12/21/24
June 11, 2015
American Pharoah vs. Secretariat: The Wall Street Journal has paired the videos of the 1973 and 2015 Beltmont Stakes to pit the two winners, Secretariat and American Pharoah, against each other.
The 2015 announcer sure sounds like a robot compared to the 1973 one, who sounds like a deranged fan in the best way.
posted by rumple at 01:46 PM on June 12, 2015
"He is moving like a tremendous machine!" One of my favorite calls ever.
posted by holden at 04:50 PM on June 12, 2015
The "tremendous machine" call is right up there with "Do you believe in miracles?", "Go crazy, folks! Go crazy!", and (my personal favourite) "In a year that has been so improbable the impossible has happened." (Which is made even better because Scully doesn't say a damn word after the ball leaves the park, until Gibson has rounded the bases, touched home, and has been mobbed by his teammates for a bit.)
posted by grum@work at 11:05 PM on June 13, 2015
No horse compares to Secretariat in those 3 yr old races. I think he holds the track record in all 3 events. He's in a class of his own.
Better to compare Pharoah to Seattle Slew and Affirmed. And probably toss out Pharoah's Preakness run on a slow, sloppy track.
I'm not sure that any of those 3 horses even turned in the second fastest times after Secretariat in any of the three races. They just took on all comers and won all three races in their respective seasons of glory. Affirmed's accomplishment being the most memorable because he had such a capable and valiant rival in Alydar.