1997 Preakness Stakes - Silver Charm

1997 Kentucky Derby winner Silver Charm winning the second leg race of the elusive Triple Crown. 12 years later and it still doesn't get any better than this. Silver Charm was one of the great thoroughbreds of all time.
Silver Charm - 1997 Kentucky Derby - • 1997 Kentucky Derby -...
Silver Charm - 1997 Preakness Stakes - • 1997 Preakness Stakes ...
Silver Charm - 1997 Belmont Stakes - • 1997 Belmont Stakes - ...

[@jameswheeler8622]

Silver Charm one of my favorite horses of all time.

[@kevinevans5921]

30 years old and still with us!

[@GBeret83]

Silver Charm and Freehouse going at each other during that era of racing is still one of the most entertaining head to head rivalries ever. Those two really went at each other hammer and tong every time they were on the same racetrack together. Great stuff!!

[@davidolk4886]

..and dont forget Captain Bodgit!!

[@chrisp.9172]

Freehouse finally got the best of the Charm and Touch Gold in the Pacific classic..

[@aggiesjc]

Wow, I forgot how close this finish was! Incredible!

[@susancox1221]

Love this

[@bunpeishiratori5849]

Great picture quality there.

[@cherylcampbell7495]

One of my favorite all time horses. Sad when he got injured. Saw Steven’s in a video when he visited Silver Charm in old age💕

[@Wigfield84]

I’ve visited him myself a couple times. Highly recommend going to Old Friends

[@jds1vette]

"Captain Bodgit is flying!"

[@david1044]

The 4 year war between Silver Charm and Free House is legendary. It ended in 1999 when Free House defeated Silver Charm in the SA Handicap. The intenseness over 3 triple crown races cost Silver Charm in the Belmont. He drove Free House to the fence on the first turn, but the California bred gray, was still right there in the stretch. Free House may have lost, but he was solely responsible for Silver Charm not winning it. Apparently Free House liked to show Silver Charm his teeth in the paddock...those 2 didn't like each other.

[@michaelserna5685]

And down the stretch they come!! Great rivalry. Free House beat Silver Charm in the SA Derby that year. Not since Affirmed and Alydar have I seen battles like this. And not since then!!

[@boswindle9050]

Easy Goer and Sunday Silence

[@Caroni100]

@@boswindle9050 That's right! Michael Serna forgot them. Greetings from Venezuela 🇻🇪

[@tylermorro1747]

Silver Charm won two of the closest TC races of all time...wonder what his total margin of victory was in the Derby & Preakness combined

[@rickjannings7689]

A neck nose

[@guardiaguardia3017]

Noses apart! I love this sport.

[@bnegs521]

Touch Gold fell flat on his face to begin the race and finished a very close 4th. He then went on to win the Belmont and shove Bob baffert's heart down his throat. He could have won this one but the start cost him.

[@bnegs521]

Um I am not broke trust me I live in a ranch I'm texting to you from right now completely paid for by the way. Not bragging the Lord has blessed me greatly and I worked hard for all this ranch I bought a few years back. I just got done feeding the animals actually. I am truly blessed. When I wrote that 10 years ago Bob had really annoyed me about some things but when he almost died and then won his triple crown and his other accomplishments I came to respect him. His triple crown with justify is tainted though and justify was dirty in the santa anita and should have been disqualified. But even so I still respect bob and I think the shit he has gone through this year and the suspension for the next two years is unjust. 10 years ago since I wrote that wow. I actually know that touch gold, birdstone and sarava are all living together on the same ranch these days and touch gold is still a cranky horse just like he always was. I was glad gary and bob did not get that triple crown because I was so glad AP did.

[@rickjannings7689]

NOSES APART

[@petermartin7811]

You want to see a great finish watch tiznow in the 2001 bc classic

[@LorenzoVonMAtterHorN838]

Both Classics were close for Tiznow. Giant's Causeway and Sahkee fought brilliantly 👏🏾 Shout-out to Sahkee for being the much smaller horse and racing on dirt for the first time.

[@chickenandwaffles09]

Baffert looks the exact same today

[@4HBirtcher]

2:00 you want to talk about a real drag race!!

