Silence hung in the air as the nation’s top older horses met at the top of the stretch in the race. Light rain dotted the track. Shared Belief breezed past California Chrome to win the San Antonio Invitational on Saturday.
California Chrome settled for second place.
Great rivalries make sports, and more than 21 thousand spectators watching the historic matchup found that this rematch was no exception.
The odds-maker named Shared Belief as the solid second choice, leaving Reigning Horse of the Year California Chrome as the morning line favorite. Co-owned by nationally syndicated radio host Jim Rome, Shared Belief claimed a racing spotlight as a 2-year-old. He was sidelined during last year’s Triple Crown season due to an injury.
Belief and his connections had another chip on their shoulder. In last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, the “Super Bowl” of horse racing, Bayern bumped Shared Belief at the start of the race and went on to win. Belief finished fourth in the Classic behind California Chrome. Bayern wasn’t disqualified for the interference, a call that proved controversial in the end.
“[Belief] was fouled and his chances were completely compromised at the break,” Santa Anita director of publicity Mike Willman said before Saturday’s San Antonio Invitational.
Throw in another twist: Bob Baffert, the trainer of the controversial Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, had a different horse entered in the San Antonio to challenge Shared Belief. This time it was his talented horse Hoppertunity. But trainer Jerry Hollendorfer had Shared Belief in good form for the big race.
“It’s common knowledge [in horse racing] that Bob and Jerry aren’t exactly on a holiday gift exchange,” Willman said. “You got them squaring off here [in the San Antonio] as well. It’s an incredible matchup this early in the year.”
All eyes were on California Chrome, who took advantage of Shared Belief’s absence in the Triple Crown last year. His owners, Steve Coburn and Perry Martin, decided to keep the 4-year-old Chrome in training, a rarity in an industry where many top thoroughbreds are retired to stud right away.
“I think it’s good for the sport to have horses like California Chrome stick around and continue to race,” national correspondent for the Daily Racing Form Jay Privman said. “I think when you get horses who can stick around and compete at a high level, run in the big events and do well, it’s going to generate more and more interest [in the sport].”
Horse racing used to be the only game in town. The American Turf Register exclusively covered horse racing in 1829. Even in the 20th century horse racing was quite popular. A radio audience of 40 million listened to the epic match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral in 1938. During the 1970s and 80s, tracks like Santa Anita brought in an average of 30 thousand fans a day.
“It was a golden age for racing,” Willman said. “Then these other forms of gaming came in, particularly the Indian gaming casinos and the lottery ticket. Horse racing was gradually pushed to the back of the bus, which was very unfortunate.”
The sport came back into the spotlight once again last weekend. It was the week after the Super Bowl. The NCAA Final Four and NHL playoffs were still a month away. People came to the track, and they weren’t disappointed.