One of the greatest rivalries in racing history would have to be Affirmed and Alydar. They raced each other 10 times, from June 15, 1977, in the Youthful at Belmont, to August 19, 1978, in the Travers at Saratoga. Affirmed won seven of these matches including thrilling duels in all three Triple Crown races.

At the start of 1978, there had never been back-to-back Triple Crown winners and no horse had ever had to beat the same rival in all three races to earn the Triple Crown title. All that changed during the course of 1978, when Affirmed and Alydar provided the racing world with equal amounts of thrills and pathos.

The story of Assault, with the breeding of a champion in his bloodlines, is one that epitomizes the heart and courage of race horse. By Bold Venture and out of Igual, he became the greatest of King Ranch's major stakes winners, completing a racing career that brought eighteen victories and total earnings of $674,720.

Best Pal was - above all else - a professional racehorse. The husky gelding came out running early and hardly ever stopped during a remarkable career that saw him win 18 races - 17 of them stakes - and $5,668,245 in purses, far and away the record for a California-bred, and at the time putting him 3rd on the all time money earning list behind Alysheba and John Henry.

Born in 1979, Cam Fellas life started in the heart of Blue Grass Country at The Walnut Hall Stud Farm. Sired by Most Happy Fella and out of the mare Nan-Cam by Bret Hanover. The 15.1 bay colt was noticed after the 1981 racing season by trainer Pat Crowe when scouting for a horse for Norm Faulkner and Norm Clements of Ontario Canada.

DanPatch.info - the official Dan Patch historical site. This website, sponsored by the Oxford Public Library and supported by Dan Patch Memorabilia and other local Dan Patch enthusiasts, documents Dan Patch history with articles, pictures, audio and video, web links and more.

From the time the two chestnuts raced neck-and-neck down the stretch in the 1978 Belmont Stakes, their names have been inexorably linked. Affirmed and Alydar. Anytime something is written about one, the other is inevitably woven into the story. Never in the annals of racing have two horses battled as frequently with so much at stake and so little separating them.

Affirmed will always be remembered by the people for his great winning resolve and his victories in the 1978 Triple Crown series. Surely he was one of the greats. But he was to meet his match later on in that year. In an extraordinary matchup, he met the great Seattle Slew, winner of the previous year's Triple Crown, in the 1978 Marlboro Cup.

Adrian Maguire was one of jump racing's greatest - and unluckiest - jockeys. Maguire had the rides on some of the top horses and duly obliged with victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton (Barton Bank) and Cheltenham's Queen Mother Champion Chase (Viking Flagship).

Bold Ruler was foaled at Claiborne Farm on April 6, 1954. He was bred and owned by Wheatley Stable and trained by Jim Fitzsimmons. The star of the Phipps' family, Bold Ruler won his first five races as a two year old, including the Youthful and Juvenile Stakes. As a three year old, Bold Ruler was named "Horse of the Year", winning 11 of 16 races, and earning $415,160. His only unplaced effort was a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.