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Originally Posted by somerfrost
There is a reason that handicapping "systems" never work, it is because folks attempt to quantify something that simply can't be reduced to a formula...there are far too many intervening variables, many of which (for example how the horse feels that day, what his/her mood may be) we can never know. I think the same applies here...as many know, I maintain a "Top 100 Horses of All Time" list and post it periodically, especially as I update it. It is highly subjective...my personal opinion! Sure, I base it on race records, observations of self and respected others and many other things that are more or less measurable...but in the end, it comes down to gut feelings. My top ten is headed by a first place tie between Secretariat and Kincsem...I can debate all day producing a great amount of data to support these two legends, but can I "prove" they were greater than Citation or Man O War (or about 2-3 dozen others)...no! To me the answer is similar to what some political joker once said about porn..."I can't define it but I know it when I see it!" That's how I define greatness...I know it when I see it!
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Somer, I was waiting for your post. I love your top 100 and I have little beef with it. Your top two would also be my top two if I was going to make a list. I think when people compare horses they try to compare them as if they raced each other. You can really only go by what the horse did on the track. Also I give more weight to a horse who won two legs of a triple crown race before I would an older horse who won three races in a year. The reason being is the the tc trail is HARD. These horses dont have time off from Jan to June. In fact, they actually only have a couple of months off from summer of their 2 year old season until june of their 3 year old season. To me that is more impressive than a horse who got to pick his spots, trained up to the race, had some time off and was able to prepare. Plus in triple crown races you have to beat anywhere up to 20 horses. That is hard to do. Therefor I give a win in the Derby more weight than I do a horse that wins the Whitney, JCGC or Met Mile to name a few.