[@PaulSmith-tn4yu]

Great for Silver Charm but to bad fo Touch Gold, I think that start cost him the race. Both are living out their retirements at Old Friends Farm in Kentucky. Got to feed both of them carrots this past June.

[@Wigfield84]

I did this as well. Also loved getting to tell Birdstone “I forgive you” haha

[@tdward23]

Who WON??? video got cut off at the end.

[@aminuismail438]

What did Garry Stevens say to McCarren in the back stretch please????

[@PhillyBirdGangg]

I heard something im right here Joe then I’ll let you go as slow as you want

[@david1044]

Great Rivalry. But as they kept racing, Free House turned into the better horse. Smoked Touch Good in the Pacific Classic. And handled Silver Charm in the S.A. Handicap

[@beast13284]

dynamic race, but free house should've been dqued

[@bnegs521]

It is speculation. However, Charasmatic was out of gas by the time he broke his leg. Antley mismanaged the race and the horse that day and was drunk and high as a kite. Tiznow was a great horse and still the only horse to win back to back Breeder's Cup Classics. I still love how Stevens and Baffart had so many excuses for Mccarren and Touch Gold running by them at the end! LOL!! "And on the outside it's TOUCH GOLD, TOUCH GOLD!!"

[@chrisp.9172]

Any true handicapper can see, Touch Gold wins the next race...

[@david1044]

Only because Silver Charm pushed Free House 8 wide on the first turn and again 6 wide on turning for home. Free House was easily the best horse in the Belmont.

[@chrisp.9172]

@@david1044 You h Gold was easily the best horse in the Preakness, after stumbling to his nose at the start, so much that he came back bloodied. The right horse won the Belmont, but Free House came back to beat them both in the Pacific Classic, so I'm not gonna argue to much. But Silver Charm was by far the most accomplished horse, look at the career earnings. I had 4 out 6 that day, and 2nd in the 2 other races, I used all 3 in the Classic.. Pic 6 payed like 6800

[@david1044]

@@chrisp.9172 fair enough. But the career earnings by Silver Charm were greatly augmented by the early days of the Saudi Cup. Where the fields were slight, and travel was often avoided by many top horses. He also somehow avoided horses like Skip Away and Gentlemen like the plague. While Touch Gold and Free House did not. Hell, Free House even beat Gentlemen and Touch Gold in that Pacific Classic romp. But again...that was a great class in 97. Full of many thrilling races. My wife and I saw the final meeting between Charm and House in the 99 Big Cap. They both were much grayer..lol. Free House won that one as well.

[@ghostzapper2006]

Touch Gold was clearly the best horse in this race and the Belmont that year. After going to his knees at the start of the Preakness he ran the equivalent of an interior 6 furlongs in 1:08 to pull himself from dead last to 4th just behind the leaders entering the top of the stretch. Then Desormemaux on Freehouse clearly moved into his path and caused him to steady near the rail inside the 1/8th pole. Freehouse should have been taken down. TG showed in the Belmont who was the best TC horse in this group. If he had gotten any type of trip in the Preakness he wins both the Preakness and Belmont that year. And he won the Belmont on only 3 good legs after tearing his quarter badly during that Prekaness fall.

[@rainymoon9848]

