Pairing Belmont Contenders With Famous New Yorkers

With the Belmont Stakes generating a ton of buzz in New York and California Chrome’s Triple Crown bid becoming the talk of the town, we decided to pair this year’s contenders for the Belmont Stakes with famous New Yorkers.
California Chrome - Adam Sandler

Eclipse Sportswire
WikimediaCommons

California Chrome is now a household name off his wins in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
Even though California Chrome was the favorite going into the Kentucky Derby, his connections still felt like underdogs because of the colt’s breeding and their ownership background.
Adam Sandler has a knack for making underdog movies. Movies like “The Waterboy” and “Happy Gilmore” are just a few of his underdog stories.
California Chrome was bred in California and began his racing career in California. He’s now settled in New York.
Adam Sandler was born in New York but got his big opportunity to work for Saturday Night Live while working at a Los Angeles comedy club. Adam is now a resident of California.

Commanding Curve - Vin Diesel

Eclipse Sportswire
WikimediaCommons

Commanding Curve has had seven starts in his career and made his racing debut in New York at Saratoga Race Course in August 2013.
Vin Diesel made acting debut at the age of seven in a play called “Dinosaur Door” in New York City.
Commanding Curve finished second in the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby as a longshot with 37.80-to-1 odds when rallying at a “Fast & Furious” tempo.
Vin Diesel is known for handling the “curves” of the road in the “Fast & Furious” movie series.
The stage name, Vin Diesel is short for his last name, Vincent, and “Diesel” was his nickname to friends for always running on diesel fuel due to his high energy.
Like Vin Diesel, Commanding Curve is full of energy and speed, lets see how he will handle the Belmont!

Commissioner - P. Diddy

Laura King/Coglianese Photos
WikimediaCommons

P. Diddy once kept a winter home in Florida (Miami Beach)
Commissioner’s winter home is also in Florida (at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach).
P. Diddy is constantly traveling, where he checks up on his investments in the clothing (Sean John) and spirits (Cîroc vodka) industries, among others.
Commissioner also is very familiar with travel, having already raced in Florida, New Mexico, Arkansas, and New York in 2014 alone.
P. Diddy keeps the right connections and is the “richest person in Hip Hop” with an estimated wealth of more than $700 million.
Commissioner keeps the right connections, being in the barn of 6-time Eclipse Award winner Todd Pletcher, who tops the all-time earnings list for a Thoroughbred trainer with more than $268 million.

Kid Cruz - Victor Cruz

Jim McCue/Maryland Jockey Club
WikimediaCommons

For starters, Kid Cruz is named after Victor Cruz. So, there’s that.
Victor Cruz originally was overlooked and went undrafted out of college in 2010.
Kid Cruz also was underestimated when he was dropped into a maiden claiming race after losing his first career start.
Victor Cruz ends his scoring plays with a signature salsa dance in the end zone.
Kid Cruz knows a thing or two about a big finish. His late closing flurries have gotten him into the winner’s circle in two of his last three races.

Matterhorn - 50 Cent

NYRA/Coglianese Photos
WikimediaCommons

Matterhorn began his career with a bang. He won his debut at Aqueduct in Queens, N.Y. at odds of 13.80-to-1.
50 Cent is from Queens, N.Y.
50 Cent began his career with a bang. His major label debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’ ” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and went on to be multi-platinum.
Matterhorn has not won since his debut and is looking to get back into the winner’s circle.
50 Cent has fallen off the charts and is looking to get back to the top with a new album later this year.

Matuszak - Daisuke Matsuzaka

Eclipse Sportswire
WikimediaCommons

Despite the fact that the “u” comes before the “s” in Matuszak, the similarity to pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is just too strong to ignore.
Both horse and human experienced immediate early success in their careers.
Matuszak won his first career race at Churchill Downs.
Matsuzaka was highly regarded when he came to the U.S. in 2007 after a standout professional career in Japan. He immediately won a World Series, while setting the record for most strikeouts ever for a Boston Red Sox rookie.
Matuszak has fallen on some hard times since that first win. He’s hasn’t won in seven races since then.
Matsuzaka hasn’t won many games of late either. Following elbow surgery, his numbers declined. He was picked up and then released by the Indians. He’s now a relief pitcher for the New York Mets.

