Take care.

[gfn02]

"He looks like his Daddy at this point!

[cf1970]

Ah yes. What a classic call that was. One of Dave's finest moments. Take care.

[shellpen10]

Risen Star takes the Belmont--Just like his Daddy Secretariat did..second only to the great Secretariat.