"fan favorite all-time Thoroughbreds bracket challenge"

[Calzone Lord]

3-seed John Henry VS 14-seed Citation

In 1999 Timeform's handicappers rated the best American horses of the last century that lead with the following:

Secretariat 144 pounds
Citation 142 pounds
Spectacular Bid 141 pounds
Man O' War 139 pounds

Citation is seeded much lower than Prarie Bayou and Exterminator.

[KirisClown]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

I'm surprised Afleet Alex and Funny Cide didn't make the list.

You have to go down a little more to find Afleet Alex..


8s: Silver Charm, Frankel, Shackleford, Point Given
9s: Afleet Alex, A.P. Indy, Go For Wand, Prairie Bayou
10s: LAVA MAN, Buckpasser, Exterminator, With Anticipation

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by KirisClown

You have to go down a little more to find Afleet Alex..


8s: Silver Charm, Frankel, Shackleford, Point Given
9s: Afleet Alex, A.P. Indy, Go For Wand, Prairie Bayou
10s: LAVA MAN, Buckpasser, Exterminator, With Anticipation

Shackleford? Look, he's a beautiful horse, but when fans list their favorites of all time, I doubt he comes up for most people.

Where is everybody looking? I went to his FB page, didn't see the 8-10s and his website itself, and I didn't see the bracket referenced at all.

[Cannon Shell]

Prarie Bayou?

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Prarie Bayou?

Yeah man, I saw that one and thought the same thing.

Talk about random.

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Yeah man, I saw that one and thought the same thing.

Talk about random.

Yeah I liked him a lot, but still, don't know what that's about. I, too, am aboard the Strike the Gold train. He wins the Derby after we lose Alydar, and STG was my first Derby pick partly cuz I was a mess after that.

It's hard to think through all horses ever and bust out my favorites because that's just such a wide net and some are already up there. Gonna have to really brainstorm. Some that come to mind so far: Skip Away, Evening Attire, Fourstars Allstar, Stymie, Gun Bow, Azeri, Real Quiet, Free House, Happy Ticket, Megahertz, Blind Luck, Lakeway, Lite Light (because hey, MC Hammer at the Oaks?). There's more, and I'm not really thinking of them to rank, just embracing nostalgia.

Bold Forbes is a personal favorite because I got to see him, John Henry, and Forego at the KY Horse Park and BF was such a total ham. Might've told this story before, but he saw me trying to take a picture so he ran around in a big circle in his paddock to find the best light (swear to God) then struck a pose. Pre-digital cameras and no idea where the film went. Grr.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Yeah man, I saw that one and thought the same thing.

Talk about random.

One of the more bizarre lists I've ever seen.

Citation and Whirlaway had two of the greatest 3yo seasons of all-time and both horses were tremendously popular in their day ... and neither appear in the top 10 seeds.

Yet, Exterminator -- who was much older and less popular is on the list.

[KirisClown]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

Shackleford? Look, he's a beautiful horse, but when fans list their favorites of all time, I doubt he comes up for most people.

Where is everybody looking? I went to his FB page, didn't see the 8-10s and his website itself, and I didn't see the bracket referenced at all.

On closer inspection it does seem a little "out there". Here is the link for 8-10 http://www.facebook.com/permalink.ph...86665558059885

[Thoroughbred Fan]

Seabiscuit anyone?

[Danzig]

since most people anymore seem to suffer from some form of add, and yesterday is ancient history(and if it isn't on f/b it didn't happen)....one would have to figure it'll come down to smarty, zenyatta and rachel. some of my all time favorites aren't on the list-and a few wouldn't be on any list other than one i put together. paulickreport assumes only big name horses can be fan faves, and that's far from the case.

[slotdirt]

Big Brown? Didn't people love to hate Big Brown more than actually love Big Brown?

The Prairie Bayou thing boggles the mind. Just thinking of horses who ran in the Triple Crown series alone since 1993, Thunder Gulch, Fusaichi Pegasus, even freaking Giacomo were probably more popular than Prairie Bayou. Of horses who left us prematurely, Go for Wand was surely a more popular horse than Prairie Bayou.

[Calzone Lord]

Horses who haven't raced in almost 100 years like Man O' War and Exterminator don't have "fans" -- scarecy anyone still alive has even witnessed them.

And if they are included, where do you draw the line?

Salvator ("the horse of the century") from the 1890's -- he had negro folk songs about him, one of the great writers in the DRF used his name as a pen name, he always attracted huge crowds.

Old Rosebud "the courages cripple" was at least as popular with racing fans than any horse from his time period (Man O' War and Exterminator included) Equipoise was also very popular.

[Calzone Lord]

Carbine -- born in 1885 -- finished 2nd to Phar Lap in the all-time Melbourne Cup simulation based on the polling of 22 "experts" of the turf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM5eV...feature=g-vrec

Good race call.

[alysheba4]

snow cheif had a big fan base but that was a long time ago

[joeydb]

They forgot "The Green Monkey"