Breakfast of Champions

I'd like to see a show of hands from those who have been playing The BloodHorse's March Into May game (a sort of March Madness type bracket where horse racing greats are pitted against one another in a public opinion poll of ultimate greatness) who did not think from the outset that the final round would come down to a match race between classic American hero Man o' War and ESPN's 35th greatest athlete of the 20th century, Secretariat. As for me, clicking upon the link to the final round this morning, I was not at all surprised. Notably, I could have also predicted that Seattle Slew and Citation would arrange themselves comfortably into the 3rd and 4th positions; and Spectacular Bid was the only choice to surprise me from the round of 8. Ah, if only real March Madness brackets were this easy to predict, I'd be rich.

It's pretty much undisputed among horse racing fans (at least, those in America) that Big Red was the greatest horse of all time, but the question which does often get bandied about is "Which one?" As I stated, ESPN chimed in with their selection, naming only one racehorse to their top 50 athletes and devoting a hour long documentary to Secretariat, despite cries by sports fans that it was a travesty to choose a horse over a human. The Blood Horse staff had their say in Thoroughbred Champions, choosing the great Man o' War instead.

Both colts were clearly the best of their generation. Both won sprint races and routes, on dirt and grass, against older competition, breaking long standing records and making it all look easy. Both were Horse of the year; neither raced at 4 or beyond. Both were regally bred. They were similar in size; both huge- Man o' War reached 16'2 hands and topped the scales at 1125 pouds, while Secretariat was 16'2 hands and 1200 pounds (remind me to explain about 'hands' someday to the n00bs, let's just say for now that both horses were approximately 5 feet 6 inches at the top of their shoulders). Both passed on their greatness into quality stakes winning offspring. And, though probably the least important comparison, the most often remarked upon: they were both striking chestnuts, glowing like firebrands in their respective eras.

So who do I pick? Well, growing up I was a huge Man o' War fan. It's impossible to ignore a horse with a record of 20-1-0 in 21 starts, a horse that once won a race by a hundred lengths, a horse that, though he didn't win the Triple Crown, almost certainly would have if his owner had actually entered him in the Kentucky Derby.

For here was a horse among horses,
Cast in a Titan's mold
And the slant October sunlight
Gilded the living gold*

And Secretariat? He finished with a record of 16-3-1 in 21 starts. He won the Triple Crown, and set the record time for each of its races (though the Preakness time is debateable). His performance in the Belmont stakes, setting the world record for a mile and a half and leaving his opponets 31 lengths in his dust, still stands at the apogee of many sportmen's greatest moments. If he wasn't "th' mostess horse", then certainly he was his reincarnation.

He's a chestnut colt, and he's got a star-
He may be another Man o' War.

The kicker for me is the fact that the two grew up in vastly different times. When Man o' War was foaled in 1917, there were less than 2,000 throroughbred's registered; a testament to the fact that even the racing elite had something else to think about during World War I. In 1970, when Secretariat was foaled, there were more than 10 times that many foals. That makes for significantly greater competition. Additionally, and probably the final determiner, is the question of medication. And by that, I don't mean the generally benign medication associated with Lasix or Bute. Man o' War was raised in a time when drug testing was an impossibility, and was reputed to be one of the largest heroin abusers at the track. Baseball fans shake their heads at comparisons between the steroid pumped sport-stars of today and the baseball greats of yester-year; with horse racing we have the exact opposite problem.

I choose Secretariat. Feel free to argue with me.

* Taken from "Big Red" a poem originally printed in The Blood Horse in 1937, and which I dutifully memorized as a young girl.

Nay, say it aloud--be shameless.
Dream and hope and yearn,
For there's never a man among you
But waits for his return.

Still waiting...

In other news

- Holy cow, did you see Big Brown? Probably not; he was moving that fast. For those too lazy to click the link, he went 5 furlongs in 58.60. Read below for a more in depth understanding of that sort of speed. I might have to reassess my opinion of him.

- Almost forgot to mention Mr. Mistoffelees (Storm Cat-Country Romance, Saint Ballado), who sold for $1.5 million a couple months ago after breezing an eighth of a mile in 10 1/5 at a two-year old in training sale, lived up to his price tage and took his maiden race field by storm. For his racing debut over 4.5 furlongs at Keenland, he started out with an opening quarter mile in 21.48, followed by a four furlong time of 43.89, and drew off to win by 9 1/4 lengths. A budding superstar? Only time will tell.