California Chrome is 1 of 8 Hall of Famers inducted Friday
Steve Coburn wasnot afraid to express a controversial opinion when California Chrome was at theheight of the Triple Crown trail in 2014. The same Steve Coburn was moved totears when he spoke on behalf of his horse who was inducted Friday into theNational Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
“After he won theSanta Anita Derby (G1), I said mark my words,” Coburn said. “This horse isgoing to go down in history, and today’s the day. Period.”
California Chrome proved Coburn right bywinning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2014 and earning horse-of-the-yearacclaim that season and again in 2016. Those achievements helped make Chrome oneof the eight new members of the NMRHOF who were honored in a ceremony at the Fasig-Tiptonsales pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Arrogate and Songbird also were inductedFriday. Like Chrome, they were elected in their first year of eligibility.
The rest of the class of 2023 included jockeysCorey Nakatani and Fernando Toro and pillars of the turf Stella Thayer, John HanesII and Leonard Jerome.
Coburn owned California Chrome first withPerry Martin and later with Taylor Made Farm. A four-time Eclipse Award winner,the popular son of Lucky Pulpit attracted a legion of fans known as Chromies.They stuck with him and trainer Art Sherman through an injury-plagued 2015 andsaw him come back in 2016 to win Grade 1 races like the Dubai World Cup andPacific Classic.
“I don’t know how to express the love that peoplegave this horse,” Coburn said. “The Chromies are here. They’ve come in from allover the place. Thank you, fans. Thank you.”
Arrogate was the champion 3-year-old male in2016 when he was on his way to earning $17,422,600, a career record for horseswho have had at least one start in the U.S. or Canada. Owned by Juddmonte, heexcelled before the death of the stable’s patriarch Prince Khalid of SaudiArabia in 2021.
“It’s very sad that Prince Khalid himself,unfortunately, has passed away,” said Dr. John Chandler, president of JuddmonteFarms. “He would have liked to have been here and appreciated and liked therecognition that his horse has.”
Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Arrogatewas the first big star on dirt for a Juddmonte operation that was steeped inturf success. The son of Unbridled’s Song won seven consecutive races that includeda stakes record in the 2016 Travers as well as other Grade 1 victories in theBreeders’ Cup Classic, the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and the Dubai WorldCup.
A daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, Songbird won 13 of her 15 races racing forHall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. A two-time Eclipse Award winner, shewas a nine-time Grade 1 victor for Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farm.
“Songbird brought joy and love to thousandsof racing fans, and she was the clear bright spot through some difficult healthissues for owner Rick Porter,” said Betsy Porter, the widow of the mare’sowner. “Fox Hill Farm is blessed to have raced many exceptional horses, butSongbird stood out, even amongst the exceptional.”
Nakatani, 52, rode 10 Breeders’ Cup winners ina career that united him with Hall of Fame horses Lava Man and Serena’s Song aswell as Eclipse Award winners Shared Belief, My Miss Aurelia and SweetCatomine.
He told a story about growing up in SouthernCalifornia, where he once disobeyed a youth-football coach.
“That was the first time I was told not to dosomething, and I was like I better just go do it,” Nakatani said. “That’s mycareer in a nutshell. When they tell you the odds are against you, the guys Iwas riding against, Gary Stevens, Chris McCarron, Laffit Pincay, all these Hallof Fame riders, I was very fortunate to have an opportunity to ride with themand take a lot of learning from all of them.”
Now 82, Toro was twice a champion rider inhis native Chile. After moving to Southern California, he won 3,555 races inthe U.S. and Canada with earnings of $56,299,765. When he retired he was thesixth winningest rider at Del Mar, eighth at Hollywood Park and eighth at SantaAnita. Toward the end of his career Toro rode Hall of Famer Royal Heroine to victoryin the first Breeders’ Cup Mile in 1984.
Thayer, 82, the president of Tampa Bay Downs,has been a racehorse owner and a former president of the NMRHOF. Her fatherChester Ferguson was among the partners who bought what was then Florida Downs.Thayer bought the track in 1986 and renamed it.
“I did not grow up in Thoroughbred racing,but every day when I came home, I popped on my pony and took off among thepalmettos and pinewoods, which was very much all that Tampa was at that time,” Thayersaid. “I developed a huge love for horses, especially later for theThoroughbred with its stamina, courage, athleticism, speed and kindness.”
Hanes was a banker who was instrumental inthe creation of the New York Racing Association, serving as its president,chairman and a trustee between 1954 and 1973.
Jerome made his fortune on Wall Street in the19th century before he became a guiding prod in the building of New York racecourses,including Saratoga.
