Affirmed and Alydar ran head to head for the last half mile of the mile and a half race, with Affirmed ultimately winning by a head.[3] Affirmed's winning time of 2:26 4/5 was the 3rd best in history at the time, behind only Secretariat's all-time record of 2:24 in 1973 and Gallant Man's time of 2:26 3/5 in 1957.[3] This was despite a slow early pace.[3]