California Chrome: The End of an Era

Although California Chrome didn’t receive the Hollywood ending many people were hoping for in the Pegasus World Cup, the career that he has laid before our eyes over the course of the past few years has been one for the storybooks. Accumulating over $14.75 million across 27 starts, from ages 2 to 6, California Chrome was simply a horse we do not have the privilege of witnessing often.

Whether or not you believed the four time champion was overrated, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Chrome was a rarity. Especially in terms of longevity, he was a gift. In a day and age where horses so often get whisked off to the breeding shed following a big win, no matter the age, being able to enjoy a horse such as Chrome, for so long, was almost too good to be true.

Year after year, we watch perfectly sound and talented horses retire following their three or four year old seasons. Especially our Derby winners, who often either fall from grace or retire before their full potential is reached. Chrome’s longevity was such as gift because horses such as himself, with a valuable racing career and, in turn, valuable breeding potential, are so rarely seen.

Apparently, California Chrome LLC were even considering a last minute change of plans to race him throughout 2017, but breeding plans too far developed put a quick halt on those dreams.

For years, we watched him. We watched him win the final stakes race in the history of storied Hollywood Park. We watched him rise from a small name Cal-bred to the victor of our most beloved race on the brink of a Triple Crown sweep. We watched him redeem himself at year’s end and take home the first of two championships, before we watched him fail at the hooves of the late, great Shared Belief, and again among the riches of Dubai.

We watched him recover from injury instead of throwing in the towel. We watched him return victorious, a new force, the following year. We watched him become the richest our eyes had ever seen as he cemented his overseas revenge, and we watched him return home to continue that domination. We watched his unbeatable guard finally fall in the name of Arrogate. We watched him dance his final Californian dance before being crowned champion again, and, even though he didn’t get his Hollywood ending, we watched him become one of the few Kentucky Derby winners to run at the age of six in modern racing.

27 starts, 16 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third. Seven Grade 1 victories. $14,752,650 in earnings. Ten different racetracks across six different stakes and a nation on the other side of the world. He never once ducked any horse or any challenge and danced nearly every dance, even when in defeat.

There was a time that I doubted California Chrome myself, but I learned to embrace him with the realization of just how unique of a horse he is. And, again, whether you believe he was overrated or not, one cannot deny his popularity. He brought flocks of fans to a sport that needs fans. He brought love. He brought attention. In my six years on the racetrack, I have yet to witness a horse as beloved as California Chrome. All he did for our sport is unquestionable.

So, thank you, Chrome. Thank you, Art and Alan Sherman. And, yes, thank you, Perry Martin. Thank you to everyone who allowed us to enjoy him for as long as we did.

An era ended the moment California Chrome stepped off that plane in Kentucky, en route to his new home at Taylor Made Farm, leaving us with the memories that built his legacy.

And I like to imagine he passed the torch over to Arrogate on his way out.