He then was shipped to the United Kingdom to train for the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot but was scratched a few days prior to the race due to a hoof bruise.

[25] Originally from Chicago, they moved to California in 1987, where Perry Martin was employed as a metallurgist by the Air Force and Denise briefly job shadowed a racehorse trainer in the Sacramento area.

[37] In August 2016, Martin announced that Love the Chase, confirmed in foal to Tapit, would be sold at the November Fasig-Tipton sale, stating that he ultimately would keep a 10% interest in California Chrome and invest in mares suitable for crossing with 'Chrome.

[38] Harris Farms, where California Chrome was bred, foaled, and lived until the age of two, had previously nurtured champions such as two-time Breeders' Cup Classic winner Tiznow.

Steve suggested his father, Art,[52] who had an "old school" reputation for patience with young Thoroughbreds and a small racing stable of about 15 horses, which allowed each animal to be given individualized attention.

[80] Delgado returned as his jockey, and California Chrome scored his second career win in the Graduation Stakes, a race limited to California-bred horses,[81] prevailing by 2+3⁄4 lengths.

[83] Two months later, California Chrome ran in the Golden State Juvenile Stakes on November 1 at Santa Anita Park,[84] and at 1 mile (1.6 km), was the longest race he had run.

[103] It was also the second fastest time in the history of the Santa Anita Derby; the only horses to run faster were Lucky Debonair, Sham, and Indian Charlie, who hold a three-way tie for the record at 1:47:00.

"[115] On the other hand, Dallas Stewart, trainer of rival Commanding Curve, dismissed California Chrome's chances due to his pedigree and the supposed lack of competition in his prior races.

Once the plane landed, however, his travel idiosyncrasy was discovered by the waiting press when he refused to be unloaded until he was turned around and backed down the ramp; Alan Sherman explained later that this was also his typical manner of egress from ground-based transportation.

[125] The press suggested that the number five spot, relatively close to the inside rail, could be a problem owing to the "speed horses" that would go to the front early in the race, surrounding him on both sides,[30] especially if the colt was slow out of the gate.

[137] Sherman did not like having the horse race with only a two-week break, but was confident because California Chrome had gained back weight he had lost running the Derby, plus another 35 pounds (16 kg).

[135] News stories continued to question the colt's ability, noting the relatively slow pace of the Derby and the low Beyer Speed Figure of 97 earned in his win.

The intense press attention paid to the relatively minor issue was dismissively dubbed "throat-gate" by sportswriter Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times.

[153][f] Nasal strips are not considered performance-enhancing,[154] but may reduce airway resistance, lower the risk of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), and aid post-race recovery.

[177] California Chrome was the top-ranked three-year-old in the nation by the NTRA in its post-race poll of June 9, 2014, in spite of his Belmont loss, and was fifth-ranked among American horses of all ages.

[181] Trapped on the rail, first by a speed horse in the initial stages of the race, and again on the far turn by a challenger who faded in the stretch, California Chrome was unable to gain momentum and finished sixth.

Because many leading older horses retired in 2014, most of the main contenders for the 2014 Classic were the three year olds: in addition to California Chrome, former foes Bayern, Candy Boy and Tonalist entered.

His chief rival was considered to be the then-undefeated American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, Shared Belief, a gelding who missed the Triple Crown series due to hoof problems; the two had never faced each other.

[191] He was the morning line favorite, with his toughest competitor viewed as Lexie Lou, a filly who defeated colts to win Canada's equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, the Queen's Plate.

[193] The horse began 2015 at Santa Anita in the San Antonio Stakes on February 7, a return matchup with Shared Belief, whose traffic problems in the Classic prevented a true match against California Chrome.

Art Sherman and Shared Belief's trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer, were longtime friends and rivals from the Northern California racing circuit, and each anticipated the rivalry between their two horses.

"[202] Martin wanted to run him in Chicago's Arlington Million in August, and the requirements of quarantine upon his return to the United States combined with the setback to his training foreclosed any other UK start.

[203] Upon California Chrome's return to the US in early July, a veterinary radiograph revealed that he had bruising on his cannon bones that would require at least three months to heal, effectively ending his four-year-old season.

[220] California Chrome got the number one post position in the nine-horse field, viewed as an unfavorable draw because, other than his prep race win at Meydan Racecourse, he previously did poorly on the rail.

[221][74] The post position turned out not to be a problem, as the horse broke cleanly and quickly went to the lead, led throughout the entire race, and only Beholder kept close to him until the mile pole, at which point he pulled ahead of the field and won by five lengths.

[264] Prior to the Belmont, singer–songwriter team Templeton Thompson and Sam Gay wrote and recorded a song titled "Bring it on Home, Chrome"[265] and a rap video featuring an elementary school children was released on YouTube.

[173] Additional negative press occurred when Martin turned down an offer to bring California Chrome to parade in the paddock at Del Mar on the day of the Pacific Classic.

Jockey and sports analyst Gary Stevens noted prior to the Belmont, "I haven't heard Thoroughbred horse racing mentioned on CNN for a long time, and it was right at the top of the hour ...

"[260] Prior to the 2014 Belmont Stakes, California Chrome's owners filed a patent application to trademark his name for use on athletic apparel,[272] and hired two talent agencies to help with marketing and sponsorships.