Alphabet Soup Fraise Amazombie Gulch Black Tie Affair Little Mike Cajun Beat Precisionist Eldaafer Prized
Alphabet Soup Fraise Amazombie Gulch Black Tie Affair Little Mike Cajun Beat Precisionist Eldaafer Prized 1996 Breeders’’ Cup Classic Winner AAllpphhaabbeett SSoouupp OFFICIAL 2016 OLD FRIENDS BREEDERS’ CUP PROGRAM Welcome In 1984, under a sunnier sky than anything the Beach Boys ever evoked, I was at Hollywood Park waiting for the gates to spring open revealing the greatest idea in the history of horse racing —the Breeders' Cup. For the uninitiated, the Breeders' Cup is like the World Series, NHL and NBA all in one day. And you might as well toss in the Super Bowl. Over the years, I've attended a dozen Breeders' Cups. I saw Precisionist win the 1985 Sprint at Aqueduct, and Fraise nip Sky Classic in the 1992 Turf at Gulfstream Park, and Black Tie Af fair’s dominating victory in the 1991 Classic at Churchill Downs. Now, they are all buried at Old Friends. And, while their exhilarating athleticism in front of a grandstand exploding with screaming fans still gets my heart pumping, it's their last days, with just a handful of us, that I remember the most. They all showed the same intelligence, grace and courage at the end as they did at the beginning. As we await the 33rd running of the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita, I can walk around the farm and feed carrots to Classic winner Alphabet Soup (1996), Turf winner Little Mike (2012), Sprint winner Amazombie (2011), Marathoner Eldaafer (2010), and dozens of others who participated, including Silver Charm, Hidden Lake, Affirmed Success, Tinners Way, Touch Gold, and Game on Dude.
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