Medal Count - Michael Jordan

Eclipse Sportswire
WikimediaCommons

A Brooklyn, N.Y. native, Michael Jordan was Public Enemy No. 1 for the New York Knicks in the late 1980s and 1990s as his Chicago Bulls knocked the Knicks out of the playoffs in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1996 … just ask Spike Lee! The only time the Knicks beat the Bulls in the playoffs was when Jordan was swinging a bat rather than knocking down jumpers in 1994.
Medal Count could play spoiler in New York as well on June 7 if he defeats California Chrome to end his Triple Crown bid, which surely would leave New Yorkers disappointed.
Michael Jordan has a “Medal Count” of his own after winning two Olympic gold medals in Men’s Basketball (1984 and 1992).
Medal Count’s “coach” (trainer Dale Romans) was horse racing’s Trainer of the Year (Eclipse Award) in 2012
Michael Jordan’s NBA coach, Phil Jackson, was Coach of the Year for the 1995-1996 season.
Medal Count has competed on the big stage in stakes races on three different surfaces: dirt, turf, and synthetic.
Michael Jordan has competed on the big stage in three different sports:  basketball, baseball, and golf.

Ride On Curlin - Robert De Niro

Eclipse Sportswire
WikimediaCommons

Ride On Curlin ran the best race of his career when finishing second behind California Chrome in the Preakness.
Ride On Curlin is one of the most experienced competitors coming into the Belmont Stakes with 11 starts (California Chrome has 12).
One of the most experienced New Yorkers is Robert De Niro, he’s appeared in nearly 100 movies in his career.
Ride On Curlin's closing style looks like a “Raging Bull,” the title of the film that earned De Niro an Academy Award for his portrayal of boxer Jake LaMotta.

Samraat - Carmelo Anthony

Eclipse Sportswire
WikimediaCommons

Carmelo Anthony does his best work in the cold of winter, being that he has led the New York Knicks in scoring each of the last four seasons.
Samraat also did his best work in the cold of a New York winter, where he was undefeated over Aqueduct’s inner dirt track and won two graded stakes on that surface.
Carmelo Anthony leads New York’s most famous team of basketball players, the New York Knicks.
Samraat’s jockey, Jose Ortiz, is a part of New York’s most popular “team” of jockeys, as both Jose and his brother, Irad, will be riding in the Belmont Stakes.
Carmelo Anthony has been good from the start; he led Syracuse to a NCAA Tournament championship in his freshman year with the Orangemen.
Samraat has also been good from the beginning, in that he was 5-for-5 in his first five races (all in New York).

Social Inclusion - Jimmy Fallon

Eclipse Sportswire
WikimediaCommons

Jimmy Fallon is known for his “social” satire as the current host of “The Tonight Show” and a former cast member of “Saturday Night Live”.
Social Inclusion made his presence known in New York when he finished third in the Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct in April 2014.
Jimmy Fallon was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. A number of different entertainment achievements warrant “inclusion” on Fallon’s résumé, such as his stand-up comedy and work as a musician, actor and producer.
Although born in Kentucky, with a career-best 110 Beyer Speed Figure, Social Inclusion will have no problem keeping up with New York’s fast pace in the Belmont Stakes!

Tonalist - Billy Joel

Eclipse Sportswire
WikimediaCommons

New York’s “Piano Man,” Billy Joel, has enjoyed a successful career entertaining longtime and new fans alike with his engaging music.
Tonalist surely picked up some new fans in the Big Apple with his victory in the Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont in early May, and he is looking to build his following with a strong performance in the Belmont Stakes.
Joel is anything but a one-hit wonder, finding a spot on the Billboard Top 40 a whopping 33 times.
Tonalist is still building his racing résumé, but he has hit the board in all three of his starts in 2014.

Wicked Strong - Lou Gehrig

Eclipse Sportswire
WikimediaCommons

Lou Gehrig, nicknamed the “Iron Horse” for his durability on the baseball diamond, enjoyed one of the finest careers in New York Yankees pinstripes.
Wicked Strong has saved his best efforts for the Empire State, capturing the Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct and stabling at Belmont Park throughout his training.
Gehrig and Wicked Strong’s connections are heralded for their philanthropic nature. Gehrig, during his later years and long after his passing, raised funds and awareness for the ALS Association, while Wicked Strong’s connections have vowed to donate 5% of his Triple Crown earnings to the One Fund for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.