Deepest Derby Field
 

Since I know some of you are clearly sleeping with your copies of Champions, back issues of The Form, and American Racing Manuals...what year had the deepest field of runners in the Derby?

The Blood-Horse did an article a couple years back saying the '57 Derby was one of the best fields ever assembled.

good luck finding a better field, or a better crop overall.

Just off the top of my head, I think the field for the 2000 Derby was solid.

Fupeg
Aptitude
Captain Steve
More Than Ready
War Chant

lol

1987 and 1985.

Pretty fond of 98 too, but most would disagree.

1997 with Sliver Charm, Free House, Captain Bidgit, and Pulpit was pretty good. Of course 2007 with Street Sense, Hard Spun, and Curlin was also pretty good.

Paul

1988 was very solid:

Winning Colors
Forty Niner
Risen Star
Proper Reality
Seeking the Gold
Regal Classic
Private Terms

I'll say '57 as well....Bold Ruler ( Secretariats sire ) , Round Table, Iron Liege, Federal Hill and Gen. Duke. Dont forget, this was the Derby that Shoemaker misjudged the finish line on Gallant Man ( ala Desormeaux and Elvis at Keeneland ).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bButu4X_ack

I don't think there's any doubt that the deepest Derby field from this decade coming into the race was 2001.

Point Given dismantled the Santa Anita Derby field.

Monarchos dismantled the Florida Derby field.

Congaree dismantled Monarchos and everyone else in the Wood Memorial

Balto Star was coming into the race having won the 600K Spiral by 13 lengths with a 112 Beyer and the Arkansas Derby by 5 lengths with a 109 Beyer in his final two starts.

Millennium Wind came into the race after dismantling the Blue Grass stakes field with a 114 Beyer figure.

Express Tour came into that race with an amazing victory over Street Cry at 9fs in the UAE Derby. The older Lido Palace, who was 3rd beaten 6 lengths in that race, would come to America and sweep the Woodward and Whitney later that summer. Street Cry romped in the Dubai World Cup over that same track the next year.

And Thunder Blitz came into that race having romped to a 7 length victory in the Flamingo Stakes in his final prep.

There were some scary sharp horses coming into that race - and the pace of that race was absolutely ruthless! Monarchos and the grinding Invisible Ink were the only two left not fully run into the ground by that killer pace.

man i miss that race!

2008......lol!

1987
ALYSHEBA
BET TWICE
CRYPTOCLEARANCE
GULCH
CAPOTE
DEMON'S BEGONE

I think '87 was certainly the best in my lifetime.
Primarily because of the ones you mentioned of course, but I am also pretty sure that On the Line was in the Derby that year too, and he was a very good horse at ages 3, 4, and 5.

i heard that race replay yesterday...that was a thrilling race. of course the caller missed alysheba clipping heels and almost going down.

actually, grindstones field is nothing to sneeze at.

That's a lot of championship caliber horses right there.

Where have all the good horses gone?

1987 and 1988 do it for me. Not just for what those two had done up to and including the Derby but for how good they were after. I remember Seeking the Gold and Forty Niner putting on those two great shows in the Haskell and Travers and then STG running with Alysheba down the lane in the Classic. Too bad Risen Star couldn't finish out the year. And as good as that 1987 field was, remember that it was missing Java Gold, Lost Code, and Polish Navy. That was a deep class.

And the next year wasn't bad either. Flying Continental went on to have an extremely good post-Derby career. Hawkster and Clever Trevor both had very nice careers too. Awe Inspiring was another very talented colt in the Derby field that year.
And of course, the race also featured the horses I would rank 1-2 in any list of best horses in the last 25 years.

1987-1989 was an absolutely fabulous 3-year stretch in this sport.

1989
Sunday Silence
Easy Goer


Nuff said

Is your name Matt?