Thank you. So good to see the great Seattle Slew on this list. I was at Belmont in 1977 and witnessed his fantastic win that day. If there is ever to be another great Horse movie...the story of Seattle Slew...would be most compelling. He was a Triple Crown winner who fought back after a serious viral infection to race as a four-year old and beat that year's triple-crown winner...Affirmed . The ups and downs of this great horse's career...simply wow!
Slew has been my favorite racehorse since he won the Triple Crown in 1977. He also was one of North America's most prolific sires. Two of my favorite Slew creations are Tiznow, the only two-time Breeder's Cup Classic winner, and Lava Man, the greatest claimer in history. Love Slew!!!
@@lizetteingersoll4192 Yep -- a Triple Crown winning horse should always be at the very top. But people who make these lists are subject to their own opinions.
You left off one of the greatest horses of all time, Kelso, horse of the year 7 times, the first horse to win over 2 million in earnings. Just a horse with tremendous heart, and strength.
I'd still put my money on MOW. He ran in an age with less nutrition and physical aids. He wore steel shoes and made to carry 138 lbs because no horse wanted race him. I hope some day they will make a quality movie about him. Lost only one race because, with no starting gate, he was turned backwards when the bell rung. Only lost that race by a length
I agree with you. For many years I thought Secretariat was the greatest race horse who ever lived. After a lot of research, I still think he's one of the best for that incredible summer that he had. For what he did on the track and in the breeding shed, I think MOW was the greatest of them all.
Seabiscuit should have been higher on this list. I actually think he should have been 2nd. He was saddled with more weight than any other horse was asked to do & still won. Look up your history or better yet, read the book Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand, who really did her research. Happy to see Phar Lap on the list. But Northern Dancer should have been on it, too. He was one of the greatest ever.
Here here, most young fans of the sport, forget the great DANCER 1964, look up his race record, his time in the DERBY, versus the last 60 years of racing, and you will get the message, he was the alpha male.
Strongly Agree! Whirlaway was the only horse to win the TC and the Travers Stakes. No horses ever achieved this. Whirlaway was the 1941 and 1942 Horse of the Year. Unlike most other TC winners, Whirlawy competed, very successfully, until the poor horse was broken. If not the best racehorse of all time, Whirlaway definitely belongs to the top 5 racehorses.
It's AMERICAN. They are only just beginning to realise the world is a bigger place outside of their borders. They don't even know HYPERION, ECLIPSE etc etc.
Whilst I have no real complains about your list of "Racing Greats", Amigo..and SECRETARIAT for his legenadry wins and winning race times,especially in the 1973 American Triple Crown series, which to this day have never been equalled let alone beaten. However I do feel that Racing Champion "NIJINSKY", certainly deserved a mention at the very least..!!
Northern Dancer, would be #1 on my list. Because he also had an exceptional race record. But, also became the preeminent foundation sire of the breed this century. Frankel, is his great grandson.
Couldn't agree with you more, he is the grestest, was bred to be great, he raced and his RECORD, shows it, with his right front always bothering him, the DANCER won the FLAMINGO, FLORIDA DERBY, BLUE GRASS, KENTUCKY DERBY, PREAKNESS, QUEENS PLATE, REMSEN at 2, still officially a two year old, born May 27 1961, trainers around the WORLD, know of his importance, not some two bit handicapper that makes up a phony list, get real and wake up.
Glad to see the Seabiscuit is so far up the list. This little horse with more perserverance than any other horse before him or after him.. In the beginniinng they ran this horses legs off and even with a career ending injury he came back to win one last race. He beat the Triple Crown winner handily War Admiral, a giant in the horse world. Heard so many conflicting reports about how much was paid, $2, 000.00 - $7,000.00. Maybe someone can answer nthat question definitively! Unfortunately Pharlap never got his due because bookmakers didn't want to pay out whenever he ran so thyey poisoned him.
I believe that Hillenbrand wrote in her book that the owner paid $7500 for Seabiscuit. But I'm not 100% positive. The poor horse was physically and mentally worn out when he was purchased, but the trainer and horse had an almost instant connection when they first looked at each other "eye to eye".
