My Favorite Horse: Affirmed

I am a forty-one year old horse racing fanatic. I've been following the sport since I was ten years old. I've seen thousands of races, both on television and in person. But of all these memories, the greatest was being there at Belmont Park to witness my favorite horse of all time, Affirmed, hold on to defeat the great Alydar in the 1978 Belmont Stakes.

I'll never forget that day. It was sunny; not a cloud in the sky. It was very warm, but not oppressively hot. I had arrived at the track at 9:30 in the morning to make sure I had as good a seat as possible. When the horses came out for the post parade for the big event, the tension was palpable. Affirmed looked great; his compact, but powerful body glistened like shimmering, rippled copper. As magnificent as he looked however, Alydar looked even better; darker and larger than Affirmed, his rear quarters were as cut as a body builder on steroids. He looked as though he would be able to outrun Pegasus himself!

As the combatants approached the gate, I was scared; could my Affirmed beat this unbelievable mass of bully horse flesh? After coming so far, was he to be denied of racing immortality?

Being a vain young fellow, despite being nearsighted and needing glasses, I refused to wear them to the track that day. As the field broke from the gate directly in front of an anxious crowd, I saw Affirmed smoothly take the lead into the first turn. As they raced down the back stretch, my confidence grew, as to me, It appeared that Affirmed had a commanding three length lead. As the field approached the far turn, my enthusiasm was bursting, as it seemed as though my hero was lengthening his lead with every stride, and would run away with the Triple Crown.

There was only one problem, however; my eyesight had betrayed me! As they hit the top of the stretch, I realized that there was not one horse on the lead, but two! As it turned out, Alydar was shadowing Affirmed down the backstretch, and was breathing down the Derby and Preakness winner's neck with every stride! As they approached the quarter pole, the crowd was whipped into a frenzy. I stood on my seat, so I wouldn't miss a second of this monumental battle. Somewhere down the stretch, as the two legends continues to slug it out, the noise of the crowd seemed to disappear, as my attention was solely focused on the bobbing heads of two great champions. As they passed me, consternation took hold, as Alydar for the briefest moment appeared as though he would fly past Affirmed, and break my heart. But, true to form, Affirmed battled back with every last bit of strength he possessed. As they hit the wire, I looked at their rear quarters; Affirmed seemed to be further up than Alydar, but since I was at a bad angle, I couldn't tell who won for sure. After what seemed to be a lifetime, the tote board flashed Affirmed's number, confirming that he was indeed a Triple Crown winner.

I saw Affirmed in person two more times; once at a public workout at Breakfast at Belmont, and in his last race, when he defeated the great champion Spectacular Bid in the 1979 Jockey Club Gold Cup. Whether it was his elegance, his beauty, or his iron will, to this day no other thoroughbred has captivated me as much. Affirmed will forever be burned in my memory, and will forever live in my heart!

New York Mike