Horse Racing Fantasy Community

One loss in 22 career starts, but it was a big one!Native Dancer did nearly everything a horse is supposed to do. He's a Hall-of-Famer, a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer if we're talking in baseball terms, which we're not, but never mind. So why isn't he more fondly remembered?

Only three fillies have won the Kentucky Derby in it's illustrious history. The first was Regret way back in 1915. Many racing historians have made the case that Regret's victory put the Derby on the map as the marquee race in North America, but we're not here to talk about that.

Most people know that Bold Ruler and Round Table were two of the greatest sires in the 20th Century. Bold Ruler has the edge in star power because he sired Secretariat, but Round Table also sired many great horses, including champions Apalachee and Royal Glint.

Holy Bull won Horse of the Year in 1994. He was so good that he won the award despite skipping the Breeders' Cup. Cigar won Horse of the Year in 1995 and 1996. These two horses, both Hall-of-Famers, both seemed on the way to an Affirmed/Alydar type of rivalry in 1995, and much was written about their first-ever head-to-head competition in the 1995 Donn Handicap.

The Jockey Club Gold Cup was, for much of it's history, a 2 mile race. Then it was decreased to 1.5 miles. Now it's a mile and a quarter. In our online racing game today, I decided to extend on of my all-time favorite horses, Dr. Fager, past his usual range. The good Doctor was a very versatile horse. He could carry weight with the best of them.

Watch him just walk home in the '95 Gulfstream Park Handicap!

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile was quite exciting on Saturday. Yes, Midshipman won the race and he is a fine horse, but the best horse in the race didn't win. Midshipman's jockey Garrett Gomez was masterful down the stretch, not allowing Square Eddie and Rafael Bejarano to squeeze through on the rail.

Answer me this question: When has horse racing encountered a season in which the two best and most high-profile horses on the planet had a chance to square off for an entire season?

Because there is so much money at stake in today's racing, the best thoroughbreds don't race all that much anymore. I mean, Curlin is the all-time money leader and how many races does he have? 15 coming into the Classic?

And it lived up to it's hype!