California Chrome
California Chrome is a US Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2014 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and 2016 Dubai World Cup. He was the 2014 and 2016 American Horse of the Year. In 2016, he surpassed Curlin as the all-time leading North American horse in earnings won.
Bred in California, the chestnut-colored horse was named for his flashy white markings, called "chrome" by horse aficionados. He was bred and originally owned by Perry Martin from Yuba City, California, and Steve Coburn of Topaz Lake, Nevada, who named their partnership DAP Racing, standing for "Dumb Ass Partners"—a tongue-in-cheek response to a passerby who questioned their wisdom in purchasing California Chrome's dam, Love the Chase. In 2015, Coburn sold his minority share to Taylor Made Farm, and a new ownership group, California Chrome, LLC, was formed. The horse is trained by the father–son team of Art and Alan Sherman. Dedicated fans—called "Chromies"—actively supported California Chrome, who has been called "the people's horse".
As a two-year-old, the horse ran inconsistently until teamed with jockey Victor Espinoza. The rapport that developed between the pair led to a six-win streak in 2013–2014. After winning the San Felipe Stakes and Santa Anita Derby, California Chrome was the morning line favorite for the Kentucky Derby. Critics who downplayed his chances of winning were proven wrong when California Chrome won by lengths even though Espinoza eased him for the final. In the Preakness, he fended off two strong challengers in the homestretch and won by lengths. He then shipped to Belmont Park with hopes of winning the Triple Crown in the 2014 Belmont Stakes, but was stepped on by the horse next to him at the start, tearing some tissue from his right front heel. With no one aware of his injury until the race was over, he finished fourth in a dead heat. After healing and pasture rest, he ran in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic, finishing third, a 3 1/4 lengths behind the winner. California Chrome returned to his winning form in his first start on a turf course in the Hollywood Derby in late November. California Chrome won many accolades and awards in 2014: The California State Legislature unanimously passed a resolution recognizing his outstanding performance, and the city of Fresno proclaimed October 11, 2014, as "California Chrome Day.” He won the 2014 Secretariat Vox Populi Award, his Kentucky Derby win was awarded the NTRA "Moment of the Year", and he won Eclipse Awards for American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse and American Horse of the Year.
California Chrome's 2015 season was tumultuous. He began the year with second-place finishes in the San Antonio Stakes and Dubai World Cup. He then was shipped to the United Kingdom to train for the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot but was scratched a few days prior to the race due to a hoof bruise. Upon returning to the US in July 2015, he was diagnosed with bruising on his cannon bones, which ended his 2015 season. Shortly thereafter, Coburn sold his ownership interest. After a rest of several months, he returned to training with Sherman at Los Alamitos Race Course and regained his form with a six-race winning streak in 2016 which included Grade I wins in the Dubai World Cup, the Pacific Classic, and the Awesome Again Stakes before suffering a narrow loss to Arrogate in the Breeders' Cup Classic. He again won the Horse of the Year, Moment of the Year, and Vox Populi awards in 2016. Following the Pegasus World Cup in January 2017, he retired to stud.
In 2023 California Chrome was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
Background
California Chrome was foaled on February 18, 2011, near Coalinga, California, at Harris Farms, the horse breeding division of the Harris Ranch. He is a chestnut with four white stockings and a blaze. At four years old, he stood tall.As a foal, he was nicknamed "Junior" because of his resemblance to his sire, Lucky Pulpit. Lucky Pulpit had won three races, placed in several graded stakes races, and hit the board in 13 of his 22 starts. However, a viral respiratory infection damaged his breathing and limited him to racing over short distances. California Chrome's dam is Love the Chase, and he was her first foal. She was purchased for $30,000 as a two-year-old by an agent for a horse ownership group called the Blinkers On Racing Stable. As a two- and three-year-old filly, she was anxious in the saddling paddock, and as a result, often lost races before she ever got to the starting gate. She ran six times and won on her fourth try in a February 2009 maiden claiming race at Golden Gate Fields. After her win, Steve Coburn and Perry Martin became her owners, ran her two more times, then retired her later that year. They hoped she would become a good broodmare, as she had a promising pedigree. When she retired, it was discovered that she had raced with a breathing problem—an entrapped epiglottis that restricted her air intake, but which could be corrected with surgery. , she had given birth to four foals, the two fillies and a colt, all full siblings to California Chrome. After California Chrome became a Kentucky Derby contender, Martin and Coburn turned down an offer of $2.1 million for Love the Chase, and ultimately sold her in November 2016 for $1.95 million.
