Word: crowns
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Since Sir Barton first won the Triple Crown of American Thoroughbred racing in 1919, eight horses have captured the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, only to have their hopes founder over the grueling 1½-mile distance of the Belmont Stakes. So it happened in 1969, when Majestic Prince, a handsome and bighearted chestnut, was unable to stave off the wearying effects of his hard campaign for the Crown and was beaten by Arts and Letters. Majestic Prince never raced again. But last Saturday his son Coastal came to the Belmont and avenged his father's defeat, dashing...
Lightly raced throughout his career, Coastal had not been entered in the other Triple Crown events. He came to Belmont as the perfect dark horse for a race that treats long shots kindly. Casual racing fans may favor the julep-soaked hoopla of the Kentucky Derby or the high-speed sprint of the Preakness, but the Belmont and its demanding distance hold a special place of honor among horsemen: "The Test of the Champion." Only a horse in top form and full of racing heart can make the final closing rush for this third and most difficult...
Other experts suggest that the number of top horses contending for the Crown may have been diminished by the rapid growth of racing days nationwide. Many horses are raced out by the end of their two-year-old campaigns and retired. The breeders of others now pick and choose among rich purses scattered across 15 states rather than risk everything for show money in the Triple Crown events in a year when a really fine horse like Spectacular Bid turns up. In 1948 there were 696 stakes and feature races, only nine with purses...
...science at the University of Kentucky, ticks off the contributions of his profession to the sport, from the use of antibiotics to treat barn cough to new surgery techniques to remove bone chips. Then he admits, "I don't think they have anything to do with it. A Triple Crown winner is a running machine with courage. Nobody knows where that comes from...
...story is as ever. The crown prince of a mythical country is under threat of assassination on the eve of his coronation because his wicked half brother wants the throne for himself. An Englishman who is a perfect double for the man who would be king is recruited to stand in for him, drawing the evildoer's fire until the sibling and his cohorts can be undone. In a tale of this sort, there is an irreducible minimum of suspense and action, which really cannot be satirized, lest all tension be drained from the plot. There is also...