California Chrome has drawn the #2 post for Saturday's 146th running of the Belmont Stakes and the trainers and jockey Victor Espinoza see no problem with that position going into the race. In fact, Espinoza is quoted as saying, "I like No. 2. Hopefully, it is my lucky number."
California Chrome at Kentucky Derby
On Wednesday, California Chrome became the 3-5 early favorite to win the Belmont Stakes and become horse racing's 12th Triple Crown champion.
© 2014 by Bill Brine
On Wednesday, California Chrome became the 3-5 early favorite to win the Belmont Stakes and become horse racing's 12th Triple Crown champion. In the past, the #2 post has been the starting point for a number of winners.
The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner will break from the No. 2 post under Victor Espinoza on Saturday at Belmont Park. Eleven Belmont winners have come out of that post, the last being Tabasco Cat in 1994.
California Chrome will be listed No. 2 in the betting program, the same number as 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, who won the Belmont by a record 31 lengths while setting a track record for the 1 1/2-mile race that still stands.
For some observers, California Chrome is a horse of destiny. As assistant trainer Alan Sherman pointed out following the draw, Chrome's post positions in the Derby, Preakness and Belmont are the same as Secretariat's. Secretariat, of course, is considered perhaps the most dominant racehorse in history and was the 1973 Triple Crown champion.
California Chrome, whose name was pulled out of a hat as one of several suggestions by the owners and their wives, will try to become the 12th Triple Crown winner Saturday at Belmont Park. Perhaps the strength of a vibrant California combined with the flashiness of chrome, the rich, eye-catching trim for fast cars, will meld together for a race as good or better than any of Secretariat's races.