Preakness 2005 - The retelling
20 years…How can it be that long?
On that day I think the drill was that I rode something like 4-5 horses in our Delaware Park shedrow and on the track from something like 4:30-6:30 am to be able to get them out and doing something before driving south to Pimlico to get there by mid morning. Because the race may be run at near on 7pm but being able to park (even with a stakes tag) is a HUGE doubt. So I had to get there really early.
Fun backstory not many know… I had a conversation with Dave Johnson (TV Sportscaster at that time) in the parking lot that morning. Dave was one of the few journalists I had chatted with as all week I figured the story was for Marshall and Robbie. Not me. They had worked long and hard and this was their moment. I was 33 at the time and knew that sure I rode and led him, but the work they put on was on display. So no interviews were ever including a quote from me.
But anyway Dave comes up to me and says “Hey… I had a dream last night and I think you’re going to finish third in the Preakness.” Now I laughed and said something about I wished his dreams had better outcomes. We laugh and he explains. He had dreamt of three things and each one he assigned to mean it was the finish of the race. First he dreamt of opera music…so he thought “Ok, that’s Giacomo” (That year’s KY Derby winner) then he dreamt of Lemonade and he (rightfully) thought it indicated Afleet Alex would finish second thanks to the tie in between Alex’s Lemonade Stand and the Cash is King group. And then he heard the Tony Bennett song “Emily” last in his dream so he figured we would end up 3rd. Now I have to tell you it’s just more fun to have a memory of this moment and to have gotten to know Dave a bit.
When I saw the Coach (D. Wayne Lukas) that morning he was poking fun at me. He’d heard me say on Tuesday when I came down to gallop Scrappy that I’d done 5 sets in the shedrow before the drive to Pimlico that day. So he was winking and asking how many I had sat on this morning. I explained I was sad to report only 2 in the shedrow and 2 on the track as we were worried about parking. He shook his head and gave Zito some hell that this rider had done more than his and at 2 tracks already that morning. LOL. Much laughter from the folks who overheard.
So waiting for near on 9 hours when you’re trapped at one place working and unable to do anything without phone internet, leads to a level of fidgeting (mentally and physically) that I can’t compare. It was a long time to understand that all the work was done and while you can’t do more to win the race at this point, you for sure could make choices that would help you to lose it. Bothering the horses and invading their space all day was on that list so I had to just go to the grandstand and indoor paddock and just stay away from the barn in the moments when I just felt the need to move.
The hours did pass. Many great horses won their undercard races and as we moved into the afternoon the reality of being a part of a triple crown race was setting in. Benny, Scrappy’s groom and our chief of decorum (lol) had Scrappy shining black. Eventually the rundowns were put on and bets were made. Friends seen and well wishes received. Family had called and checked in and then it was the gauntlet of the walk to the track with Benny and I holding Scrappy. And on this day he was READY. Scrappy had never finished a race worse than 3rd at this point. He’d run 9 races and won the Grade 3 Withers right before this. His butt was peaking and that sucker had used the winter in the cold of Belmont and Aqueduct to be ready for this day.
As is typical the Preakness horses are saddled on the turf course in full view of the throngs of people instead of the indoor paddock at Pimlico. (You can opt to saddle inside instead, but the connections had not) So there we are outside, trying to saddle on the walk (Tack up as the horse stays walking) and Scrappy shoots Ramón A. Domínguez saddle into oblivion like 2 times before we finally get it girthed up and tight on the 3rd try. I am feeling optimistic at this point. But I will admit we may have passed on to the pony rider to hang on tight. LOL.
And then the waiting has ended and life has shifted from slow motion to rapid ticking progress that feels rushed and hard to hold onto. Ramon is up and they’re off to warm up after the longest time on the turf. (If I recall correctly, one runner did saddle inside, maybe the Lukas horse. And it took a little time. But hey, the Coach likes Chess, so maybe that wasn’t an accident)
I stood against the sliding pole the closes the gap at the wire. So not a great view of say the 3/16ths pole at the head of the stretch. 
