I like to see a horse do one of two things. Either beat really good horses or run really fast races. So far, I haven't seen Big Brown do either. I don't elevate a horse's ability when I know that a major part of what he's accomplished is due to the competition he gets to face. I won't say Big Brown is better than Easy Goer because he won the Derby/Preakness while EG lost them. A horse has got to do something that makes him stand out in a historical perspective. I don't think BB has. I think he's clearly made himself the best of his crop. Nobody argues that. But how much does that mean when the crop is considered one of the weakest in history? Does anyone really believe that Big Brown did something that Smarty Jones, Point Given, Funny Cide, Alysheba, Hansel, Sunday Silence, Afleet Alex, Thunder Gulch, etc....couldn't have done? I don't. Circumstances may determine what you get but they don't determine how good you were in getting them. Big Brown is a fine horse. But for my money, he's not anywhere close to the top of the list of best 3yo's in this decade and I don't think he's my list for best five horses of this year alone.
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The real horses of the year (1986-2020)
Manila, Java Gold, Alysheba, Sunday Silence, Go for Wand, In Excess, Paseana, Kotashaan, Holy Bull, Cigar, Alphabet Soup, Formal Gold, Skip Away, Artax, Tiznow, Point Given, Azeri, Candy Ride, Smarty Jones, Ghostzapper, Invasor, Curlin, Zenyatta, Zenyatta, Goldikova, Havre de Grace, Wise Dan, Wise Dan, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Accelerate, Maximum Security, Gamine
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