page_title: California Chrome
section_title: 2013: Two-year-old season
hierarchical_section_title: California Chrome / Racing history / 2013: Two-year-old season
caption_attribution_description: English: California Chrome at the 2014 San Felipe with Victor Espinoza on board and Alan Sherman.
context_page_description: California Chrome is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was named the 2014 and 2016 American Horse of the Year. He won the 2014 Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the 2016 Dubai World Cup. 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.
context_section_description: California Chrome's first start was in a maiden race at Hollywood Park in April 2013, where he placed second by a length. Three weeks later, he won a maiden race by ​2 ³⁄₄ lengths. In both races, he was ridden by Alberto Delgado. About a month later, California Chrome was entered in the Willard L. Proctor Memorial Stakes. He was one of four horses assigned to carry 120 pounds (54 kg), the highest impost given by the handicapper. Alberto Delgado was out with a broken ankle, so Corey Nakatani was his rider. The colt was second for the first three furlongs but finished fifth in a field of nine.  His next two races were at Del Mar racetrack.  Delgado returned as his jockey, and California Chrome scored his second career win in the Graduation Stakes, a race limited to California-bred horses, prevailing by ​2 ³⁄₄ lengths. He carried the same weight over the same distance as his previous race, but this time he wore blinkers and ran on Lasix for the first time in his career.  Next was his first graded stakes race, the seven-furlong, Grade I Del Mar Futurity. He ran strongly but finished sixth after he got caught in traffic in a field of 11 horses  and was accidentally hit in the face by another jockey's whip.  Two months later, California Chrome ran in the Golden State Juvenile Stakes on November 1 at Santa Anita Park, and at 1 mile (1.6 km), was the longest race he had run. He was assigned the number 1 post position and had to wait for all the other horses to load. He became anxious, reared in the gate, was last out, struggled throughout the race, and again finished sixth.
  Sherman's assessment of California Chrome's poor performances was that he was still growing and learning how to be a racehorse.  But several things began to change. In the fall of 2013, Alberto's younger brother, Willie Delgado, an experienced rider and trainer whose career in Maryland was in the doldrums, moved to California and within a couple of months became the horse's morning exercise rider. At roughly the same time, Alberto was taken off the horse as jockey. In December, California Chrome began wearing a new type of horseshoe. He had developed low heels, and his farrier, Judd Fisher, found a particular style of glued-on horseshoe with a durable, hard, rim pad that raised a horse's heels was suitable for fixing the problem. Instead of gluing it on, Fisher custom-drilled holes into the shoe so it could be nailed to the horse's feet in the manner of a traditional metal shoe. According to Fisher, nailing on the shoes raised the soles of the horse's feet a little bit farther off the ground. It may have been a contributing factor to California Chrome's subsequent series of wins. Aside from that issue, Sherman described the horse's hooves as generally healthy.
  Hollywood Park hosted California Chrome's final race of 2013, the King Glorious Stakes on December 22. He had a lighter impost of 119 pounds (54 kg), a shorter distance of seven furlongs, and a new jockey, Victor Espinoza. California Chrome won the race by ​6 ¹⁄₄ lengths, becoming the final stakes winner at Hollywood Park Racetrack, which held its last races that day. Sherman was pleased with Espinoza's riding, and Espinoza was impressed in turn with California Chrome. Alan Sherman later said that it was after this race that he began to think that California Chrome could be a Kentucky Derby contender.
caption: 2014 San Felipe Stakes: jockey Victor Espinoza, groom Raul Rodriquez (leading horse), assistant trainer Alan Sherman (right)
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