I can see a big screen but it was 2005 so the resolution wasn’t what we’re used to now. The owner’s orange and white arms on his silks made it easier to see, but not fully clear. I had a head on view, but I needed to see from the side and it took until LATE that night when I finally was home and watched the recorded broadcast and saw the “bump” for the first time.
As the race was running I was thrilled until we were approaching the turn for home. Scrappy sometimes had an issue if he got to the lead too soon. He would ‘hang’ and wait/slow down looking for other horses. As brilliant of a move as he made coming into the turn, you can watch and see that sure enough the afterburners cooled slightly when there was no one to chase. Scrappy was a great horse but he wasn’t Barbaro, he wasn’t American Pharoah… he was a fighter and a fighter needed an opponent to battle to win.
So if you watch the full YouTube Video (Best version is from the Channel “Top Thoroughbred” I am not linking it here) you can see that Afleet Alex and Jeremy Rose are absolutely flying from behind. The left hand whip from Ramon acts like a very fast leg yield from Scrappy both pausing and reacting. And we get the bump. What folks lose while processing the bump is that Alex and Scrappy were SO far ahead of the rest at the end. Ramon only hit Scrappy a couple more times as he knew, as we all knew, that per the rules of racing he’d likely be penalized and moved down in the order for interference if he actually finished ahead of Alex. (I don’t think he was going to after the bump and I can’t tell you what would have happened without the bump) We may not have won but finishing 2nd behind a super horse in Afleet Alex and way ahead of millions of dollars of horses with a $38k 2 year old purchase was still a huge cause to celebrate.
From an interview I did with Maggie Kimmitt for the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred 10 years ago, I described the scene in the test barn after the race.
“Win, lose or draw, we had finished second in the Preakness,” Daignault-Salvaggio said. “The best part of my whole experience was in that test barn. There we were, two Delaware Park barns every one of us who saw each other day in and day out with two of the greatest horses of our barns’ careers. Nobody was more happy for each other. There was just celebration, our grooms, their grooms. We were hugging, I was petting Alex, they were petting Scrappy. It wasn’t like two separate entities that never intertwined. It was the greatest memory of my life. Ten years removed from the whole thing, I have the same opinion. Scrappy was one helluva horse.”
(Article here: https://midatlantictb.com/…/next-chapters/565-scrappy-t )
20 years later and I still cherish the memories of that hour in the test barn. I am an Alex fan for life and was grateful to be able to go visit him a few more times and even be told when he was being retired before the Breeder’s Cup and allowed to visit with him in his stall at Belmont and give him some mints. I treasure Alex as much for his role in my day as Scrappy’s. Not all adversaries are enemies. Many can know the challenges and strife to succeed and when the race is past and you look them in the eye, you know they have fought just as hard and the respect is automatic.
Thanks for reading all of this and allowing me a moment to tell the tale. I wish all the horses running today safe trips. I will be in Baltimore, but a few miles away sitting at my dad’s apartment, with my laptop along to bet on Twin Spires as we watch the Preakness card together.
I will toast the victor but all the also rans as well. This is a tough sport and you never can predict the challenges you will face nor the fallout from a moment in sports. I will tell you this life lesson,
Infamy can outlast fame any day of the week. People remember Scrappy and the bump more than who finished second to any winner, including the 2 recent triple crown winners. 
Em
Side note: Since Whips have been in the news lately… Given my longstanding friendship with him, I want to highlight what Scrappy’s jockey and Hall of Fame rider and highly respected Broadcaster Ramón A. Domínguez has created. Please have a look at the Whips that Ramón Domínguez has developed both for race horses and now show riders as well. I ONLY use these whips. And I am not a paid spokesman, I bought many and LOVE them all, though yes there is a picture of Cudo and I on his website. 
PPS:
Also if you want a good horse to bet, in the First race at Pimlico today, “Augusta Melody” is out of Scrappy’s half sister, Tar Heel Mom. (Same mother, different sire)
Post time is at 10:30am