Ownership
California Chrome was bred by Perry Martin of Yuba City, California, and Steve Coburn of Topaz Lake, Nevada. Their wives, Denise Martin and Carolyn Coburn, were closely involved with the partnership, though not listed as owners on official records kept by Equibase. Perry Martin held a 70% share in the horse and was the managing owner. Coburn owned a 30% interest in the horse and sold his share to Taylor Made Farm in July 2015.Originally, the Martins and Coburns each owned a five percent share in Love the Chase through the Blinkers On Racing Stable syndicate. When Blinkers On Racing Stable dissolved the Love the Chase syndicate, both shareholders wanted to buy the filly, so they formed a partnership and paid $8,000 for her. A casual observer, knowing Love the Chase's modest race record, remarked that only a "dumb ass" would buy her, so Coburn and Martin named their racing operation DAP Racing, for "Dumb Ass Partners". They created a caricature of a buck-toothed donkey to adorn the back of their racing silks, and put the initials "DAP" on the horse's blinker hood and the left front of the jockey's silks.
The Martins and the Coburns had in common a fondness for California Chrome but very different personalities and backgrounds. Melissa Hoppert of The New York Times described the Martins as the "quiet thinkers," noting that Perry Martin planned the mating of Lucky Pulpit to Love the Chase, mapped out a "Road to the Derby" racing plan for California Chrome, and promoted use of a nasal strip for the horse's races. Originally from Chicago, they moved to California in 1987, where Perry Martin was employed as a metallurgist by the Air Force and Denise briefly job shadowed a racehorse trainer in the Sacramento area. Today they own and operate Martin Testing Laboratories, which tests high-reliability items such as automobile airbags and medical equipment.
By contrast, Hoppert characterized the more outgoing Coburns as the "public relations arm" of the partnership. Steve Coburn, characterized by the media as "loquacious", described himself and his wife Carolyn as "just everyday people". He worked as a press operator for a company that makes magnetic strips, and Carolyn Coburn retired from a career working payroll in the health care industry. Carolyn introduced Steve to horse racing, and when he was looking for a tax write-off she encouraged him to buy into a racing syndicate instead of purchasing a small airplane.
Taylor Made Farm, which purchased Coburn's share in California Chrome, is headed by Duncan Taylor, president and CEO of the family-owned farm of. His brother, Ben Taylor, is the vice president of the company's Taylor Made Stallions division. The brothers of the Taylor family have been the sole owners of the corporation in Nicholasville, Kentucky since 1986. By early 2016, the horse's ownership was officially listed as "California Chrome, LLC". Perry and Denise Martin were described as the "majority owners" by the Daily Racing Form, and Frank Taylor, boarding manager of Taylor Made, explained that both the Martins and Taylor Made had each sold "a few" shares in the stallion to "select breeders who would support the horse." Martin stated that they had brought in 22 partners. In August 2016, Martin announced that Love the Chase, confirmed in foal to Tapit, would be sold at the November Fasig-Tipton sale, stating that he ultimately would keep a 10% interest in California Chrome and invest in mares suitable for crossing with 'Chrome.
Early years
Harris Farms, where California Chrome was bred, foaled, and lived until the age of two, had previously nurtured champions such as two-time Breeders' Cup Classic winner Tiznow. In 2010 Love the Chase was bred to the Harris Farms stallion Lucky Pulpit. CNN reported that the stud fee for the breeding was $2,000. Steve Coburn said he had a dream three weeks before California Chrome's birth that the foal would be a colt with four white feet and a blaze. California Chrome was relatively large for a newborn horse, weighing, and active, "running circles around Momma" within two hours of birth. Love the Chase suffered a uterine laceration while foaling, and was placed on an IV due to internal bleeding. The mare and foal were stall-bound together for over a month. She was kept on a catheter that administered anti-bleeding medication, and the farm staff checked her two to three times a day. Because people gave the colt extra attention and affection when they cared for his dam, he imprinted on humans as well as his mother. As a result, California Chrome became very people-focused, a trait that has served him well in race training.The Martins and Coburns chose California Chrome's official name in 2013 at Brewsters Bar & Grill in Galt, California, a town halfway between their two homes. Each of the four wrote a potential name on pieces of paper and asked a waitress to draw them out of Coburn's cowboy hat. They submitted the names to The Jockey Club ranked in the order drawn. California Chrome, Coburn's choice, was first drawn, and the registry accepted the name. The word "chrome" comes from slang for a horse with flashy white markings. The colt was started under saddle by Harris Farms' trainer Per Antonsen, who described him as a "smart horse" who was "really nice to work with".