Majestic Prince - 1969 Kentucky Derby

15 Responses to “Majestic Prince - 1969 Kentucky Derby”

1. gfn02 Says:
   December 5th, 2006 at 12:44 pm

   Majestic Prince really ran a brilliant race there. I was impressed with the timing of his charge.

2. JohnFPorcaro Says:
   December 5th, 2006 at 10:06 pm

   Majestic Prince,Arts & Letters a great rivalry

3. davemock Says:
   February 21st, 2007 at 7:06 pm

   This may be the first Kentucky Derby that Charles David (Chic) Anderson, the on-track voice of the Derby and Churchill Downs, called as a member of the CBS Sports family.

4. AwsiDooger Says:
   April 3rd, 2007 at 4:50 am

   You might be right about that. He didn’t have a long career but what a decade he was fortunate to be a part of! Some of the best horses and races in history.

   Chic Anderson really improved also. There are some comments on YouTube that his early ’70s calls were boring. But once he got to Secretariat and beyond he loosened up and became more creative, some of the most memorable calls ever.

5. AwsiDooger Says:
   April 3rd, 2007 at 4:59 am

   Wow, that’s an incredibly small field for the Derby. Only 8 horses. I guess the quality scared foes away.

   Majestic Prince was twice part of denied immortality. He lost the Belmont and a chance to be an unbeaten Triple Crown winner. I was a young kid but I remember the commentators saying he was injured and should not run.

   Then his son Coastal defeated the great Spectacular Bid in the Belmont a decade later, with help from that darn safety pin.

6. davemock Says:
   May 5th, 2007 at 3:40 pm

   Agreed. By the way, this one is an excellent, quite peppy call too. I noticed when he was calling races for both TV and his home track he would start off moderately then roll into it. On TV-only races like the ‘73 Preakness, he would be “on” from the word go. Such a shame that he only called races for 20 years, dating back to his debut at Ellis Park.

7. tchas35 Says:
   May 11th, 2007 at 5:12 pm

   Excellent battle between the top two — and they were close again in the Preakness. Aggressive moves by Baeza and Hartack.

   Alas, I was rooting for Top Knight.

8. chrisuncleahmad Says:
   June 7th, 2008 at 8:23 pm

   When did ABC first cover the Derby?

9. davemock Says:
   July 20th, 2008 at 4:56 am

   That would be 1975…the year Chic Anderson made his only public gaffe, calling the wrong horse during the stretch call.

10. jmplays44 Says:
    April 25th, 2009 at 8:54 pm

    Good hossrace.

11. jhordanian Says:
    May 10th, 2009 at 12:02 pm

    2 outstanding horses in Majestic Prince and Arts and Letters. Interestingly, Arts and Letters got the nod for the 3 year old and horse of the year championships due largely to his post-Triple Crown exploits. Both are Hall of Famers.

12. ereaven Says:
    October 28th, 2009 at 10:37 pm

    even though Majestic Prince raced before my time, he’s one of my faves. He has one of the greatest thoroughbred names, IMO. A classic name of a classic Ky Derby winner.

13. WhiteCamry Says:
    November 27th, 2009 at 8:38 am

    Strange to see such a small field for a Kentucky Derby.

14. thistleccr Says:
    April 23rd, 2010 at 11:21 am

    I remember watching this Derby as a kid. Thanks for posting this!!

15. FLYFISH10605 Says:
    August 8th, 2010 at 8:46 am

    I also remember this Derby as a kid. Only 8 horses, but the smallest, most select field perhaps ever. The favorite I believe was Top Knight who took the Hopeful, Futurity, and Champagne at 2 and the Florida Derby before this. A&L was constantly on the improve but really blossomed to become the champ when Burch dumped Cruguet for Baeza. The winner, Majestic Prince was unbeaten in 8 starts in California including the SA Derby. Dike, won the Wood and Gotham in NY in fast closing style. What a field

Leave a Comment