Does a race horse have rivals???

[ELA]

Originally Posted by oracle80

Eric,
I assume you are referring to the legendary "races" they conducted with one another in the paddocks?
I've heard people at the farm would sit and watch them go and make side bets on them.
I wish someone had them on tape.

I heard about those as well. There are some great stories out there. The one I was talking about was the day Affirmed arrived at Calumet. I am sure the story has been dramatized over the years but it was an interesting story nevertheless.

I don't know anything about horses trying harder specifically because another specific horse was in the race. However, it would not be hard for me to believe that certain horses, like in the case of Alydar and Affirmed, might have "brought out the best" in each other. Maybe it's semantics.

Eric