The Field Shapes Up

By the beginning of a horse’s three-year-old season, owners and trainers generally know whether they have a Kentucky Derby contender, and Bud Delp knew that he had a special horse in Spectacular Bid. He told everyone about it, too. This chapter chronicles Bid’s winter and spring prep races leading up to the Derby, where he was the odds-on favorite.

Potential

Almost every two-year-old horse has potential; they are just starting their racing careers, and anything can happen. Bid starts slowly as a two-year-old, winning his first two races and losing his next two. Although other horses grab the spotlight first, Bid begins to show promise, winning several stakes races en route to grabbing the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Two-Year-Old Male Horse.

Introduction

The introduction discusses the glut of Triple Crown champions during the 1970s and the popularity of horse racing during that time. But clouds were on the horizon; allegations of race fixing threatened to damage the sport, and fans longed for another champion that they could rally around.