insightsports

In a little less than two weeks, undefeated Big Brown will walk onto the track at Belmont Park in an attempt to become the first horse to win the Triple Crown of horseracing in 30 years. Big Brown is heavily favored to run away from the field in the grueling 1 ½-mile Belmont, the final leg of the trifecta. The horse easily captured the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. But hold on, let’s not crown our champion just yet. Which brings me to what I was referring to with this post’s headline. The 1970s were the decade of the Triple Crown, starting with the great Secretariat, who ended a 25-year Triple Crown drought in 1973. Four years later, another great, Seattle Slew won the three-race combo. And the very next year it was Affirmed winning it all. So what about the safety pin? Well I’m coming to that. In 1979, the truly phenomenal Spectacular Bid rolled over the competition in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. The horse was a prohibitive 3-10 favorite to win the Belmont. He couldn’t lose. But then the unthinkable happened. Spectacular Bid stepped on an open safety pin that someone had dropped. With tender hoof, Spectacular Bid gave it everything it had, finishing third. Hence the costliest safety pin in the world. In sports, as in life, anything can happen.

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