The Twitterverse is exploding with this trending topic: Clones vs. Chromies. Okay, well it is definitely trending in Twitter’s horse racing sphere. Of course, racehorses aren’t on most Long Beach State students’ minds, but this is an exciting time in the world of thoroughbred horse racing. California Chrome, this year’s Kentucky Derby winner, who trains at Los Alamitos Race Course just five miles away from campus, will meet undefeated Shared Belief in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 1.
Nationally syndicated radio host Jim Rome owns Shared Belief. The die-hard fans of the Jim Rome Show, aka “The Jungle,” are known as “clones.” Jim Rome’s Jungle Racing owns the “four-legged” clone known as Shared Belief. The horse has his own Twitter account (@SharedBelief) with his own following of “clones.”
California Chrome also has a Twitter account with countless “Chromies” following the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner. Chrome tried to become the first horse in 36 years to win the elusive Triple Crown—the series of races known as the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. Chrome won the Derby and Preakness in impressive fashion, but finished fourth in the Belmont Stakes.
Shared Belief was also pointed to the Kentucky Derby until an injury sidelined him for the Triple Crown season. He returned to the racetrack at the end of May and fired off four straight wins to keep his undefeated record intact.
The two California thoroughbreds will meet in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which is the “Super Bowl” of horse racing, in three weeks. The Breeders’ Cup is horse racing’s Olympics. Horses from all around the globe will come to compete at Santa Anita Park, in Arcadia this year. Over two days, the fastest racehorses in the world will compete in the richest horse races.
It will all culminate with the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The race will feature the sport’s best thoroughbred athletes including the top three-year-olds in the country in California Chrome and Shared Belief. Racehorses reach their peak on the track around the age of three or four years old. Some of the best older horses will also compete in the Classic.
Unlike the Kentucky Derby, which is restricted to only three-year-old horses, the Breeders’ Cup Classic is for three-year-olds and up. It’s like putting the best and most promising college football athletes in the ring with seasoned NFL stars. This year, all the attention is on the matchup between Shared Belief and California Chrome.
There have been many great rivalries in horse racing: In 1938, it was Seabiscuit and War Admiral. In 1978, it was Affirmed and Alydar, and in 1989, Sunday Silence and Easy Goer were two outstanding racehorses, who were always neck and neck at the finish line. In 1997, two gray thoroughbreds named Silver Charm and Free House had a great rivalry on the racetrack as well.
Though California Chrome and Shared Belief have never run against each other, the matchup could easily be horse racing’s classic rivalry of the decade. To say the least, the rivalry between fans has already begun on Twitter where it’s “Clones” vs. “Chromies.”