Well, like a lot of people, I’ve been caught up lately in the Euro 2004 tournament. In doing a little research about the tournament and the upcoming 2006 World Cup to be held in Germany, I came across a sad anecdote.

In the 1994 World Cup, held in the United States, Colombia was not playing well. They were unfocussed and edgy, and there were rumours that the coach had received death threats from gangsters at home who were betting on the outcome of the matches. Not the best circumstances under which to play, obviously. But the tragedy came when, during their match against the U.S., Colombian defender Andres Escobar deflected an American cross into his own net, helping the Americans to a 2-1 victory and assuring the Colombians an early trip home. Ten days later, outside a nightclub in Medellin, Escobar was gunned down, the assassin allegedly shouting “Goal!” with each shot.

In the spring of 1978, my friends and I would ride around on our bikes pretending we were atop racehorses instead. My mount? Alydar. His name sounded so much more exotic than his rival, Affirmed, which sounded like something written on a profit-and-loss sheet.

Alydar has been the only horse in the history of the Triple Crown to finish second in all three races. In any other year, he would have been the champion. It seems fitting that no horse has won the Triple Crown since 1978, the year of Alydar and Affirmed’s great rivalry.

After a very successful career as a stud horse, Alydar broke his leg under mysterious circumstances in 1990 and had to be put down. A June 2001 story in Texas Monthly alleges that in fact, he was murdered.

More on the career of this great racehorse.