“This is his third very big race,” said Coburn. “These other horses, they always set them out. They set them out and try to upset the applecart. I’m 61 years old and I’ll never see, in my lifetime, I’ll never see another Triple Crown winner because of the way they do this. It’s not fair to these horses that have been in the game since day one. I look at it this way, if you can’t make enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby, you can’t run in the other two races.”
“This is not fair to these horses that have been running their guts out for these people and for the people that believe in them to have someone come up like…this is the coward’s way out in my opinion,” Coburn continued as his wife tugged at him from behind to stop his tirade.
Had Coburn come back on Sunday and told fans that his emotions had gotten the better of him, apologized, and offered congratulations to the connections of Tonalist, all would have been forgiven and forgotten, but that’s not what he did. He took his rant to another level on ABC’s Good Morning America, comparing fresh horses running in the Belmont against Kentucky Derby and Preakness contenders akin to him, a 6'2" man, playing basketball against a child in a wheelchair.
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Coburn’s actions sparked a media frenzy, enlisting a backlash from racing fans calling the owner a sore loser. The New York Post had a Sunday headline of “Triple Clown” and a satirical Twitter account named Steve Coburn Logic with the Twitter handle @dumbassowner appeared Sunday.
Coburn later apologized for his Good Morning America comments telling Fox Sports, "I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings about children in wheelchairs because that's not who I am." He also appeared on Good Morning America, along with wife Carol, to apologize and offer congratuations to the connections of Tonalist. Click here to see the video.
It was disappointing that California Chrome lost the Belmont Stakes and the world must continue to wait to see another Triple Crown winner, but Tonalist, a lightly raced colt many thought lacked the experience to win, did win the Belmont and deserves all the accolades and his time in the spotlight.
Photo: Courtesy NYRA.com/ Photo/Adam Coglianese
