1979 Preakness Stakes - Spectacular Bid

Last Saturday afternoon at Pimlico following Spectacular Bid's 5�-length victory in the Preakness, one could almost hear the flapping of wings as the last of the colt's detractors took off for parts unknown.
Bid ran his best race yet. By picking up first money of $165,300, he pushed his bankroll over $1 million to become the youngest millionaire in racing history, and he ran the mile and [3/16]ths in 1:54[1/5], the second-fastest time in a race that is 104 years old. Appearing to toy with four opponents, Spectacular Bid rolled easily to the finish line to a tremendous ovation from his owners' neighbors in Baltimore, where this handsome gray colt has now become as much of a hero as Brooks Robinson, John Unitas and the blue crab. With the first two legs tucked away, Spectacular Bid must now be considered odds-on to become the third Triple Crown winner in the past three years. On June 9, he will try to complete the sweep in the Belmont Stakes.
The main question about that race is how many opponents the New York Racing Association can muster to run against him. There won't be a bunch. An hour after the Preakness, LeRoy Jolley, the trainer of fifth-place finisher General Assembly, reflected on what he had witnessed. "There were times when I had doubts about Spectacular Bid," he said. "No more. My horse couldn't have beaten him if he had cut through the infield. I've had enough of running against Spectacular Bid for a while. So has the General. Spectacular Bid's Preakness was just plain outstanding from any point of view. I'm a believer."
Bid's time was only [1/5]th of a second slower than Canonero IIs record of 1:54, which was set on a lightning-fast track. Last Saturday the Pimlico strip was listed only as "good." Spectacular Bid also gave up large chunks of ground by going wide for much of the race.
Unlike Jolley, Marylanders believed in Bid all along, and sent him off at 1 to 10. His winning price of $2.20 was the smallest since Citation won the Preakness on his way to the 1948 Triple. Many of the lower-priced tickets purchased on Spectacular Bid will never be cashed; Marylanders will keep them for souvenirs.
It's normal during the two weeks between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness for new challengers to surface. This year, however, none did, and the five horses that went to the starting gate at Pimlico made the 1979 field the smallest in 31 years-again, since Citation's Preakness. Yet the four other starters had excellent records, having been in the money 44 times in 47 lifetime starts. General Assembly finished second in the Derby, Golden Act third, Flying Paster fifth and Screen King sixth.
At the start of the Preakness, Don Pierce, Flying Paster's jockey, a rider who rarely goes to the lead, found himself in front. He moved his colt away from the rail to get in front of Spectacular Bid, breaking tardily from Post Position 2. General Assembly, in the outside post position, shot quickly away from the gate, and he and Flying Paster battled around the first turn for the lead. The two ran head-to-head for half a mile, with General Assembly gaining a half-length advantage. Bid was in fourth place, losing ground but staying free of trouble.
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vaul...

[@MrMashman93]

He did not need the whip down the stretch!!! The Bid was not going to be denied this day.

[@elihuel5312]

I live in baltimores park heights where pimlico racetrack is and i remember this race. I was only 12yrs. old but this was one great horse.

[@sherylejeffers5484]

The Bid reminds me of the Great Seattle Slew.....!!

[@tracydavis8982]

Wow, Spectacular Bid was a FANTASTIC Horse!!!!😎 The Bid SHOULD have Won the 1979 Triple Crown, shoot!!!!!!🤔

[@merkinmuffley7118]

The Bid just ran away from the rest. Exactly how you expect a 1-9 shot to win. Awesome!

[@TheEnglishLongbow]

Spectacular Bid is my favourite American Horse.

[@TheChasams]

TheEnglishLongbow me too 😉

[@DanielSong39]

In retrospect it's unbelievable that Spectacular Bid is going off at 1-9 against this field. Flying Paster, Golden Act, and General Assembly is quality competition - and he makes them look like allowance horses.

