Bold Venture & I'll Have Another

Bold Venture was the last Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner to scratch from the Belmont Stakes due to injury before I'll Have Another was scratched yesterday morning.  Bold Venture was scratched with a tendon injury after working six furlongs on May 25, 1936.  The New York Times reported this in story the next day on page 33 (of a paper that was likely larger than the one published today) with no mention of the phrase "Triple Crown" in the story.  "This trouble was not entirely unexpected, since the colt was unsound as a 2 year old."

The story was not viewed as that significant because the sport of horse racing in 1936 was so much more than a series of three races for 3 year old colts in the spring.   The previous weekend had seen a black gelding named Rushaway - a castoff from the powerful Joe Widener stable - win the Illinois and Latonia Derby back to back on Friday and Saturday - an unheard of feat in modern racing.  The 50th Suburban was scheduled to be run on the next Saturday - a race won by Firethorn who got up in the last jump to beat Belair Stud's latest great 3 year old Granville by a nose.   A week later - June 6 - Granville would return to the races to win the Belmont Stakes by a nose with the legendary racing official Walter Vosburgh on hand to see his 68th (all) running of the race.  This was during the same time that the 1935 Triple Crown winner Omaha was making his dramatic bid for Gold Cup glory at Royal Ascot - failing by a short head to win with jockey Rufus Beasley losing his whip during stretch run.

Now that I'll Have Another has been scratched, we do have some stories like these - Wesley Ward's contingent has landed at Newmarket in preparation for their assault on Royal Ascot - but there is very few notices in mainstream media outlets or what is left of them.  I don't believe we also have the storytellers that we had in 1936 - the ones who could weave the wonderful tales from the horses and characters  from the turf.

That's why the scratch of I'll Have Another is a noticeably larger story today that the last occurrence when Bold Venture scratched in 1936.