Flashback: Spectacular Bid crushes the 1 1/4-mile record

“The track is fast, the other horses are good, and if they force things you’ll see a track record.”

This was the bold statement issued by trainer Bud Delp in The Los Angeles Times of February 3, 1980. It was a sunny Sunday at Santa Anita Park, where Delp’s budding superstar Spectacular Bid was ready to roll as the 3-10 favorite in the 1 1/4-mile Charles H. Strub Stakes (G1).

Delp’s statement, bold as it might have seemed, was rooted firmly in real possibilities. Spectacular Bid has already broken or equaled five track records during his decorated career. With nine Grade 1 wins, two championship titles and a Kentucky Derby victory under his belt, Spectacular Bid was destined for the Hall of Fame. And in the Strub, there was a very real chance Spectacular Bid would eclipse the track mark of 1:58 3/5 set by Triple Crown winner Affirmed in 1979.

At the time, the Strub Stakes served as the final leg of the “Strub Series,” three races restricted to 4-year-old held at Santa Anita each winter. Only three horses in history had swept the series, and two of them — Round Table (1958) and Ancient Title (1974) — wound up in the Hall of Fame.

Delp’s confidence in Spectacular Bid was easy to understand. The son of Bold Bidder had already claimed the first two legs of the Strub Series, dominating the seven-furlong Malibu Stakes (G2) in the track record time of 1:20 flat before battling to a 1 1/2-length triumph in the 1 1/8-mile San Fernando Stakes (G2). In both races, Spectacular Bid had been chased home by two-time Grade 1 winner Flying Paster, a talented Californian who engaged Spectacular Bid yet again in the Strub.

There were some who believed Flying Paster could give the favorite a fight in the Strub. Chief among them was Flying Paster’s trainer, Gordon Campbell, who said his colt was cranked for a career-best performance.

“Flying Paster will run the race of his life,” Campbell told The Los Angeles Times. “He needed those other two races and he should be fit now.”

As if to emphasize his trainer’s point, Flying Paster turned in an otherworldly workout in preparation for the Strub, blazing a mile in 1:33 2/5. But Spectacular Bid was fit and frisky too, blazing three furlongs in :34 3/5 the day before the Strub, prompting Delp to tell The Los Angeles Times, “Bid is better now than he has ever been in his life” and issue his prediction for a record-setting performance.

In the end, the statements of both Campbell and Delp were proven correct. Flying Paster did run the race of his life — but it wasn’t nearly enough to match Spectacular Bid’s record-breaking run.

Just four horses faced the starter for the Strub, but the pace was intense from the outset. The speedy Relaunch came flying out of the starting gate and opened up a 10-length lead through suicidal fractions of :22 flat and :44 3/5. Legendary jockey Bill Shoemaker, guiding Spectacular Bid, briefly allowed his mount to settle in last place before moving up to second for the run down the backstretch, just ahead of Grade 1 winner Valdez. Flying Paster was another five lengths behind.

Then Shoemaker allowed his mount to advance. Down the backstretch, Spectacular Bid gobbled up ground on Relaunch, reaching nearly even terms through six furlongs in a blazing 1:08 2/5. The leaders were running sensational sprint times in a 1 1/4-mile test of stamina, and Flying Paster — still trailing by seven lengths — figured to be the beneficiary of a pace meltdown.

But then a funny thing happened. Spectacular Bid forgot to stop.

For another quarter of a mile the favorite humored Relaunch, pushing the pacesetter through a staggering 1:32 4/5 mile, a full second faster than the track record. Then, with a fresh burst of speed, Spectacular Bid cruised to the front. Flying Paster, give him credit, resiliently chased the superstar through the homestretch, but even he was losing ground at the finish as Spectacular Bid powered home 3 1/4 lengths in front.

When the steely gray colt crossed the finish line, all eyes turned to the timer, which revealed Spectacular Bid had clocked 1 1/4 miles in 1:57 4/5. Not only had he shattered the track record, he had eclipsed the previous world dirt record by two-fifths of a second.

“How fast can a horse run?” Delp marveled in the Palm Springs, California The Desert Sun of February 4. “We’re working on a set of wings now… Horses aren’t supposed to run that fast. Bid ran better today than ever before.”

Maybe horses aren’t supposed to run that fast… but Spectacular Bid did.

Nearly 40 years have passed since Spectacular Bid swept the Strub Series with his astonishing victory in the Charles H. Strub. During that timeframe, countless 1 1/4-mile races have been conducted over dirt tracks throughout the world. Stellar performances have been achieved. Amazing horses have come and gone.

But Spectacular Bid’s world record still stands. It may never be broken.

J. Keeler Johnson is a writer, videographer, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite. You can follow him on Twitter at @J_Keelerman.