[@ronsmac]

I get what you’re saying but he was 3/5 in the derby against a much bigger field and trounced the same contenders. In a 5 horse field the best one could have hoped for was 1/5 but that turned out to be a pipe dream.

[@johnmoore9021]

Going 6 or 7 wide on the backstretch and 1/5th off the track record. Amazing!!

[@marcosponce960]

John Moore he would have got it with Turcotte on board

[@bishlap]

Ron Franklin took Bid so wide he ran a mile and a half...in hand.

[@flatonia]

Thanks so much for posting this Partymanners. I can't remember the last time I've seen this race, and this is how remember The Bid. He was on his toes in the post parade, a little sweaty loading in, and he made that big run to take command at the end of the backstretch and win going away.

[@kennethgoldfarb8614]

I will not see another like him in my lifetime. Amazing animal

[@lgen2458]

@pat mckinzie How about Bens Cat,Little Bold John,Cigar and Hoist The Flag?

[@DanielSong39]

@@lgen2458 Cigar's 1995 is the closest we've come to Spectacular Bid's 1980

[@walkawaycat431]

Zenyatta reminds me of Spectacular Bid.

[@davidmeredith4561]

What a beautiful Colt. The Bid was one of the best ever, if not the best.

[@williamcervetti1455]

BID WAS THE BEST---SAW HIS NEXT TO LAST RACE AT ARLINGTON W/ SHOEMAKER---LOOK AT HIS OVERALL RECORD AN D ALL HIS RACES--HOW MANY HE WON VS. OUTSTANDING COMPETITION --EASILY THE EQUAL OR SUPERIOR TO SECRETARIAT.

[@thefrase7884]

The Bid was the greatest racehorse ever

[@david1044]

Who would you say is better? Maybe Dr. Fager... maybe Swaps. And those are big maybes. Shoe Ride Swaps, and still called The Bid, the best he ever rode.

[@GeorgeFitness-yo8bl]

@@thefrase7884 Youre absolutely delerious .He's not even in the top 10

[@gregoryp3194]

@@williamcervetti1455ou're essily a casual. The horse failed to win the triple crown. Secretariat's Belmont time crushed Spectacular Bid's time. Affirmed also beat the Bid. Spectacular Bid lost 4 races. Affirmed was better, so was Secretariat, Dr. Fager and Seattle Slew among others

[@angelalf3326]

It is controversial what I am going to say but it is my very particular opinion, I think that Spectacular Bid is after Secretariat the most Remarkable racehorse in the USA (I do not include mares) and it is a pity that I have lost the triple crown and that I have not received the recognition it deserves. I think that if from the beginning its rider had been a man of experience like Shoemaker, the story would be very different.

[@ahsanshaikh786]

He flattened the field with that move on the far turn. Devastating.

[@jasonscott6417]

One of the top greatest. I love this horse and it still kills me that he lost the Belmont.

[@marcosponce960]

jason scott heartbreaker, I have him as my 4th all time

[@donaldyoung8577]

He would have won but he had a pin go up his hoof day before the race my cousin Buddy Delp was the trainer and treated his foot but he still was a little lame

[@tracydavis8982]

Me too!!! Bid was too GOOD of a Horse, to not have Won the Triple Crown!!!!🤔

[@TheChasams]

@@donaldyoung8577 I asked my father (Gerald) over and over if the pin story was true and he swears he was there. He still would have won the race even so but Ronnie chased a long shot early and that was that. The one thing my dad tells me about horse racing that his father told him was "pace makes the race." If you analyze the race against affirmed, shoemaker had a poor ride and let affirmed set the pace. If bid challenged affirmed early and then made his move at the end, affirmed would have lost his last race

[@pauliehunt2277]

Damned saftey pin!!!!!

[@DanielSong39]

1-9 against Flying Paster, Golden Act, and General Assembly. That tells you everything you need to know.

[@viewfromwilmington]

Spectacular bid had such a great finish.

