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"California Chrome is the heavy favorite to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, which would make him the first Triple Crown winner in 36 years.\nBut you\u2019re gonna want to tune in for this one, because everything about this horse screams \u201Cunderdog.\u201D\nSEE ALSO: In Pictures, Kentucky Derby 2014 Highlights Horses and Huge Hats\nThat\u2019s why a fan frenzy has built up around the chestnut-colored 3-year-old from the wrong side of the continent. But you don\u2019t need to follow the blue-blood sport of thoroughbred racing to understand why this would be the greatest equine saga since Seabiscuit.\nHere\u2019s everything you need to know to get rearing for California Chrome\u2019s run for the post \u2014 airing Saturday on NBC at 4:30 p.m. ET \u2014 which would make him the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.\nHe\u2019s from nowhere, California\n\nCoalinga, California \u2014 birthplace of California Chrome.Image:  Google MapsThoroughbreds are supposed to come from Kentucky \u2014 and no California horse has ever won the Triple Crown. But California Chrome isn\u2019t just from the wrong coast; he\u2019s from the dusty middle of nowhere. Born on Harris Farms in Coalinga, California, the horse hails from a part of the state where oil rigs and tumbleweeds pass for landmarks.\nThe staff sure had fun watching the Kentucky Derby, though:\nHis parents are nobodies, his owners are \"dumb asses\"\n\nCalifornia Chrome owners Steve Coburn and Perry Martin at Belmont Park on June 5.His momma, Love The Chase, won only one race in her life; business partners Perry Martin and Steve Coburn bought her for a paltry $8,000 and paid another $2,500 to breed her with Lucky Pulpit, who had an unremarkable career cut short by a respiratory infection.\nAnother horseman told the partners that only a \u201Cdumb ass\u201D would do such a thing. They named their venture \u201CDumb Ass Partners\u201D (DAP for short) and made their logo a green mule.\nThe \u201Cchrome\u201D in his name implies a disadvantage\n\nCalifornia Chrome with exercise rider Willie Delgado at Belmont Park on June 5.Image: Al BelloCalifornia Chrome is named for the flashy white blaze on his nose and four white stockings \u2014 called \u201Cchrome\u201D in the horseracing world. That means his hooves are white as well, which are softer and more prone to developing problems. So far, his hooves have stayed healthy \u2026 mostly.\nIs it the shoes?\n\nCalifornia Chrome's custom shoes.Image: Al BelloCalifornia Chrome started to develop \u201Clow heels\u201D in his second year, and his farrier tried out a new style of hard-rubber horseshoe that raised them. But rather than gluing them on as designed, he custom-drilled holes into them and nailed them to California Chrome\u2019s hooves in the traditional metal style. That raised the soles slightly farther off the ground \u2014 and was the beginning of the horse\u2019s six-win streak that he\u2019s carried into the Triple Crown.\nHe\u2019s got tons of personality, but is \u201Ckind of a laid-back dude\u201D\n\nCalifornia Chrome \"smiles\" for the camera while getting a bath at Belmont Park on June 5.Image: Rob CarrJust look at the photos: you can tell this horse knows he\u2019s a star. He\u2019s been noted for his distinct curiosity and several unusual behaviors, including posing for cameras \u2014 even \u201Csmiling\u201D (an animal behavior called the \u201Cflehmen response.\u201D)\nHe has a fondness for one specific brand of horse treat \u2014 won\u2019t eat any other kind, his owners say \u2014 and will only back out of transport trailers, even if they\u2019re designed for forward exit.\nDespite all his quirks, he was described in a colorful feature by the Los Angeles Times as \u201Ckind of a laid-back dude\u201D who just doesn\u2019t get stressed out like other horses around him.\nHis 77-year-old trainer is finally having his moment\n\nCalifornia Chrome trainer Art Sherman celebrates victory at the Preakness Stakes on May 17.Image: Patrick SmithAs a jockey, Art Sherman has been around the Sport of Kings for a good long while, and touched the Kentucky Derby in 1955 as the exercise rider for 1955 winner Swaps. He spent the next several decades training horses in central California, and had his share of success locally and regionally.\nThen a few weeks ago, he became the oldest trainer to win the Run for the Roses. Now Sherman, who lives in Rancho Bernardo and looks and sounds more than a little bit like Joe Pesci, is looking at a Triple Crown.\nThe jockey bond\n\nCalifornia Chrome with Jockey Victor Espinoza at Belmont Park on May 31.Image: Rob CarrCalifornia Chrome had trouble winning consistently until he saddled up veteran jockey Victor Espinoza, who won his first Kentucky Derby in 2002 aboard War Emblem. The duo hasn\u2019t lost since. Espinoza, who grew up riding horses on his family\u2019s farm in Mexico, donates 10% of his earnings to children\u2019s cancer research.\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/06/06/california-chrome-triple-crown/>