Horse Racing Obits to Note

 Afleet Alex, 24. who won the 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes, was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age.

Thanks to his performances at three, he won his division's championship.

2005 Preakness, where Alex's talent for tenacity was on display.  He nearly went down but recovered to win:

2005 Belmont:

Snip:

Bred in Florida by John Martin Silvertand out of the Hawkster winner Maggy Hawk, Afleet Alex was acquired by trainer Tim Ritchey on behalf of Bob Brittingham and Chuck Zacney for $75,000 during the 2004 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. The colt made an immediate impact on the track, winning his debut at Delaware Park by 11 1/4 lengths. He would string together four consecutive victories at 2 that included the Sanford Stakes (G2) by 5 1/4 lengths and the Hopeful Stakes (G1). Afleet Alex wound up his juvenile season with runner-up performances in the Champagne Stakes (G1) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), where he was less than a length behind Wilko.

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Two weeks later, Afleet Alex entered the gate for the Preakness and delivered one of the most iconic performances in Triple Crown history. As he launched his drive at the top of the stretch, Afleet Alex clipped heels with rival Scrappy T, stumbling badly. Despite nearly falling to his knees, Afleet Alex recovered and powered down the Pimlico Race Course stretch to win by 4 3/4 lengths.

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The trainer of top thoroughbreds Zenyatta and Giacomo, John Shirreffs, has died at the age of 80.

Snip:

Born June 1, 1945, in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., Shirreffs served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War before obtaining his trainer's license in 1978. He settled at Santa Anita and developed a reputation for a patient, horse-first approach that produced 596 victories from 3,589 career starts.

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He most recently trained top horse Baeza, named for the famed jockey Braulio Baeza.

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Belmont Stakes 2000-2008

It's time to take a look at previous Belmonts.

The notorious 2008 Belmont, seen in all its glory. Da Tara was the winner here:



Rags to Riches 2007:



Jazil 2006:



Afleet Alex 2005:



Birdstone 2004:



Empire Maker 2003:



Sarava 2002:



Point Given 2001:



Commendable 2000:

Preakness 2000-2008

Next Saturday is the Preakness Stakes, and we will find out if Mine That Bird is the real thing or just a flash in the pan. Meanwhile, it is time to review previous Preakness races courtesy of YouTube.


Red Bullet 2000:





Point Given 2001:





War Emblem 2002 (call in Spanish):





Funny Cide 2003:





Smarty Jones 2004:





Afleet Alex 2005:





Bernardini 2006. Barbaro broke down in this race and was vanned off the track. He died several months later from complications. Race:








Curlin 2007:






Big Brown 2008:

2005 Belmont Stakes.

Afleet Alex, probably the best three-year old of 2005, took this race: