She is a Long Island girl, from a storied racing family, and she proudly carries an iPad filled with Triple Crown memories and her love affair with a horse named Affirmed.
Patrice Wolfson, who epitomizes what “young at heart” truly means, will be rooting for California Chrome on Saturday at Belmont to make the same history Affirmed did 36 years ago as the last horse to win the Triple Crown.
“I remember it was a beautiful day, and I remember how very calm my husband was,” she said Wednesday at Belmont, “and I kept telling him, ‘You shouldn’t be so calm, because this is the only one chance we have. If we don’t do it today, we’ll lose the only chance you have to win the Triple Crown. Do you realize that, dear?’ ”
Of course Louis Wolfson realized that. He also realized that a fierce rival named Alydar was standing between them and the Triple Crown.
“I believe we had a horse earlier in the program — I’m not sure who it was — but we went to the paddock, and I think [Affirmed jockey] Steve [Cauthen] rode it, so it kind of broke up the tension of it.”
Until the Belmont Stakes began.
This petite, jovial lady giggled as she recalled, “I remember as soon as Cauthen put his stick in the air, I think I collapsed in my husband’s arms. Not collapsed but … it was joy.”
It is a ride back in time to a dream day and a dream racing age that Wolfson makes each and every time she presses the scrapbook section on www.affirmedtriplecrown.com. She and her husband bred Affirmed at Harbor View Farm, near Ocala, Fla.
“I remember the stands were shaking — it was like an earthquake. Just like an earthquake,” she said. “The place was shaking underneath my feet.”
Following the bedlam in the winner’s circle, there was a Triple Crown celebration.
“We all quickly got together and we went to a little restaurant that [trainer] Laz [Barrera] was friendly with, somebody had a restaurant somewhere in Elmont or somewhere,” she said. “It was good but we were exhausted.”
Her father was Hall of Fame trainer Hirsch Jacobs. Her brother John Jacobs trained 1970 Preakness and Belmont winner Personality.
“We had boxes at the Belmont since I was little girl,” Wolfson said. “My mother had a famous horse called Stymie. My father claimed him from King Ranch for $1,500, and he won almost a million dollars. And he was the pride of New York.”
Though she had been around racing her entire life, the Triple Crown was different, and she paused when asked how the Triple Crown changed her life.
“Good question. … It took a person who’s very shy, very introverted,” she began, “and when you talk about Affirmed to me, I love talking about it. So I love meeting people and fans. And so it … makes me happy. That’s how it changed my life. It brought me out of being very shy.”
Affirmed died at 26 in 2001, and a piece of Patrice Wolfson died that day, too.
“I had heard from [Jonabell Farm manager] John Williams that he had been suffering a little a week or two before, so we knew it was coming,” she said.
Her husband died Dec. 30, 2007, at 95.
Wolfson was asked why she will be rooting for California Chrome.
“Because first of all, I think the story is great for racing,” she said. “I think he’ll disappoint so many millions of people who’ve become attached to him and the sport. And I’d like to see racing have a new hero. And he’s got some little assets that Affirmed had. His rider can put him anywhere. Affirmed had that too, you could just place him anywhere. I don’t think Chrome breaks as quickly as Affirmed, but Affirmed was quick.”
Affirmed was not the people’s choice that day the way California Chrome will be Saturday.
“Alydar had so many fans coming out of Kentucky, and the same grand sire as Affirmed, and the great Calumet was making a resurgence, and he was so popular,” Wolfson said. “He raced in Florida, and we raced in California, so he made so many friends in the East — and so the Derby, then the Preakness, and then the Belmont — ‘Alydar’s gonna beat him. Alydar’s gonna get him.’ ”
Alydar never got him. Patrice Wolfson would love to tell you all about it.