Philly.com

4/26/2015

Sitting at a reserved table at Parx Racing in Bensalem, waiting for the beef brisket lunch special and a couple of races in which he had horses running, Chuck Zacney swiped his phone a few times, and the 2005 Preakness Stakes appeared, horses in the gate.

"I probably still watch five or six times a year," Zacney said as the race unfolded on his phone.

It began as an idea among friends, Eagles fans, at the Super Bowl in Jacksonville in February 2005. They liked to bet horses, Zacney said, so why not throw some money together and buy a couple? Eventually, five of them - most with roots in Northeast Philadelphia and trips to Liberty Bell racetrack in their past - did it and called their little group Cash Is King. Their first horse cost them $75,000.

The horse turned out to be special, and their lives were never quite the same.

Afleet Alex, based out of Tim Ritchey's barn at Delaware Park, went on to join the history of the sport. The colt missed winning the Kentucky Derby by a length, and that length turned out to be the distance that separated Afleet Alex from the 2005 Triple Crown.

His place in horse racing lore was established at that year's Preakness. After another horse veered into his path, their heels clipped, and Afleet Alex dropped almost to his knees, his nose inches from the dirt, his jockey, Jeremy Rose, barely hanging on. It was a feat of athleticism for both horse and jockey. Instead of going down, Afleet Alex regained his footing and roared off to a 43/4-length victory. "He did something champions do," Rose said after the race.

"I've seen horses take bad steps in races and win," said Ritchey, the trainer. "I never saw horses stumble that much and come back on and win in a Grade I race like this. That's the first I've ever seen it."

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