Celebrity Princess Rooney ended her Hall of Fame career with a decisive seven-length victory in the Distaff on the Hollywood Park race card. Chief's Crown finished a championship season with a fourth Grade 1 victory of the season in the Juvenile.
Fans witnessed two spectacular finishes, with Eillo edging Commemorate by a nose in the Sprint and Eillo edging Commemorateupsetting All Along by a neck in the Turf in a 53.40-1 shock, as well as the disqualification of Fran's Valentine, a 74.80-1 bomb in the Juvenile Fillies.
Slew o' Gold, the 1983 champion 3-year-old male, was anticipated to receive some crowning at the Classic. He was a perfect 5-for-5 entering the Classic in 1984 and appeared to have already won the older male Eclipse Award after winning the Grade 1 Whitney and sweeping New York's Fall Championship.
However, Slew o' Gold had problems with both of his front feet and was far from physically ideal as he prepared for his final start. Dr. Judd Butler, who was brought in to repair Slew o' Gold, said: He never missed a deadline, although he wasn't always flawless.
However, owners Bill Allen, Terry Beal, and Ron Volkman had to supplement the 4-year-old Wild Again to the Breeders' Cup for $360,000 after placing third in an allowance race 12 days before the Classic winning the Grade 1 Meadowlands Cup in September for trainer Vincent Symphony.
That was a considerable wager given that the winner's portion of the prize pool was $1,350,000. Before the first Breeders' Cup, Allen responded to a question by the New York Times by saying, "Vince and I don't mind [betting]." And in the Classic, Allen reportedly wagered $3,000 on Wild Again.
Gate Dancer, the Preakness champion of that year, would also have a say in the result after winning the Ak-Sar-Ben Omaha Gold Cup and the Grade 1 Super Derby back-to-back.
After Track Barron was transferred from the Sprint to the Classic and regular rider Eddie Maple consented to ride him instead for Leroy Jolley, Wild Again, who was ridden by replacement rider Pat Day, burst through from between horses to set the pace through a blazing first half-mile in 45 3/5 seconds. Mugatea jumped alertly out of the starting gate to take command.
As tenaciously when a racehorse can, Wild Again dug in and would not allow Slew o' Gold to pass on his outside as they collided many times in the opening stretch.
Then, in a spectacular three-horse struggle through the Hollywood Park stretch, Gate Dancer dragged in on Slew o' Gold and shoved him into Wild Again, who would not be stopped despite the rocky final strides.
After the race, all three stewards determined that Gate Dancer caused the late contact, which resulted in Gate Dancer being disqualified and finishing third. Gate Dancer had edged out Wild Again by a head, with Slew o' Gold trailing by a half-length.
The $64.60 winning wager Wild Again made undoubtedly reduced the supplement's cost.
Allen told BloodHorse, "We knew he'd win it. Otherwise, we wouldn't have put up the money." "There was no second-guessing if you're planning to race and possess one of the best horses.
A wild gamble!
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