Affirmed
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Affirmed, a chestnut colt born February 21, 1975, at Harbor View Farm, Ocala, Florida – died January 12, 2001 at Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, was an American thoroughbred race horse that won the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1978, only the 11th horse to accomplish the feat, and as of June 11, 2005, the last horse to do so.
Harbor View Farm, established by Louis Wolfson and his wife, Patrice, in 1960, was a top breeding farm in earnings in 1970 and 1971 and again from 1978 to 1980 but Affirmed brought the farm much fame, earning it an Eclipse Award in 1978 as Horse of the Year. As a four-year-old, Affirmed continued his brillance, earning his second consecutive Horse of the Year honors.
Trained by Laz Barrera and ridden by Steve Cauthen, then an 18-year-old jockey, leading up to the 1978 Triple Crown races, Affirmed raced in California, winning the Santa Anita Derby and the Hollywood Derby. Affirmed narrowly defeated his arch rival Alydar in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes to claim the Triple Crown.
Affirmed and Alydar's stretch duel in the Belmont was one of the greatest in racing history. Alydar, with Jorge Velasquez up, briefly put a head in front in mid stretch and otherwise got so close to Affirmed that Cauthen had to switch his whip from his right to his left hand. (Some writers have questioned Alydar's brief lead, but Cauthen admitted to CBS's Jack Whitaker and Frank Wright after the race that his rival did just that.)
The CBS-TV call of the Affirmed-Alydar stretch drive -- by sportscaster and Belmont Park track announcer Chic Anderson -- became one of the landmarks of TV sports:
- It's Alydar and Affirmed battling back along the inside! We'll test these two to the wire! Affirmed under a left-hand whip. Alydar on the outside driving! Affirmed and Alydar heads-apart! Affirmed's got a nose in front as they come on to the wire!
Affirmed's Triple Crown accomplishment has not been repeated since, and his career has been honored with his election to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
In 2001, Affirmed was euthanized after falling seriously ill with laminitis, a circulatory hoof disease. Years earlier, the same disease also led to the death of fellow Triple Crown winner Secretariat.
In 2003, two years after Affirmed died, Affirmed became only the second US Triple Crown winner in history, (Gallant Fox is the other) to sire a second generation Triple Crown champion, when one of his last foals, Wando, won the Canadian Triple Crown.
In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Affirmed was ranked #12.