Fame Is Fleeting, But Veitch's Spot In Thoroughbred Racing History Is Secure
By: William F. Reed

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Apr. 20, 2003) - The bald man in the dark business suit moved easily through the crowd around the paddock last Saturday at Keeneland. Nobody noticed or stopped him to ask for his autograph. This was too bad, but it's the nature of fleeting fame.

John Veitch understands. He has no complaints. Only more golden memories than any person deserves. Just because he trained the great Alydar, it's too much to expect the next generation to remember.

But as he said to an old sports writer whom he happened to see, "Can you believe it's been 25 years since Alydar and Affirmed?"

No.

My goodness.

A quarter of a century since the greatest Triple Crown rivalry ever.

They first went head-to-head as 2-year-olds in 1977, with Affirmed establishing a narrow margin of superiority. Yet many in the media, some of whom are still around, believed that Alydar would prove to be better. He was bigger. He seemed to have unlimited potential.

And he was Calumet Farm.

For a decade, the home of a record eight Kentucky Derby winners hadn't produced a serious contender. Its owners, Admiral and Mrs. Gene Markey, were at the age where passion gives way to infirmity. So Alydar, named for the Aly Khan, became an affair of the heart for many Kentuckians.

But Affirmed also had a Kentucky connection in teenaged jockey Steve Cauthen. No rider has ever had so much success at such a tender age. The great writer Dave Kindred, visiting Churchill to write a piece about the phenom, found him sleeping in a stall.

A babe in a manger.

Perhaps that should have been the clue that the racing gods would shine on Affirmed in the spring of 1978.

As 3-year-olds, they didn't meet until the Kentucky Derby. Alydar annihilated his competition in Florida and Kentucky. Affirmed did the same in California. When both arrived at Churchill Downs, the media had a ball.

Affirmed was owned by Louis Wolfson, an anti-establishment Floridian who didn't give many interviews. But that was fine because the colt's trainer, Laz Barrera, a native of Cuba, was accessible and quotable, even though the predominantly non-Hispanic media sometimes had a difficult time understanding. But he loved to gently chide the media, especially those from Kentucky, for being enraptured with Alydar and Calumet Farm.

Veitch was a different story. In the mornings, he was totally professional in the manner of the old-school trainers. In the evenings, he and writer Bill Nack of Sports Illustrated were known to visit the Boom-Boom -- or was it the Vroom-Vroom? -- Lounge near Churchill Downs.

Alydar's jockey, Jorge Velasquez, was a hopeless romantic who probably didn't get the attention he deserved, again because of the languare barrier. The colt's groom and exercise rider, Charlie Rose, was a delightful man who was a fascinating interview.

Simply put, the 1978 Derby was a writer's dream.

You know the rest of the story. Or at least you should, if you have more than a casual interest in the Derby and Thoroughbred racing.

Affirmed wins the Derby, but Alydar is coming on strong at the end. Affirmed barely hangs on to beat Alydar in the Preakness, a race that veteran turf writer Mike Barry said was the most exciting he ever saw.

Then, in the Belmont Stakes, they hook up for what seemed an eternity. Two magnifcent warriors, testing each other to the bottom of their hearts and their breeding. In the stretch, Alydar may have gotten a nose a front. It looked as if it might finally be his day.

But Cauthen switched his whip from one hand to the another, a maneuver he had practiced as a child while straddling hay bales at the family farm in Walton, Ky. Affirmed responded. Suddenly he came up with that extra little bit of effort.

And Affirmed defeated Alydar by head in one of the most breath-taking races anyone has ever been privileged to see. He won the Triple Crown, and deservedly so. But perhaps Alydar won something just as important: A special place in the hearts of those who truly love this magnificent sport.

John Veitch is a finalist for a spot in the Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He deserves to be inducted, sooner or later, because nobody has ever shown more class or dignity or character in the face of one crushing defeat after another.

He never made excuses. He went out of his way to praise the Affirmed team. But he also thought that next time, Alydar would win. This is not only the essence of Thoroughbred racing, it's the essence of sportsmanship in whatever game you want to name.

So here was Veitch last Saturday at Keeneland, moving unnoticed through the sun-splashed crowd around the paddock. But that was O.K. Life goes on. Times change. Even the best-intentioned people forget more quickly than they should.

But 25 years later, Veitch doesn't require a lot of attention or buzz. His place in racing history is secure. He knows who he is and what he has done. His only fault, if you can call it that, is that he probably still feels that, given one more chance, Alydar would beat Affirmed.

Has it really been 25 years?

John Veitch smiles, slaps an old friend on the back, and disappears into the mob at Keeneland.

Native Kentuckian William F. Reed has been a sports writer in various capacities for 43 years and has missed covering the Kentucky Derby a mere two times since 1966. He has been a high-profile sports writer in Kentucky for the Commonwealth's two largest daily newspapers, the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader and was a national columnist for Sports Illustrated, covering among other sports, Thoroughbred horse racing and college basketball. Reed currently pens a column for the Louisville Sports Report and covered Kentucky Derby 128 for kentuckyderby.com. He will be filing frequent installments for CDSN's (Churchill Downs Simulcasting Network) websites throughout 2003.

« Back To Billy Reed's Derby News
« Back To Derby News