Hall of Famers Steve Cauthen, who 34 years ago
piloted Affirmed to become the 11th and most recent Triple Crown
champion, and Jorge Velasquez, who rode runner-up Alydar, will autograph
postcards commemorating their unforgettable rivalry Saturday at Belmont Park.
The postcards will be given away free, with paid admission, at the Belmont Park entrances. The autograph signing
will be $5, with all proceeds to be donated to the Permanently Disabled
Jockeys’ Fund.
The autograph session comes exactly two weeks before I’ll Have
Another attempts to add the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Stakes to his victories
in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and become the 12th horse to
sweep the series. Since 1978, 11 horses have tried and failed to win the 1
½-mile “Test of the Champion” and join champions Affirmed, Seattle
Slew, Secretariat, Citation, Assault, Count Fleet, Whirlaway, War Admiral,
Omaha, Gallant Fox, and Sir Barton, most recently Big Brown in 2008.
“It looks like he’ll have a great chance,” said
Cauthen of I’ll Have Another, who arrived at Belmont Park
Sunday on the heels of his hard-fought victory over Bodemeister in the
Preakness. “This horse looks like he’s got that same fighting
spirit as Affirmed. He likes a game, and he wants to win and he can’t
wait to get another battle.”
Cauthen was just 18 in 1978 when he and Affirmed outdueled Alydar and
Velasquez through all three legs of the Triple Crown, culminating in their
dramatic showdown in the Belmont.
The two horses matched strides from the mile pole to the stretch and at the
end, Affirmed hit the wire a mere head in front of Alydar and became the third
Triple Crown winner of the decade along with Secretariat (1973) and Seattle
Slew (1977).
“With Affirmed, he always did the right thing,” said
Cauthen, who currently manages a breeding operation in Kentucky. “He didn't waste any energy.
And when it came down to a battle, he thrived on it.”
The autograph session kicks off Belmont’s
sizzling Memorial Day weekend, featuring live bands all three days, Family Fun
Day on Sunday, a Belmont Park beach mat giveaway Monday and a $500,000 Guaranteed All Graded Stakes Pick 4, comprising
the Grade 1, $750,000 Metropolitan Handicap; the Grade 1, $400,000 Ogden
Phipps; the Grade 1, $300,000 Acorn, and the Grade 2, $200,000 Sands Point on
Memorial Day.