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It’s been 10 years since Real Quiet brushed with immortality in the 1998 Triple Crown and the stewards at Belmont Park were spared what would have been the most controversial call in the history of the Triple Crown.

Owned by Mike Pegram and trained by Bob Baffert, Real Quiet entered the 1998 Kentucky Derby as Baffert’s second-best three-year-old behind Indian Charlie, who’d defeated Real Quiet by 2 ¼ lengths in their final prep for the Run for the Roses, the Santa Anita Derby. That stretched Real Quiet’s losing streak to three, not the typical resume for a Kentucky Derby winner.

He’d concluded his two-year-old season by winning the Grade 1 Hollywood Futurity over the spectacularly fast Artax. But Real Quiet’s three-year-old debut was an utter disaster. Sent off the even-money favorite in the $200,00 Golden Gate Derby on a sloppy track at Golden Gate Fields, he finished last in the field of eight, 22 ½ lengths behind the winner, Clover Hunter.

Real Quiet rebounded to finish second by a head to Artax in the San Felipe Stakes, then was a solid second to his stable-mate in the Santa Anita Derby, finishing seven lengths ahead of Artax in third.

Dispatched at 8-1 in the Kentucky Derby under Hall of Fame rider Kent Desormeaux, Real Quiet moved early to take the lead halfway through the mile-and-a-quarter classic, then held off fast-finishing Victory Gallop by half a length to give Baffert his second straight Derby following Silver Charm’s win in 1997. Indian Charlie was third, 2 ¾ lengths behind his stable-mate.

In the Preakness, despite breaking from the outside post in the field of 10, Real Quiet dominated, winning by 2 ¼ lengths as Victory Gallop again finished second. The betting public hadn’t really bought into Real Quiet’s accomplishment in the Derby, sending him off at 5-2 in the Preakness. Victory Gallop was the 2-1 favorite.

But in the mile-and-a-half Belmont Stakes, Real Quiet went off 4-5 in the field off 11; Victory Gallop 9-2.

If the chance at Triple Crown immortality by winning the first Triple Crown in 20 years and the $1 million Belmont Stakes purse weren’t enough on the line, Real Quiet also stood to win a $5 million bonus offered by Visa if he completed a Triple Crown sweep. That, in turn, would have increased his value as a stallion by even more millions.

At the head of the stretch, Real Quiet appeared home free with a four-length lead. Then Victory Gallop kicked in under Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens. Real Quiet’s margin began to shrivel and everyone in the house and the millions watching on national TV realized that this finish was going to be dead tight.
Maybe 50 yards before the wire, with Desormeaux doing everything he could to get his horse home, Real Quiet drifted out a bit into the path of Victory Gallop. They crossed the finish line together, a virtual dead heat.

The photo finish camera revealed that Victory Gallop had won by a nose despite the interference, alleviating the stewards at Belmont Park that afternoon of making what would have been the most difficult decision in modern American racing history. Had Real Quiet won by a nose, would he have been disqualified for interference?

In the aftermath of Victory Gallop’s victory, the stewards said that it would have been an easy call, that Real Quiet had impeded Victory Gallop and would have been disqualified. That was to easy say chatting about the race afterwards.

But can you imagine the pressure those three racing officials would have been under had Real Quiet finished first? Millions and millions of dollars and racing immortality on the line. Millions of viewers on TV and a full house of 80,162 at Belmont Park nervously waiting for the call.

Imagine announcer Tom Durkin telling everyone, “The stewards have made their decision, and …”

Then everyone would have been real quiet.