Chic Anderson - "We'll Test These Two To The Wire!"

"We'll Test These Two To The Wire!"

Five years later, for both CBS Sports and the Belmont Park fans, Anderson called a Belmont Stakes race that was as close as the 1973 Belmont was a romp.

Affirmed and Alydar—who battled each other closely both as 2-year-old horses and in the 1978 Triple Crown races (with Affirmed prevailing barely in both the Derby and Preakness)—renewed their battle in that year's Belmont. They hooked up in earnest a half-mile into the race and held a virtual match race for the rest of the event.

It is still Affirmed as they come to the quarter pole. He's holding on to a head lead. Alydar is outside of him and challenging that lead. The two are heads apart and Alydar's got a lead! Alydar put a head in front right in the middle of the stretch! It's Alydar and Affirmed battling back along the inside! We'll test these two to the wire! Affirmed under a left-hand whip! Alydar on the outside driving! Affirmed and Alydar heads apart. Affirmed's got a nose in front as they come on the wire!

Then, shutting off the PA microphone (as track announcers did then) but keeping his CBS mic hot, he described the final moment of victory:

At the finish, it's going to be dead tight—Affirmed won it! He wins the Triple Crown. Alydar is second! Steve Cauthen salutes the crowd. Darby Creek Road in third, Judge Advocate fourth, and Noon Time Spender finished fifth—and what a stirring stretch battle! They both had their shot at this one during the stretch run!