I was so crazy about horse racing when I was 10... I couldn't have been "into" it at a better time! I liked Affirmed but I was rooting for Alydar. The Seventies were so awesome for racing.
The horse that deserved the attention Alydar got was Sham. Sham would have been a triple crown winner had Secretariat not been there. He broke the Derby record with Secretariat.
That's debatable considering Alydar didn't live very long due to an accident after his retirement. But he was considered a great sire with babies like Alysheba and Easy Goer. Affirmed tended to sire good turf horses. So it's really just preference.
Both Affirmed and Alydar can trace their roots back to the indomitable Native Dancer on the paternal side. Some say that bloodlines do make a difference. But, there are exceptions. Take Seattle Slew and Secretariat for example. Secretariat, unfortunately had his struggles in the breeding shed, while Slew was one of the greatest sires of all time. Sometimes, you just don't know.
@ewd76 Although not a historian per se, I am a long-time racing aficionado, e.g., I remember watching on TV as Northern Dancer won the 1964 Derby, as well as watching Lucky Debonair in '65, Kauai King in '66, Proud Clarion & Barb's Delight upsetting Damascus in '67 ... I can't recall any rivalry in Horse racing as compelling as Affirmed v Alydar, and therefore don't understand your post.
@ewd76 Seems to me that rivalries are always noteworthy because championships are involved: there are currently 2 horses running for the barn of Mike Harrington in Southern California: Hi Ho Yodeler & Swiss Wild Cat. Both are Stakes winning 2 year olds & seem to take turns beating each other: by definition their relationship comprises a "rivalry", but nobody is going to notice them as, although they're nice horses, no TC races are in their futures. One man's opinion.
I have seen every race. Between those 2 affirmed won about 90% of the time. It would be 93% of the time if Affirmed didnt cut alydar off that one time.
@carlykaiser You may wanna update your video comment (Also, a note re your Twitter profile: I'm actually one of the people who cashed a win ticket on Dancer's Image in the '68 Derby - @LogicRules55)
@rcschumann Hmm. Riva Ridge? decentt, I suppose. (rabbit for Secrt.?). Alright--but out of the money 9 x?; Cougar II lifetime was 50 starts, 20-7-1; Proveout, alright (but a Spear Carrier for Kelso and Secrt.) at 39 starts?: 9-6-4 (YOU be the judge); Kennedy Road--a hard-trying 45:17-12-3 (13 times x out of the $). