"Saddlesore Galactica" is the thirteenth episode of the eleventh season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 6, 2000. In the episode, the Simpson family rescues a diving horse named Duncan from an abusive owner and keeps him as a pet. When the cost of keeping Duncan rises, Homer and Bart train him to be a racehorse. Duncan wins several races and, as a result, Homer is threatened with death by a group of jockeys. Meanwhile, Lisa is upset over her school unfairly losing the musical band competition at a state fair and writes a letter to U.S. President Bill Clinton in protest.
The episode features several guest appearances; horse race caller Trevor Denman stars as himself, commentating the races in the episode, and voice artist Jim Cummings provides the animal sounds made by Duncan. Randy Bachman and Fred Turner appear as themselves as their rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive performs at the state fair. "Saddlesore Galactica" was written by Tim Long and directed by Lance Kramer. A number of meta-references are included in the episode, such as the character Comic Book Guy telling the Simpsons that they have owned a horse before in the episode "Lisa's Pony".
Around 9.6 million American homes tuned in to watch the episode during its original airing. In 2008, it was released on DVD, along with the rest of the episodes of the eleventh season. "Saddlesore Galactica" is despised by many television critics and fans, according to Long. It has been described by About.com's Nancy Basile as one of the season's worst episodes, by Marco Ursi of Maclean's as the worst episode of the series, and has frequently been cited by fans as an example of the show jumping the shark. Criticism has been directed at its outlandish plot, which, among other things, features elf-like jockeys who lure Homer into their secret land where they threaten him to stop Duncan from winning.
Plot
Lisa and the other members of Springfield Elementary's school band enter a music competition together at a state fair, performing James Brown's "Living in America". However, they lose to the Ogdenville Elementary band, which performs John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" and uses red, white, and blue glow sticks to form a flag. Lisa accuses Ogdenville of cheating, as the use of visual aids is against the rules of the competition. She later writes a letter to President Clinton (Karl Wiedergott), complaining about the situation. At the fair, Homer and Bart see a horse named Duncan that can dive into pools. The Simpsons takes Duncan home after his sleazy owner is accused of animal cruelty and flees. However, they find themselves spending $500 a week for Duncan's upkeep.
Homer and Bart try to think of a way that Duncan can make money to help offset the costs of keeping him. Bart discovers that Duncan is a fast runner and suggests that he should be a racehorse. Homer enters Duncan at the Springfield Downs racetrack, with Bart as the jockey. However, a frightened Duncan loses his first race as he refuses to leave the stall until all other horses have finished. Homer and Bart find a strategy for Duncan to win by turning him into a frightening horse named "Furious D", complete with dyed hair and (during his first appearance) one of Lisa's bracelets for a nose ring. He intimidates the other horses and wins several races. Homer is soon invited by the losing jockeys to have a beer in their lounge, which turns out to be the entrance to a secret underground land. The jockeys reveal themselves to be crazy, arrogant elf-like creatures and threaten to eat Homer's brain unless Duncan loses the upcoming Springfield Derby. Though frightened at first, Homer changes his mind due to his loyalty to his son and his horse as well as his own pride, vowing to deal with "those murderous trolls".
Duncan wins the Derby, sending the jockeys into a rage, and they begin chasing after Homer and Bart with swords. However, Marge and Lisa spray the jockeys with water to subdue them, and Homer stuffs them all into a garbage bag and leaves them at the curb to be hauled away with the garbage. Homer and Bart prepare to retire Duncan from racing, so he can become a stud. President Clinton then shows up at the Simpsons' house and presents Lisa with a plaque, overruling the state fair judges and declaring Springfield Elementary the winner of the music competition.