The Sidewalks of New York

We ran forever, the two of us, into a deep blue sky.


For your listening pleasure, Nat King Cole- The Sidewalks of New York: [link]


From Maryland they had shipped straight to New York and the final leg of the Triple Crown. It was another failed year. The jewels would remain separate, but that did not dampen the media's predictions of record crowds turning out for the Belmont.

As enthusiasm flagged among the diminished number of entrants being fielded for the race it soared among the everyday man. Summer had rolled in and the weeks of warmth had pleasantly thinned the blood. By post time generalized drunkenness had set over the Belmont paddock, no contest against the Preakness crowd and their 'Running of the Latrines', but then they had an open infield, the Belmont did not. Something about the ponds and body counts.

Many of the horses were irritable as they sweated behind the elbows even before saddling up. The fourteen horse, Tonguin Cheek, was no exception. He kicked up his heels a couple of times, showing off just how much he didn't like the weather. To a one of them they would have taken the on again off again rainclouds of the previous two races.

They fed off of each others' anxiety leading to a long and drawn out production being made of loading into the gate as the last note of the parade song reverbed over the speakers. Cheeks bumped into the front of the chute once he was in, testing his chances of getting out and starting the race all on his lonesome. Before he could give it any serious thought he was gathered back to wait patiently, as patiently as any hot blooded horse could, for the final horses to filter in.

A breathless pause thicker than the Summer air and the sky opened wide ahead of them. Cheeks was right in there with the rest flocking out of the gate and toward the inside rail as though they had all practiced this very race countless times before. And they were off in the Run for the Carnations.


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Horse: #14 Tonguin Cheek
Rider: Dane Wescott
Event: Project: Triple Crown
Race: URA Belmont Stakes
Registered: HARPG-URA, HAR-PG-TB-Society,
Past Races:
[link] - 3rd results
[link] 6th results
[link] - 3rd results
[link] - results pending
[link] - results pending
[link] - results pending
[link] - results pending
Training:
[link]
[link]
Other Pictures:
[link]

Results: 1st in a field of 10. He led a gutsy run down the stretch and pulled away to win the longest of the jewels handily after overcoming a worthy rival in DGR BeamerBeamerBenzorBentleyJunior, who didn't give up the winner's circle without fighting for it.


Can you guess that horse shown with Cheeks? I'll give you some clues. No, it is not one of the other horses in the URA version of the race. No, this horse never won the Belmont. Yes, he had a chance at the crown, and, like so many, he was tripped up in the final leg.

Here, have some interesting Belmont facts I picked up while making this in case you were in need of some trivial information to wow your friends with. The Belmont has been held at three different tracks, Jerome Park followed by Morris Park, finally coming home to a newly minted Belmont Park in 1905. In 1911 and 1912 the Belmont wasn't run due to statewide bans on bookkeeping(betting) in New York. The first post parade was during the Belmont. Until 1997 the post parade song was 'The Sidewalks of New York' now it is 'New York New York'. The official drink of the Belmont use to be the White Carnation, the Belmont Breeze is the new way to get plastered in style. And as we near the stretch, the Belmont is known as 'the test of a champion', a fitting name considering it is the hurdle many hopefuls reaching for that royal title of Triple Crown winner fall flat on their face trying to cross.