Bet Twice (April 20, 1984 – March 5, 1999) was a multi-millionaire American

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

and sire. Foaled in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, he was out of the mar
Golden Dust
and was sired b
Sportin' Life
who in turn was the son of the British Triple Crown champion Nijinsky. He was bred by William S. Farish III and E. J. Hudson and born on what became

Lane's End Farm Lane's End Farm is a Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Versailles, Kentucky established in 1979. The original land was part of Bosque Bonita Farm and was originally owned by Abraham Buford, a Confederate Army general. The land was later boug ...

in Versailles, Kentucky.

Two-year-old season

Bet Twice was owned by a syndicate of approximately three dozen that included baseball players

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (April 14, 1941 – September 30, 2024), nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a member of ...

and Garry Maddox. His principal shareholder was Robert Levy, the owner of Atlantic City Race Course. As a two-year-old, Bet Twice won the grade one Laurel Futurity and Arlington-Washington Futurity Stakes and the grade two

Sapling Stakes The Sapling Stakes is an American Ungraded Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early September at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to 2-year-olds, it was raced on dirt over a distance of six furlongs for a current purse of $100,00 ...

Three-year-old season

Early in his three-year-old season, Bet Twice won the grade two Fountain of Youth Stakes on the road to the Triple Crown. He met a crop of talented horses in that three-year-old year, including

Gulch A gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Sudden intense rainfall upstream may produce flash floods in the bed of the gulch. In eastern Can ...

and Cryptoclearance; however, his rivalry with

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

and

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

winner Alysheba was most famous. He faced the other colt nine times, beating him three times (Alysheba won four times, while neither horse won in their other two meetings). Bet Twice and Alysheba battled down the stretch in what many consider one of the most physical Derbies ever. Alysheba prevailed by a half length over Bet Twice with both colts almost two and a half length in front of the rest of the field. In the

, Bet Twice was listed at post time as the fourth choice at 5–1. He broke sharply and was third going into the first turn. He was up with the leaders when he was floated out wide. Approaching the stretch, the colt took the lead from Lookingforthebigone and Alysheba. In the closing moments of the race, Alysheba rallied, and Bet Twice lost by a half length again. In third and fourth were Cryptoclearance and Gulch respectively. Bet Twice may be best known for his victory in the 1987

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

. Ridden by Craig Perret and trained by Jimmy Croll, he won by 14 lengths, which was the fifth-largest margin in the history of the race, and denied Alysheba the Triple Crown. By virtue of his victory in the Belmont and runner-up performances in the

and the

, he edged out Alysheba for the first ever $1,000,000 Chrysler Triple Crown Bonus as the top performing three-year-old in the Triple Crown series. Bet Twice then won the Haskell Invitational at

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease ...

over Alysheba. He also finished ahead of Alysheba in the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Midsummer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds accor ...

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...

, though both horses finished in mid-pack behind Java Gold on the sloppy track.

Four-year-old season

When Bet Twice was four, his connections accepted an invitation to run him in the first revival of the $500,000 Grade I Pimlico Special Handicap at "Old Hilltop" in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. He entered that race as the post-time fourth choice at odds of 7–1 in a field of seven graded stakes winners, including Crytoclearance. Going into the famous "club house turn" at

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of O ...

, Oaklawn Handicap winner Lost Code led the field, followed by local favorite Little Bold John and dual classic winner Alysheba. Then, on the far turn, Bet Twice weaved through traffic and moved between horses to challenge for the lead. Coming down the stretch, he drifted out and brushed Lost Code. Then he drew off and won by 3/4 lengths. The time for the Grade I race at 1 3/16 miles was 1:54 1/5. Later that year, Bet Twice had runner-up finishes in the Grade I Philip H. Iselin Handicap, the Grade III Ben Ali Stakes and the Grade III Salvator Mile. He also had show performances in the Grade I

Suburban Handicap The Suburban Stakes (also known Suburban Handicap) is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is now run at the mile distance on dirt for a $350,000 pu ...

and the Grade I United Nations Handicap.

Retirement

Bet Twice stood at stud for six years at Muirfield Farm from 1990 through 1996. He was pensioned from stud duty at age 12. On March 5, 1999, he died at Muirfield East in

at age 15.

References

External links

Video at YouTube of Bet Twice winning the 1988 Pimlico Special

Pedigree & Partial Stats
{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1984 racehorse births 1999 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Belmont Stakes winners American Grade 1 Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 9-f