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Originally Posted by pick4
Champions: The Lives, Times, and Past Performances of the 20th Century's Greatest Throughbreds is book every serious horse racing fan should have.
I don't have the updated edition but the the original tells just as good of story of the way horseracing was. Comparing todays horses to the greats from years past is pointless. The breed is not the same. The owners are of a different breed too. In many cases the insurance cost of running your horse outweigh the financial benefits of running the horse. Today horse racing's establishment races to breed when in years past it was the opposite.
Big Brown is on the cusp of winning one of the most elusive prizes in sports today. The only other Triple Crown that might be harder to achieve is Major League Baseballs TC. I think it was Carl Yastrzemski who was baseballs last Triple Crown winner and that was in 1967, and he played in Fenway Park. If Big Brown wins the Belmont he should be considered a great horse because he will have accomplished a great feat that many others have tried to accomplish but came up short.
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you're right. i'll rank him right up there with omaha....maybe sir barton. but definitely not with war admiral, citation, secretariat, affirmed or slew. or even count fleet. hell, i think i'd even put assault ahead of him, as well as gallant fox and whirlaway.
speaking of past winners, 10 of the 11 had more starts at two then big brown has had in his career.