Blaze of Glory

Even if you don't know a furlong from a fetlock, you've probably heard that California Chrome, pictured to the left, won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness but lost his bid for the Triple Crown in the Belmont. It's been a bittersweet journey for his owners, including Perry Martin '78 and his wife, Denise. Martin graduated from Michigan Tech with a BS in Applied Physics and owns a materials-testing business in Sacramento, California. But his heart was drawn to the horses when he was a kid hanging out at the track, where he doubtless dreamed of winning thoroughbred racing's biggest trophy. But even though California Chrome has fallen one jewel short of a crown, the big chestnut colt with a blaze and four white feet has given us all an amazing ride.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.