[@billwilliams8783]

R I p Ronnie Franklin.... Just a Dundalk boy made good

[@richardk6196]

SMH-Franklin just not a good ride. Whipped him how many times and with each strike took that much extra out of Bid for the Belmont?

[@gerrin1530]

Agree he rode that horse like he was in a head to head battle for the lead

[@kennethbeck2690]

I'm sure Grover Grier Delp told him to not get in traffic

[@wjm41259]

i was there-- and it was spectacular

[@orisha19]

Wow, a really true Great horse!!

[@lgen2458]

If Ronnie Franklin had ridden Affirmed in all three of the 1978 Triple Crown races than Alydar would have been The Triple Crown champion that year!

[@thefrase7884]

The Bid was the greatest racehorse ever

[@Caroni100]

God bless trainer Grover Greer "Bud" Delp (9:40) (1932-2006) He won 3,674 races and earned purses nearly US$ 41 million. Delp was inducted to National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2002. Greetings from Venezuela.

[@philb.1502]

My all-time favorite horse!! The Bid was a superstar!! Spectacular Bid was the greatest horse never to win the Triple Crown!

[@Caroni100]

Rest In Peace Ronnie Franklin. Spectacular Bid's jockey in its first 12 starts. He died on March 8, 2018 victim from a lung cáncer

[@stevek8829]

RIP Ronnie

[@HHH-ye1ro]

No need for Franklin to hit The Bid.

[@marcosponce960]

With a better not so wide trek he could have run a time similar to secretariat

[@richardcoreno]

Franklin had the horse of a lifetime -- and he couldn't keep the stick away.......hit 'em like a cheap claimer at a dumpy track.

[@terrykelly5496]

The Bid is in front by daylight and Franklin was whipping him?

[@chemicol2386]

'Paster lost a lot of weight after the Derby, which was run on a very cuppy surface.

[@chemicol2386]

The 1979 Kentucky Derby track was so cuppy......they ran a one mile race in 1:38 and change on the undercard and it was a strong field---horses came out of that Derby tired--even Bid was tired after the Derby.....

[@richd3044]

Not so sure about that. The track variant that day was a 14, which is decent - not slow nor blazing fast. The ABC announcers were saying that Churchill plays fast on a drying track which was the case that day. If the Derby was the only race that day, the variant would have been 15. So, there were other races on the undercard that collectively ran slightly closer to track records than the Derby.

[@chrisp.9172]

@@richd3044 The 1988 Breeders Cup was run on "drying track" What could the best field ever assembled with horses such as Alysheba, Seeking the gold, Forty niner, Waqouit and Cryptoclearance manage? 2:04 and change!

[@mortgageken]

I was just laughing at these posts lol. Guys don't give up your day jobs! Secretariat was a pretty good horse? And Ali was a pretty good fighter and Arnold was a pretty good body builder! Can't believe some of these assessments! LMAO

[@marcosponce8928]

you are right secretariat is the king

[@kennethgoldfarb8614]

Yes a pretty good horse with some REALLY bad losses to INFERIOR animals. This horse won 26 out of 30 and has a world record of his own fair weather fan.

[@TheJustjim3333]

@@kennethgoldfarb8614 and broke several track records....

[@marcosponce8928]

the Bid was great i loved him thats why im watching the film, but fair is fair, as of now i rank him fifth best, based on what i saw the facts and figures, he could HAVE maybe been better but with that Kid aboard we will never know

[@Bigrosty44]

This is an underrated performance by maybe history`s greatest galloper...He was in complete shutdown the last 200 yards, after being pushed wide throughout the entire contest. Yet he still eclipsed Affirmed, Seattle Slew, Secretariat and all but Cannonaro 2...who was full out in his magnificent run. In fact, THE BID is an underrated animal. This in my opinion is history`s greatest thoroughbred....Swaps....Tom Fool....Forego......and Spectacular Bid...A nice top 4, would1nt you agree?

[@dsfddsgh]

Not really. Secretariat ran a 1:53 flat for the Preakness record.

