I said top rated - not necessarily better. There was no 4-year-old season from Secretariat.

To me - Secretariat is hands down the greatest 3-year-old of all-time in terms of how he performed in the triple crown series. It's not even close. But the triple crown series isn't the be all - end all. Mine That Bird ran strongly in it - while horses like Skip Away didn't - and others like Tiznow missed it.

However - Secretariat actually ran 3 pretty darn slow races in his preps leading into the Derby. They found a tooth abscess after his sound Wood Memorial defeat to Angle Light. Obviously he was a brand new horse again after that.

He was defeated in two of his three dirt races against older males. Prove Out absolutely smoked him at 12 furlongs. Big Red's two turf races were both GREAT - but you're talking about American turf racing.

In terms of attempting to rate them - Big Red and Bid are close through their 2yo and 3yo season .. the deciding factor for me is one ran at 4 and the other didn't.

Thanks for posting, The Bid was the greatest ever

and have to add that progression from age 2 to age 3 doesn't always happen either.............just look at all of the 2 yr old champions since The Bid, and not one has repeated as 3 yr old champion. He was AMAZING

That void is over in 2 months.

I was just thinking that.

Well, let's use Zenyattard type logic with this, and draw this out to it's logical conclusion.

If Spectacular Bid is the last 2yo champion to also be named 3yo champion, that makes Lookin at Lucky the best male horse since the Bid!!!

Since this was way before I started following the sport, what was the reason for not going for the triple crown?

I agree. Paster was a monster and it's a shame that he lost when it counted most.

He did. He lost the Belmont - which is a 1 1/2 mile race.

Coastal beat him:



Coastal was a close 3rd to Affirmed and Bid in the 12f race following the last one shown on the pp cut above.

God forbid, Lucky could not come close to The Bid, and maybe the voters will vote for thr Best 3yr old this year, Eskenderyea and not Lucky

I'd have to say that LAL is at least the equal of the Bid. LAL was able to win on TWO different surfaces! Until you can show me when the Bid did that, I'm going to rank LAL higher.

could I please have what you are drinking, must be some strong ****

Speaking of LAL, I heard that they just sold him for $16 million. I heard it on Saturday. I'm surprised I haven't seen it written anywhere yet. People have been talking about it for the last 4 days.

It's a special drink that you can only buy in Southern California. It's Zenyatta Kool Aid.

Wow, that's pretty psychotic.

I don't really need to ask who the buyers are, do I?

Dan Snyder? It was either that or give McNabb a 6th year.

lol, it must a real strong drink

Well, yeah, besides the usual sugars, artificial flavors and colors, and such, it also has jimson weed extract. Jimson weed is a plentiful plant, especially in Southern California, where I'd see it all the time when I'd go out and forage wild plants for myself.

From Wiki:

Datura intoxication typically produces a complete inability to differentiate reality from fantasy (delirium, as contrasted to hallucination); hyperthermia; tachycardia; bizarre, and possibly violent behavior; and severe mydriasis with resultant painful photophobia that can last several days. Pronounced amnesia is another commonly reported effect.

Also from Wiki:

In the United States the plant is called jimson weed, or more rarely Jamestown weed; it got this name from the town of Jamestown, Virginia, where British soldiers were drugged with it while attempting to suppress Bacon's Rebellion. They spent eleven days generally appearing to have gone insane:

And finally, from Wiki:

The James-Town Weed (which resembles the Thorny Apple of Peru, and I take to be the plant so call'd) is supposed to be one of the greatest coolers in the world. This being an early plant, was gather'd very young for a boil'd salad, by some of the soldiers sent thither to quell the rebellion of Bacon (1676); and some of them ate plentifully of it, the effect of which was a very pleasant comedy, for they turned natural fools upon it for several days: one would blow up a feather in the air; another would dart straws at it with much fury; and another, stark naked, was sitting up in a corner like a monkey, grinning and making mows [grimaces] at them; a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his companions, and sneer in their faces with a countenance more antic than any in a Dutch droll.

In this frantic condition they were confined, lest they should, in their folly, destroy themselves — though it was observed that all their actions were full of innocence and good nature. Indeed, they were not very cleanly; for they would have wallowed in their own excrements, if they had not been prevented. A thousand such simple tricks they played, and after eleven days returned themselves again, not remembering anything that had passed. – The History and Present State of Virginia, 1705

I actually heard it was Coolmore.