[sham]

To me, "great" and "all time great" have different connotations. There can be many great horses but few all time greats. Following are resumes for three all time greats. Perhaps requirements could be set by examining their accomplishments.

SECRETARIAT
- 21 starts, 16 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, 1 fourth
- 5 Eclipse awards, 2yo champ, 3yo champ, grass champ, HOY (2 times)
- Triple crown winner
- Set track record in all three triple crown races (1:59:2...1:53:2...2:24:0)
- Set 5 track records and 1 course record as a 3yo, two of those were world records (3 TR's still stand; 33 years and counting; 10F-1:59:2-Churchill Downs, 12F-2:24:0-Belmont Park, 9F-1:45:2- Belmont Park)
- Published workouts still remain the fastest ever
- Ran astounding fractions to win the Derby. Each successive fraction was faster than the previous (25:1...24:0...23:4...23:2...23:0). No Derby horse before or since comes close to his final closing quarter of 23 flat…an amazing display of unmatched stamina
- Ran the Belmont in 2:24 flat, won by 31 lengths...a full 2 seconds (12 lengths) faster than any other horse that has run in the Belmont. Still stands as the WR for 12fl on dirt. The fractions were absolutely astounding, 23:3...46:1...1:09:4...134:1...1:59:0...2:24:0…aga in an amazing display of unmatched stamina
- Destroyed a field of the best older handicap horses in North America in the Marlboro Cup in world record time of 1:45:2 which still stands as the 9fl track record at Belmont Park
- Won his last two and only starts on grass, unchallenged, against strong fields of older handicap grass horses
- And most compelling of all, Secretariat remains the standard by which all other racing horses are measured

The Bid
- 30 starts, 26 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third
- Champion 2-year-old male, 1978
- Champion 3-year-old male, 1979
- Horse of the Year, champion older male, 1980
- 1980 race record: 9 starts, 9 wins, $1,117,790
- Retired as racing's all-time leading earning in North America
- Record in grade 1 races: 15 starts, 13 wins, 1 second, 1 third
- Set or tied eight track records from 5 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/4 miles
- Still holds American dirt record for 1 1/4 miles, 1:57 4/5 set in Charles H. Strub Stakes (gr.1) at Santa Anita on Feb, 3, 1980
- Final race was a walkover in the Woodward Stakes (gr.1) on Sept. 20, 1980
- Elected to racing's Hall of Fame in 1982

He won grade I stakes on the lead and he won coming from 10 lengths back. He ran seven furlongs in a near-world-record 1:20 flat and 1 1/4 miles in an American and world record 1:57 4/5, a time which has not been equaled on dirt in 26 years. He broke seven track records and equaled another, and he did it at 2 , 3, and 4. As a 2-year-old, he won the World's Playground Stakes at Atlantic City by 15 lengths, running the seven furlongs over a dead racetrack under wraps in an astounding 1:20 4/5.

He won at 15 different racetracks in nine different states, and carried 130 pounds or more to victory five times. To demonstrate his dominance, and the respect the public had for him, he was sent off at odds of 1-20, that's 1-20, an unheard of eight times, and 1-10 six times. Beginning with the World's Playground, he won 24 of 26 starts, rattling off 12-race and 10-race winning streaks, while facing such classy grade I winners as Flying Paster, General Assembly, Coastal, Glorious Song, Cox's Ridge, and Golden Act. His only two defeats came at 1 1/2 miles, when he stepped on a safety pin the morning of the Belmont, almost losing his foot after a bad infection set in, and in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, when he was beaten by Hall of Famer Affirmed after being forced to miss his prep in the Woodward Stakes due to a virus.

JOHN HENRY
Voted 7 Eclipse Awards
Voted Horse of the Year 1981 and 1984
Only horse to win Horse of the Year more than once but not in consecutive years
Voted Champion Older Horse 1981
Oldest horse to win Horse of the Year - at age 9
Oldest horse to win a Grade 1 race - at age 9
Voted Champion Turf Horse - 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984
Won 30 stakes races
Only horse to win the Arlington Million(G1) twice - 1981 & 1984
Only horse to win the Santa Anita Handicap(G1) twice - 1981 & 1982 (has been tied, Milwaukee Brew)
Won more grade stakes than any other Thoroughbred - 25
Voted racehorse of the decade for the 1980's
Still the richest gelding of any breed in history
Retired as the world's richest thoroughbred - July 28, 1985
Inducted into Racing's Hall of Fame in 1990
Voted 23rd best racehorse of the 20th Century