[@brucerobbins6227]

without a doubt....add Citation and you have the top 5. I think MoW is a sentimental favorite, but since he did not run after 3, he cannot be judged as a handicapper like our top 5. The Bid is one of my favorites, plus Forego....they don't make horses like these anymore....modern horses are pansies compared to these greats!!!!!

[@chloesmyth5516]

Due to the drama of the Preakness electronic timer in '73, Secretariat's original time was 1:55, changed to 1:54 2/5 (although he was independently clocked at 1:53 2/5), which stood controversially for 39 years, then finally in 2012 changed to 1:53 flat by the Maryland Racing Commission, so he still holds the record. As long as nobody changes their minds again. But as we all know, while Secretariat's Preakness win was one of the most thrilling ever, with Sham right behind him it was not by the same decisive margin Bid showed here. Just plain spectacular, Bid! (and definitely Forego forever!)

[@brucerobbins6227]

Chloe Smyth who cares about Sec? The Sec nuts bothered the Maryland Board for 20 years, simply so that Sec would have the track record. The time has been equalled many times, even by a filly. Why you guys are obsessed by fractions of a second is beyond me. The Bid ran it in 1.54, but you have to jump in a say that Sec ran in faster. The Bid did much more than Sec ever did. Time is not important. Winning the race is. And Bid won a lot more than Sec, bearing weight. And setting records on the side.

[@chloesmyth5516]

Bruce Robbins Just responding to the comment above stating Bid beat Secretariat's time. Given the history, it's easy to see how that would be confusing. Given the history, maybe he actually did.

[@ryleigh8942]

I personally prefer Secretariat over *any* racehorse to ever graze the Earth. He won by 31 lengths in the Belmont Stakes. I know that he had lost a few big races, but in most of those, he had an illness/health problem. Since he had a contract-of-sorts, and many people had come to see him, he was required to run. BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT Spectacular Bid was still a good horse. He is in my top 10. :P

[@davidbracher8322]

The Bid was a far superior horse to Secretariat. The Bid still holds the world record for the classic distance. 10 lengths better than Secretariat..and he did it with weight and under restraint. Not even close really

[@iamshebeeloloindigenous]

​@@davidbracher8322 Not!

[@chrisp.9172]

@@davidbracher8322 And how many more times do they run 1mi 1/4 as apposed to 1mi 1/2? At least 100 more times!!♥️🙏👉🇺🇸

[@nickyd.4695]

You get a $15.70 exacta in a small field with the lock of the year. Reminds me of the 73' Belmont.

[@dbaum23]

I don't get the argument between the Bid and Secretariat fans over the times. Bid fans say that he was held up. Yet I saw his jockey whipping him several times coming down the stretch. Why ease him up at the end when he was whipping him several times when he already had a big lead.

[@lired70]

@ dbaum23: What race are you talking about??? If it's the Belmont, Secretariat was hand ridden all the way! It was Laffit Pincay who was whipping the heck out Sham in the Belmont! Also, Secretariat never needed a whip. His Jockey made a gesture like a man adjusting his cuff and Secretariat took off like a bat out of hell!

[@question_it_701]

Dave Johnson called it a "blistering early pace". It was 23.40 for the 1/4. That's not blistering. lol.

[@Smartyjones86]

Lol.... I always thought he was a wayyyy overrated announcer.. There's plenty better than he was

[@theOlLineRebel]

Scared off the opposition? Only 5 in the Preakness! That’s unusual. Not for the Belmont, but it is for this stake.

[@DanielSong39]

He scared them all off in the 1980 Woodward

[@brucebrown-dx5dg]

What was he hitting him for ?

[@thefrase7884]

Franklin had no right being on this horse.

[@Stewart638]

The other riders tried to screw the young Ronnie big time had him 8 wide bid ran right by them they cost him a track record sad just wrong but that's race riding they never forgave Delp for riding the kid.