A very nice list. I would have included Dr. Fager & Kelso on the top 10 list. And even though he was not "top 10 fastest", for sheer heart, longevity and his iron will.... John Henry.
There are at least FIFTY american horses who were FAR better than Zenyatta...Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, Alysheba, Easy Goer, Holy Bull,Forego, Damascus,Ghost Zapper and FLIGHTLINE etc....Zenyatta would've got beaten by all of them...
Great list. No arguments. But NORTHERN DANCER turned out to be the most pre-potent, important sire of the 20th century and should be in there somewhere. IMO...
Agree with Secretariat , Man o War 1-2 Seattle slew would be higher than 10 ? Sea-bird would have been top 10 Spectacular Bid and Nijinsky also 👌 Black Caviar and Zenyatta good but not top 10 sorry.
I do have a question about selecting the best baseball player by basing on one season or the entire career. If the selection is based on 1 season or maybe 2 seasons, there are many players who can qualify to be considered as the best player. If the selection is based on a long career with sustained successes, only a handful of players can be mentioned to be the best player. This is also analogous to the selection of the best racehorse. The #1 rated horse here had a very short career. The #10 and #8 horses were horses with proven successful careers.
Tough to validate your argument when the #1 horse on this list ran 21 races in 2&3-year-old campaigns and the #10 horse only ran 17 races in 2,3&4-year-old campaigns. The #8 horse ran 30 total races, back when they weren't afraid to run the horses longer before retiring to stud.
Strange to see so many comments about Northern Dancer. The title of the video says greatest racehorses, not greatest stallions. He was an exceptional runner, but not top 10 all time. Now, his maternal grandfather, Native Dancer, is another matter. My personal choice for the GOAT.
Dr. Fager was the fastest horse who ever lived and even after almost dying of colic when he was three, went on to win four separate divisions of Horse Of The Year in his 4 year old season. No horse in the history of the sport can match that record which just confirms that he was the most versatile horse who ever lived as well.
Dr. Fager was great, no question about it, but as a 4 year old, legends win as 2 and 3 year olds, and sadly retired to stud, for better or worse, the Greatest is NORTHERN DANCER, not fager, not citation, not goose rump sec, look at the record racing and breeding.
@@tonynaccarato4751 Breeding and racing are two different things, for the mare involved is very important and probably more so than the male. Problem is that great mares can supply so few offspring compared to males. In a match race, there wasn't a horse alive who could match weight with Dr. Fager and beat him. Trainer Nerud said that no horse could hook Fager on a turn and get the lead on him. To carry 134 lbs and run a mile in 132.1, while carrying 134 lbs, while winning 'eased up' by 10 lengths is a record for the ages. The one mile distance is considered the yardstick for rating the fastest horse, and who could carry 134 lbs and do what 'The Good Doctor' did? Add to his 'Sprint' Championship, 'Grass Champ', 'Handicap Champ' and 'Overall Horse Of the Year', is a record that no one has or will ever match. He was the most versatile horse of all time.
@@ridgemanron agree with you 100%, but do you know that the greatest yardstick for greatness is also having 1 chance at immortality, by and in NORTHERN DANCER, case his front right bothered him his whole life, he had the expetimental patch in 1964 for the derby, he was born may 27 1961, very late foal, with no excuses, he wins the REMSEN at 2, then early 1964 he wins the FLAMINGO, FLORIDA DERBY, BLUE GRASS, KENTUCKY DERBY, TRACK RECORD, PREAKNESS, still in most horsemens eyes as a 2 year old, all his races he was handicapped, hurt for the belmont, still ran 3rd with 3 good feet, wins the QUEENS PLATE, was getting ready for the TRAVERS, and he got sick and was retired. Never out of the money, won 14 out of 18 races, he is the horse of the last 300 years, and in breeding, yes the mare matters, but dont kid yourself he and all the trainers and owners for the last 60 years know, the DANCER, is the alpha male, no question, no matter how you spin it, dancer changed the breed for the better.
@@tonynaccarato4751 A horse is not a fully developed equine until he reaches full maturity which comes at 4 years of age. Dancer's connections had access to the greatest mares available and I wouldn't minimize that part of the equation. If Dancer was, as you mention, a late foal, you know his development was more advanced than that of the birth of normal foals showing 'technically' the same age. That's why it is important for a horse to show his ability at 4, for that places all competitors on equal footing. Sunny Jim Fitzimmons believed the greatest horse he ever saw was Colin and who knew more about horses than him? When Dr. Fager ran his first race in New York and won by the length of the stretch while still running in a 'green' weaving style, Sunny Jim mumbled to Dick Young, a famous racing sportswriter in New York, the name 'Tilly Rose' with regard to what he saw in 'Fager'. Young corrected him by saying that Fager was a product of 'Rough N' Tumble' and 'Aspidistra', not 'Tilly Rose . Sunny Jim walked away continuing to mumble 'Tilly Rose', so when Young returned to his news desk he looked up the ancestry of Dr. Fager, and what name did he find staring him in the face? It was 'Tilly Rose'.
@@ridgemanron your love for fager is wonderful, just like my respect for northern dancer, when your a late foal, your behind in your development, not ahead, so he beat everyone that was older than him, his whole life, thats the litmus test to how great he was, when secretariat in the few races he ran against older, onion and prove out he got beat, but he got better in the fall, NORTHERN DANCER has done things that no other horse has done before or after him.
@@marklewen9384 BS He was the only triple crown winner to beat another (Affirmed) triple crown winner very easily. I think you need to do more of a study on him. With today's training methods he would have been only better. Been in this business 65 years and saw many great horses and he still stands out. By the way he beat affirmed twice.
@@dennispascoe7915 he beat affirmed when affirmed was a 3 year old... BIG difference....Ferdinand beat Alysheba when Alysheba was a 3 yo.. .i was there when the awful DR PATCHES beat seattle slews at the meadowlands. FLIGHTLINE would NEVER lose to Dr Patches. Its you who needs to do more research... Seattle slews effort in the jockey club gold cup was a WORLD CLASS effort, he was a tad inconsistent tho.
I agree. He was the only horse to win the triple crown undefeated in any other race. However, his owners were fools after the triple crown races and it cost him.
He was a Steeplechaser and I think these are flat racers, mostly American, though Frankel gets on their list. Also he was very much a local hero to the UK because of Aintree. But very much the champ as far as I’m concerned.
Red Rum was not a great horse based on racing ability alone, he is mainly renowned for what he did in one race only and it is a handicap and not even the highest class race in UK national hunt racing. Lester Piggott won a race on the flat on Red Rum, yet top class flat horses retire to stud and do not go jump racing.
Rachel Alexandra was better than Zenyatta, who is way overrated and beat no one. Her best Beyer was a 112. The Doc is the fastest horse ever and belongs here. You also forgot The Bid, a champion at 2,3, and 4. And still holds the world record for 1 1/4 miles at 157 4/5.
John Henry? 14 graded stakes winner. winning as a 5 yr old. lost his last graded at gulfstrea as a 5 yr old by a lenghth to the next kentucky derby winner
He might have been, but 6 races against watered down competition is not enough to make him GOAT! Secretariat's triple crown (especially Belmont) plus records all over (& on turf) put him on top! BTW the 31 length Belmont win was Unreal 2.24 & he didn't see the whip either!
Totally agree with Secretariat as the best. It wasn’t just which races he won, it was the times he ran. Secretariat’s best was simply better than any other horse’s best.
