California Chrome may not have won the Triple Crown but he did something that few horses have done becoming the third California bred winner of the Kentucky Derby. Earlier this week, he was formally honored by the State of California for his accomplishments and the much needed positive publicity that he brought to the Golden State.
California Chrome’s owners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn were in attendance to accept the accolades on behalf of their horse who had ‘prior commitments’ training for his return to the track. The state assembly unanimously passed a resolution saluting California Chrome and his connections for victory in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. The resolution was introduced by assemblyman Dan Logue who noted that “”This is a tremendous horse and an inspiration to California. California Chrome has forever changed the way the world will look at California when it comes to horse racing.”
Logue continued by praising the horse’s ownership group: “I am thankful that I had the privilege of honoring such an amazing horse on the Assembly floor today. I am proud to stand by Perry and Denise Martin, who are from my district in Yuba City and took a chance on this talented horse.” Martin and Coburn saw something in California Chrome, a horse with a decidedly unimpressive pedigree including birth to a $10,000 brood mare. One imagines that the $3,300,000 that California Chrome has won so far in 2014 provides his ownership team–known as ‘Dumb Ass Partners’–with a nice return on investment. That number could grown significantly before the end of the year as the plan is to race California Chrome in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. Martin and Coburn named their ownership group ‘Dumb Ass Partners’ since they were frequently told that only a ‘dumb ass’ would invest in a horse from such an unimpressive background. It’s readily apparent who the ‘dumb asses’ are now.
Next up for California Chrome will be a ‘tune up’ race, most likely in mid September at his Los Alamitos home track. After that, he’ll be pointed to the biggest single payday in horse racing to face a star studded field in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.