Top Thoroughbreds (2000 to present)

[Calzone Lord]

In 1999, Bloodhorse produced a 'List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century' rating horses who competed from 1900 through 1999.

The list was assembled by a 7 person panel made up of two racing secretaries, two stewards, and three writers (Jay Hovdey, William Nack, and Jennie Rees)

The list was so badly flawed in a lot of ways... but it could have been a lot worse.

Only 2 horses who raced at all from 1900 through 1912 made the top 93. Colin (#15) and Sysonby (#30)

Hermis was a very odd exclusion from the top 100. Hermis was the Horse of All Ages (or Horse of the Year) in both 1902 and 1903 -- and he was the retrospective champion handicap horse of 1904. He won the single most important race of his day (The Suburban Handicap) in front of over 50,000 people in stakes record time. He also won the Travers and a lot of other important races as well over a career that saw him win 28 of 55 career starts.

Historically , these ratings have come down to nothing more than impressions, press focus, win/loss records, and success in famous races.

The 3-year-old male division has always been the glamor division...and there has been nothing at all glamorous about its leaders since 2000. Other than Zenyatta, this will likely be an utterly forgotten about collection of horses when any lists are compiled in the year 2099.


Here are my current rankings for the top horses by division from 2000 to present based on North American form.


2yo Male: Uncle Mo, War Pass, Macho Uno, Stevie Wonderboy
2yo Female: Tempera, Storm Flag Flying, Halfbrideld, My Miss Aurelia
2yo Turf Male: Barbaro, Peace Rules, Interactif, Cowboy Cal
2yo Turf Female: Dreaming of Anna, J'Ray, Fantastic Filly, Winter Memories
2yo Male Sprinter: Officer, Came Home, Afleet Alex, Roman Ruler
2yo Female Sprinter: Cashier's Dream, Beholder, You, Hot Dixie Chick,

3yo Male: Smarty Jones, Tiznow, Point Given, Bernardini
3yo Female: Rachel Alexandra, Rags To Riches, Blind Luck, Royal Delta
3yo Turf Male: Kitten's Joy, Conduit, High Chaparral, Rock Of Gibraltor,
3yo Turf Female: Banks Hill, Ouija Board, Goldikova, Six Perfections
3yo Male Sprinter: Caller One, Squirtle Squirt, Lost In The Fog, Cajun Beat
3yo Female Sprinter: Xtra Heat, Indian Blessing, Madcap Escapade, Lady Tak
Older Male: Ghostzapper, Mineshaft, Medaglia D' Oro, Congaree
Older Female: Zenyatta, Azeri, Havre De Grace, Riboletta,
Older Turf Male: Fantastic Light, Leroidesanemeaux, Wise Dan, English Channel,
Older Turf Female: Godikova, Ouija Board, Golden Apples, Voodoo Dancer
Older Male Sprinter: Kona Gold, Midnight Lute, Swept Overboard, Fabulous Strike
Older Female Sprinter: Groupie Doll, Xtra Heat, Honest Lady, Informed Decision,

[10 pnt move up]

Given how US racing has moved towards sprinters its a weak group of sprinters there, I mean Cajun Beat and LITF are nice horses but hardly the type I think would have competed with the horses of the 80's and 90's.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by 10 pnt move up

Given how US racing has moved towards sprinters its a weak group of sprinters there, I mean Cajun Beat and LITF are nice horses but hardly the type I think would have competed with the horses of the 80's and 90's.

Those are 3-year-old sprinters.

A lot of potentially top class 3yo sprinters are ruined by their connections who try to impose their will on these horses to make them routers.

In rare cases (Afleet Alex for instance) -- trainers can be successful on imposing their will and transforming a horse who really just wants to sprint into becoming a top class route horse.

In some cases -- horses will survive their failed attempts to be made into a router and revert back to sprinting with great success. Groovy, Artax etc. etc. etc.

[cmorioles]

I doubt Groupie Doll could have beaten Xtra Heat very often at 6f.

[cmorioles]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

In some cases -- horses will survive their failed attempts to be made into a router and revert back to sprinting with great success. Groovy, Artax etc. etc. etc.

Trinniberg, though of course it was only one route race.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by cmorioles

I doubt Groupie Doll could have beaten Xtra Heat very often at 6f.

I would agree -- though Xtra Heat's best form came in the second half of her 3yo season...where she utterly exploded number wise.

Comparing her 4 and up form with Groupie Doll's 4 and up form, I give a slight edge to Groupie Doll.

