1978: Affirmed Wins Preakness

On This Day in Sports: May 20, 1978

On May 20, 1978, Affirmed defeated Alydar in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico, winning by a neck after a stretch duel that deepened one of thoroughbred racing’s greatest rivalries. Two weeks after finishing first and second in the Kentucky Derby, the colts met again with the Triple Crown at stake. Affirmed and teenage jockey Steve Cauthen seized control early, then waited for the challenge everyone expected. The public record fixes the central details with unusual clarity: Affirmed won by a neck. Steve Cauthen rode the winner. Together, those facts explain why May 20, 1978 stands apart from the ordinary flow of a season and deserves to be remembered as a distinct historical moment.

Affirmed moved to the lead on the backstretch while Alydar advanced from behind. At the top of the stretch, Alydar drew alongside and the race became a sustained match between two familiar opponents. Cauthen kept Affirmed close to the rail and asked for everything. The colt refused to yield, completing the mile and three-sixteenths just ahead as both surged through the wire. Two further details help reconstruct how the achievement unfolded: Alydar finished second, as in the Kentucky Derby. The race was held at Pimlico. They move the story beyond a headline by showing the pressure, setting and competitive choices that shaped the decisive action in real time.

The result made Affirmed two-for-two in the Triple Crown and sent the rivalry to Belmont Park. Trainer Laz Barrera had prepared his colt to use tactical speed, while Alydar’s late-running style repeatedly left him trying to erase small margins. Neither horse diminished the other; each close finish increased appreciation for the pair’s consistency and courage. The wider context is equally important. Affirmed later won the Belmont by a head. He became the 11th Triple Crown champion. Those points connect one day’s performance to a longer career, institution or rivalry and clarify why the event continued to matter after the immediate celebration had ended.

Affirmed won the Belmont by a head three weeks later and became the eleventh Triple Crown champion. No horse would sweep the series again for thirty-seven years. The Preakness supplied the middle movement of that achievement: shorter than the Derby, less famous than the Belmont duel, but essential proof that Affirmed could absorb Alydar’s best challenge and still keep his nose in front. Seen from today, the milestone remains compelling because it joins a measurable result with the uncertainty of live competition. Nothing about the outcome was guaranteed beforehand. That combination of preparation, opportunity and execution is what transformed the date from another entry on the schedule into lasting sports history.