Nope. Man O War is like one of the "classic" runners with both stamina and speed described by A. O'Brien as having a stride longer than his body (He was discussing Justify conformation, whch he prefers). Man O' War looks shorter coupled compared to Secretariat, and more muscle than flesh. His stride was longer than Secretariat's, even going by those old stopwatches and crude starts. I read, Man O' War was never opened up; that his stride was measured one night at a cruising gallop, not opened up... So if he put all his speed into his stride, he probably would have lept over Secretariat like a cheetah over the lion. Plus, he remained muscular until old age, much fitter looking. Yes, and he won some race by 100 lengths. So I still have to think he was better than Secretariat. I never saw that silver fire in Secretariat eyes. Man O'War had those firey eyes as a juvenile and as a stallion later. You know he would win in the boxing ring against the red fatty in this photo above. Sorry, Penny!😎
@@dennispascoe7915 no, im a pro and your and idiot. Lady Secret won TEN grade 1s in one year, and ran against boys in grade 1s SIX times....zenyatta ran mostly vs synthetic mutts. Ruffian never ran vs olders so we will never know. Wasn't wrong before or now. Ive forgotten more about this game than you'll ever know.
@@dennispascoe7915 in 1986, after beating the boys 3 times, LADYS SECRET went up against (BC sprint winner and SUPER HORSE)PRECISIONIST twice: in the grade 1 Iselin, then in grade 1 Woodward. Both times in sub 45 fractions LADYS Secret heroically beat PRECISIONIST but got caught late by TURKOMAN and ROO ART. Precisionist, BY FAR, was better than ANY horse Zenyatta or Ruffian ever ran against, EVER. Its why I win soo much: im competing against imbeciles who don't understand the game.
Mark You are the MAN! In 65 years I had 4 losing seasons not bad for an imbecile. Shhh! Don't tell the IRS I made a good living from the game. ? OK I will ask. Your all-time favorite jockey?
THE GREAT NORTHERN DANCER could go with any racehorse from 5 furlongs to a mile and a quarter, with weight, any trainer around the world would tell you that, dont be myopic, look at the real world and not your perception of what might be real.
No females belong on this list. Even those who proved they could run with the best, as Miss Woodford and Busher would have unlike those here. Seabiscuit should not be on this either. A good handicapper who didn’t really push any limits. I’ll put Man O’War ahead of the others any day. 5x at once on the American time record list. At the time he set that record just for being 3x on it, then expanded on it. Speed/endurance demon.
He had a good reason for those clunkers. Usually after one of those clunkers as you say, he would set the track record in the next race. Imagine if we could seen a 4 or 5yo Secretariat run. We did not because GOD's secret would have been out. The track records he would set as a 4 or 5yo would never be surpassed.
@@tonynaccarato4751 flightline won 4 big races. Grade 1 Malibu stakes, Metropolitan Handicap,Pacific Stakes, and The Breeders Cup. He is undefeated and won by more than 8 lengths in the breeders cup against some of the best horses in the 2022 year.
@@winst0n888 Agreed. Whenever I see people talk about the greatest, I remember watching Big Red race at the Belmont *LIVE* ! I have NEVER seen that before or after from any other.
What people fail to get is, this is based on races. It’s not based on their ability to sire. It is based on their racing career. I mean they were great sires like storm cat who didn’t have a great racing career so you have to distinguish it and the 10 best racehorses are for what they do on the track not in the honeymoon suite.
I would replace Black Caviar with Winx…….in her last 30 plus races (all Group races) she took on colts and was unbeaten…..and she won a record number of Cox Plates which is considered Australia’s premier (yes over the Melbourne Cup). Interestingly in her last campaign she won the first ever “Winx Stakes”
@@tonynaccarato4751 Northern dancer was an unbelievable race horse. I was just trying to say that a great race horse becomes a great racehorse on the track. Northern dancer was a great race horses on the track not because of how he sire. Northern dancer was a good sire as well, but his fame as a racehorse came while racing
@@janetgallo5720 thanks janet for your kind words for the dancer, he is dismissed many times as being great because he was 15 hands, but he was a champion in every sense of the word.
Just another useless list of the "greatest" apparently compiled by people who haven't a clue. Zenyatta shouldn't even be among the top 50. How about Sea-Bird, Kelso, Forego, Citation, Dr. Fager, etc, etc? A waste of everyone's time.
