California Chrome: Racing To Make History

The day has finally arrived. Today California Chrome runs in the Belmont Stakes and will attempt to capture the elusive Triple Crown.

It’s Saturday morning and horses stabled at Belmont Park are preparing for a busy day, full of excitement. There’s a quiet tension in the air as stable-hands, jockeys and trainers go about their morning routines. Suddenly, a chestnut colt with a perfectly white blaze arises from the aisle of barn 26 and all of the horses nearby stop to watch as he makes his way past them. “It’s California Chrome,” one of the horses whispers to a newcomer filly, “and he’s about to run a mile and a half race.” The filly looks at the horse whispering to her and the hay she’s eating falls out of her mouth. “A mile and a half?” She says with big bug eyes. “That’s a lot of track.”

It’s June 7th – The morning of the Belmont stakes.

This time last year, who would have thought California Chrome would be at Belmont Park on this very day preparing to run the Belmont Stakes as the 13th triple crown contender since Affirmed last won the crown in 1978? An honest answer? Slim to none. In fact, when the California-bred colt stepped onto the track for the very first time, critics were anything but welcoming.

A few years ago, owners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn invested $8,000 in a mare no one thought was worth the time. Her name is Love The Chase, and both owners saw something very special in her. Their trainer, Art Sherman did his research on a stallion by the name of Lucky Pulpit and saw something in his bloodlines that grabbed his attention. Shortly after paying a $2,500 stud fee, California Chrome was conceived.

On February 18th, 2011, Love The Chase went into labor and began showing signs of distress. Being her first time giving birth, the trouble began when she attempted to deliver her newborn while standing up. And if that wasn’t terrifying enough, her uterine wall was then torn when California Chrome (weighing a whopping 137 lbs) was traveling through the canal, dramatically elevating her heart rate and causing her to sweat profusely. “It was very stressful for us. We thought we were going to lose her.”

But Love The Chase made it through and California Chrome spent several weeks alone with mom and a team of stable-hands that cared for the two until their health was restored. This was when California Chrome began to develop strong relationships with humans, and it’s the main reason he is so comfortable around them.

His 2-year-old season had it’s ups and downs, and skeptics jumped at the opportunity to remind Coburn, Martin and Sherman that they were in way over their heads.

But things fell into place in December of 2013 when Victor Espinoza came on board as the colt’s new jockey. Chrome made a new friend in Espinoza, who guided the colt but also allowed him to make his own decisions – something Espinoza says Chrome really appreciates. Learning from Espinoza the youngster flourished under the freedom of their relationship and morphed into a winning “push-button” horse.

California Chrome Will Attempt To Make History

Today, America’s horse has come a long way since his first career start in April of 2013. Winning his last 6 races, including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and, now, preparing to run the 1-1/2 Belmont Stakes. Win or lose, California Chrome has silenced the “non-believers,” captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people, and reminded us that with hard work, perseverance and will, the underdog can prevail.

The colt that everyone doubted has become the colt everyone is rooting for.