Spectacular Bid, Florida Derby: story ,and video?
 

The official Racing Form chart of the Florida Derby tells precisely what happened: "Spectacular Bid banged into the left side of the gate at the start, was allowed to settle, moved along the inside going into the first turn, was steadied and altered course over Sir Ivor Again's heels midway through the turn, accelerated quickly along the backstretch, was forced to steady again leaving the backstretch while trying to get through along the inside, was steadied again midway through the turn, was eased back and to the outside, came four wide into the stretch, was hit six times with the whip righthanded at the head of the stretch and into the stretch, bore in slightly, was hit twice left-handed and drew well clear in the final sixteenth.".....

......Two minutes after Spectacular Bid went under the finish line, a strange scene unfolded. As the colt was being led to the winner's circle, his trainer. Grover (Buddy) Delp, started marching alongside the strapping gray, screaming at 19-year-old jockey Ron Franklin . "You idiot!" Delp yelled. "You damned idiot! You almost got the horse killed out there." The jockey, voted the nation's top apprentice of 1978, hung his head as tears welled in his eyes.

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.c...4728/index.htm




Does anyone know if a video replay of Spectacular Bid's Florida Derby exists on the internet? Lots of his races are on YouTube, but I'm not finding the Florida Derby.

I was one of the 31,000+ in attendance at Gulfstream Park as the late afternoon skies threatened near post time. Near the fence just before the finish line, in fact.

I've recounted Spectacular Bid's greatness over the years as a personal witness to that race.

I'd love to see it again somewhere and sometime, just to check my memories after nearly 30 years.

Great article....

In November, when exercise rider Michael Smith ran a horse up inside one ridden by Franklin during a morning workout at Laurel, Delp was accused of twice punching Smith and was suspended for 20 days by the Maryland stewards.

Is it??

I thought it was a nice article, too. Written within that 1979 Triple Crown year, for perspective.

Good question on Michael Smith I didn't catch the possibility in my prior reads.

FWIW, present day jockey Mike Smith lists 1965 as his birth year on his website. http://www.mikesmith-jockey.com/all-about-mike.shtml Unless he was also once a Latin American baseball prospect, I'm guessing it's a different Michael Smith.

Good thought, just the same.

Delp went on record blaming Angel Cordero Jr. (who tried to get the mount over the summer of 78) and Jorge Velasquez (who lost the mount on Bid) for ganging up on Franklin.

if only delp had hired shoemaker after that race....

Bingo.. Bid may have never lost with a competent jock