California Chrome came up short for the Triple Crown at Belmont, but I thought all the horses ran well considering they too had to listen to Frank Sinatra Jr. butcher “New York, New York” before the race.

The best horse on this day won, Tonalist. Period. 

But for California Chrome co-owner, Steven Coburn, to go on a bitter post-race rant about it being unfair and “the cowards way out” to have to run against fresh horses was utterly classless. Sure, he was upset by the loss, but that is no excuse. 

If it is unfair for a Triple Crown contender to run against fresh horses – and it probably is - rant about it before the race. Bitterly spewing after the race was embarrassing and revealed Coburn as just an old-fashioned, cranky, poor loser. All the goodwill generated by the great story of California Chrome?  Gone. 

Now Coburn’s classless attack of Churchill Downs makes sense.