Ronnie Franklin, dead at 58

[heavylifting]

There is so much that has been said and could be said.

Best to just leave it at this -- RIP Ronnie; hope you find the peace that was so often elusive in this life.

http://www.theracingbiz.com/2018/03/09/jockey-ron-franklin-58-passes-lung-cancer/

[HawgWild]

How old was he, 19, when he rode the Bid in the Triple Crown races? Just a kid at the time. Lots of pressure he was under.

[heavylifting]

Then, of course, there was the altercation with Angel Cordero in the Belmont jocks room a couple days before the Belmont. That didn't help.

[heavylifting]

Bud Delp didn't exactly help matters either.

He was always quoted as saying something to the effect that one bad ride from Ronnie, and Bill Shoemaker is just a phone call away. Kind of like Donald Trump talking about his Cabinet members.

And that's the way it turned out. Ronnie got the heave-ho and the Shoe rode the Bid throughout his 4-year-old season.

I could be wrong -- don't have time to look this up at the minute -- but I think Jorge Velasquez might have ridden the Bid in the Worlds Playground Stakes at Atlantic City as a 2-year-old. Obviously, something happened afterwards, which might have fed Cordero's animosity, as he and Velasquez were somewhat close.

Eventually it veers into truth is stranger than fiction territory.