[OldDog]

That's a great compilation. I am curious, though, why Lava Man doesn't survive the cut for older male.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by OldDog

That's a great compilation. I am curious, though, why Lava Man doesn't survive the cut for older male.

It's Ghostzapper and everyone else in the category of older male form.

Ghostzapper was utterly sensational in every start at age 4 and up.

Slots 2 through about 15 aren't separated by much. A horse like Invasor probably has the strongest claim of all that have missed the cut... though if you excuse Lava Man's non So. Cal form ... he's strongly in the mix with several others.

Horses like Curlin and Tiznow are hurt by the divisional structure ... both of them are strongly in the hunt for the claim of best 3yo ... and both of them had successful 4yo seasons...though not good enough to make the top 4 on their older horse form IMO.

Tiznow and Curlin would rate above Mineshaft imo from a generic sense ... but not on a strict comparison of age 4 and up form VS age 4 and up form.

[OldDog]

I hear you. He's in good company to be with the likes of Invasor in not making the cut.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

Those are 3-year-old sprinters.

A lot of potentially top class 3yo sprinters are ruined by their connections who try to impose their will on these horses to make them routers.

In rare cases (Afleet Alex for instance) -- trainers can be successful on imposing their will and transforming a horse who really just wants to sprint into becoming a top class route horse.

In some cases -- horses will survive their failed attempts to be made into a router and revert back to sprinting with great success. Groovy, Artax etc. etc. etc.

Artax was far from being just a sprinter.

He was probably a better router actually.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by OldDog

I hear you. He's in good company to be with the likes of Invasor in not making the cut.

I suppose Congaree might be a stretch in the #4 spot ... but he did something truly rare in this last dozen years ... and that is hold top class form for a full calendar year while campaigning extremely hard and traveling all over.




The funny thing about Congaree... people would say "he didn't like 10 furlongs"

He beat the crap out of Harlan's Holiday when he won the Hollywood Gold Cup at 10fs. He was beaten in the last jump by 2-time Big Cap winner Milwuakee Brew in the Big Cap, but it was a big effort. He gave 5lbs to the horse he lost the photo finish to and Pleasantly Perfect was back in 4th with no excuse.

Congaree's 4th in the BC Classic was excellent as well. He dueled Medaglia D' Oro hard from the outside the whole way, through fast fractions, and was right there at the finish.

[Indian Charlie]

Candy Ride should have been included in older males, and probably older turf males too.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Artax was far from being just a sprinter.

He was probably a better router actually.

A claim made on impression that can't be backed up.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Candy Ride should have been included in older males, and probably older turf males too.

His lack of durability hurt him.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

A claim made on impression that can't be backed up.

Well, you really can't back up anything you assert in this thread.

However, he did break his maiden by like 10 going long.

His next start, he lost the HP Futurity to Real Quiet by a nose or so.

His early 3yo season form, all routes, was outstanding, all while developing anemia and being trained by Randy Bradshaw, perhaps the worst trainer in Southern California history. By the time the classics rolled around, he was a wreck.

Anyone who races a horse while knowing its anemic should receive electro shock therapy.

Do you need me to define anemia for you? His races against RQ and IC at that time were utterly fantastic considering.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

His lack of durability hurt him.

Really? Seriously?

Shall I go through your list and see how many I can apply that statement to?

Candy Ride would have smoked almost every single horse on your list, and you know it.

How durable was Bodemeister, btw?

[Calzone Lord]

It's a shame Artax was wasted in sprint races, I suppose.

When he was drilling superstar sprinters like Kona Gold and Big Jag while breaking Mr. Prospector's track record at GP and running monster number after monster number ... he could have been doing so much more in route races.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Really? Seriously?

Shall I go through your list and see how many I can apply that statement to?

Candy Ride would have smoked almost every single horse on your list, and you know it.

How durable was Bodemeister, btw?

Bodemeister isn't on the list. I rated him the 4th best 3yo since 2010 even though I think he was the most talented.

Candy Ride had one great performance on dirt and one on turf ... part of being a great horse means coming back from big performances and repeating them.

[parsixfarms]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Anyone who races a horse while knowing its anemic should receive electro shock therapy.

Consider who owned Artax. Not exactly known for having the welfare of the horse as a top priority.

[Calzone Lord]

Artax's final race was the 1999 Breeders Cup Sprint, if anyone is wondering why he's not on the list of sprinters.

Indian Charlie's list would be made up of mostly all cripples. Which is fine, if you don't consider durability an important trait.