[@champstar9669]

Franklin: "They wanna mess me with me, then I'll get 'em back." Cuts off a horse on the 2nd turn and risked getting DQ'ed. What a completely mindless FOOL. The 'Bid deserved so much better than Delp's ego and Franklin's incompetence.

[@thefrase7884]

Franklin shouldn’t have ridden anything better than a 5K claimer

[@josepinela4636]

Un caballo gana si el jockey quiere si el jockey no quiere hace cualquier cosa para que pierda porque hay miles de $$ dolares en apuestas.

[@question_it_701]

Spectacular Bid is one of best ever. 30 races. 26 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third. 87% win percentage through 30 races.

[@williamcervetti1455]

you have hit upon the argument i always use to bolster my claim that he was the equal of or greater than Secretariat---and I saw his next to last race w.Shoe up at Arlington Park---he went off at 1-87 odds and moved late to win.

[@philb.1502]

@williamcervetti1455 Bid was great, but Secretariat won the Triple Crown and has the track record for all three Triple Crown races! Secretariat has to be #1!

[@question_it_701]

@@philb.1502 He was the best there was for a 3 race streak. He lost right before and 2 races after the triple crown races. He lost 25% of his races total.

[@philb.1502]

@user-oe7te8lp5k The Triple Crown races weigh far more heavily than the non Triple Crown races. In addition to that, Secrerariat has the track records in all three Triple Crown races! He set the records in 1973, and those records still stand 50 years later! That's an astonishing accomplishment! Mind blowing, really.

[@question_it_701]

@@philb.1502 Yep. But then its a head scratcher why he did so well over those 3 races, yet lost 25% of the time. Trainers of the 1970s have their theories.

[@tennisfan599]

Bid was better than secretariet.

[@philb.1502]

Stop it!!!

[@Smartyjones86]

Let's not get crazy here😂

[@mmcdonald9405]

there was no way they were going to let this punk rider come into belmont to the TC

[@VegaStar1010]

Bill Shoemaker should have been Bids jockey for all three races but no they put a moron like Ronnie Franklin on him. I was so disgusted by what happened at the Belmont because of Franklin's blunder that I stopped watching horse racing for a very long time.

[@richiebalto1]

Ronnie Franklin was a much better jock then he was giving credit for!

[@Caroni100]

Good afternoon. Ronnie Franklin (born December 20, 1959) could be a very great jockey (in 1978, he won the Eclispe Award for Oustanding Apprentice Jockey) but sadly, drug addiction ruined his career. Nine days later after 1979 Belmont Stakes, Franklin was arrested for possesion of cocaine outside of Disneyland, California. Greetings from Venezuela.

[@sueweisenreider8980]

+Caroni100 Oh, he's in good company with Chris Antley & PVal!

[@Caroni100]

jesusisnotallright s Rest In Peace Ronnie Franklin. He died on March 8, 2018 at the age of 58, victim from a lung cáncer.

[@TheJustjim3333]

@jesusisnotallright s do you drink. When u post?

[@TheJustjim3333]

He was worse, much worse

[@thefrase7884]

The greatest racehorse ever…..he didn’t even reach his peak until his 4 year old campaign…not starting anything …..just giving my opinion….

[@mmcdonald9405]

franklin was nothing with out the horse or delp that what made the 2

[@jimspoor9541]

@@TheChasams hey Chas....tell your Mom I said Hi

[@TheChasams]

Jim Spoor haha will do !

[@TheChasams]

RIP Ronnie! You’ll be remembered forever

[@Smartyjones86]

Howard Cosell obviously not too knowledgeable about horse racing 😂

[@howl_with_the_wolves2861]

The big black cloud is ronnie Franklin not the cloud in the sky -Franklin cost bid the TC the worst ride ever in the Belmont.

[@josephkool8411]

What waste of talent. I'm talking about the horse

[@question_it_701]

You're a waste of oxygen.

[@DanielSong39]

If you're talking about General Assembly you're not far off

[@mmcdonald9405]

franklin one big cry baby