"Looking back on it, I think I liked Real Quiet so much before the Derby because he was the second stringer. He was the stablemate to the star, the underdog. Famously, or rather infamously, nicknamed 'The Fish' because of his narrow physique, he was a bit on the plain side. That didn't matter though. He went on to win the Preakness, but lost the Belmont in a photo finish to Victory Gallop, who had finished second to him in the previous two races."

"Real Quiet, who died today, was the victim of what I believe was the most vicious beat in the history of horse racing when he was nosed by Victory Gallop in the 1998 Belmont Stakes. Not only did that photo cost Real Quiet a sweep of the Triple Crown and rare racing immortality, Victory Gallop's nose also cost him a $5 million bonus. As one who feels he has made it his life's work to perfect the art of the rotten beat, I have always empathized with Real Quiet."

"He was the first exceptional horse that came to Pennsylvania [to stand at stud] ... He set the stage for more good horses to do the same."