ghostzapper2006 Silver Charm and Touch Gold were both grandsons of the legendary Buckpasser. Making them great-great grandsons of Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Sometimes I think that we will never see another Triple Crown winner again. Part of that, might be breeding. Some horses end up going up against horses of equal breeding. While, others don't. Silver Charm and Touch Gold were only a few generations removed, pedigree wise, from a Triple Crown winner (War Admiral). Easy Goer and Sunday Silence were a slightly different story. Both were descendants of Man o' War... Easy Goer through War Admiral and Sunday Silence through Stymie. However, Easy Goer was more "blue-blooded" pedigree wise, with two Triple Crown winners in his pedigree (War Admiral and Count Fleet), as well as several others in the top 27 of the top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century list (Alydar, Man o' War, Native Dancer, Tom Fool, Buckpasser). Sunday Silence's pedigree was much more modest looking, though Man o' War appears at least 5 times in Sunday's pedigree. However, except for the rags to riches legend, Stymie, most of the Man o' War descendants who appear in Sunday's pedigree aren't anywhere near as well known/successful as War Admiral and his grandson Buckpasser. Silver Charm also had 5x inbreeding to Man o' War. However, he was 2x inbred to War Admiral. The other 3x Man o' War descendant ones, weren't really well known. So, Touch Gold's pedigree is somewhat more "royal" "blue blooded". They are both from the legendary Buckpasser line (grandpa Buckpasser (#14), great-grandpa Tom Fool (#11), great-great-grandpa War Admiral (#13), and great-great-great-grandpa Man o' War (#1)). Which has to be one of the most impressive horse racing lineages in history... 4 generations... 4 legends. However, Touch Gold also has 2x inbreeding to Northern Dancer (the legendary Northern Dancer/Native Dancer line). Though, Silver has the legendary Round Table in his pedigree. Regardless, Touch Gold and Silver Charm were much closer together, in terms of pedigree, than Easy Goer and Sunday Silence were. When horses are so close together, pedigree wise, is it even really possible to have another Triple Crown winner? It is strange that the two 5x Man o' War inbreds, ended up winning 2/3 of the Triple Crown, but, didn't do so well at stud, and were sold to Japanese stables.

[@Bigrosty44]

+ghostzapper2006 Free House turned into a far better horse than touch gold, and beat Silver Charm twice as an older horse. He was also a California bred horse that was purchased for 1 20th of what both Touch Gold and Silver Charm were. As for the Belmont?? what in the hell, race were you watching? Silver Charm took Free House 9 wide on the first turn...then kept pushing him wide on the backstretch, then again 7 wide on the final turn. and bore out on both him and touch gold in the stretch. And even with that!!, if not for the rabbit horse, Wild Rush, who was coupled with touch gold to push both House and Charm on the front end. He had no prayer. As for Rainy Moon. Buckpasser was the son of the mighty Tom Fool. not War Admiral. Just thought you should know

[@rainymoon9848]

Bigrosty44 Please read my post again. I mentioned that Tom Fool was their (Silver Charm and Touch Gold's) great-grandpa (through Buckpasser) and that War Admiral was their great-great grandpa.

[@Caroni100]

That´s true. Touch Gold could easily win Preakness Stakes without those tumblings. Nineteen years later, I still remember 1997 Triple Crown which I recorded on a VHS tape. What an excellent horses were Silver charm, Free House, Captain Bodgit and Touch Gold. Greetings from Venezuela.

[@Bigrosty44]

Touch gold had every opportunity to pass both Free House and Silver Charm. and had the garden spot the entire way around despite the bump early. He sat on those fast fractions run by the House and still never got past him. Both silver charm and especially Free House turned out far better than Touch Gold in the long run. Look at the 97 Breeders cup Classic and see what Skip Away did to Touch Gold. Also a good view, is the final race in the Silver Charm Free House rivalry! one of the greats in history! along with the Monster known as Event of the Year. check out the 1999 Santa Anita Handicap. Also the 98 Pacific Classic with Free House showing Touch Gold, yet again whos the Boss of that crop.

[@fightpicker]

pure speculation.. ur opinion... i could say in 99 if charasmatic didnt break his leg with 3 furlongs to go.. he would have won the trip..... nothing but speculation on ur part. to make u feel good about ur self.. an get a few people to agree with u.. thats selfish.....but maybe not true jus cuz u said it to be.. i will say this.. touch was a hell of a horse... my fav horse ever... most forget him.. but to me its TIZNOW

[@chuckschafer6728]

SHADES OF TIM TAM

[@JoeKoOhNo]

Charismatic was claimed by Lukas for $50k, I think. He was a great racehorse until he broke down. Antley also eventually broke down. Tragic story there. Still not convinced it was a suicide.

[@valerieteti1755]

@@JoeKoOhNo I agree with you about Antley’s death it was very peculiar. He traveled in some shady circles.

[@rickjannings7689]

NOSES APART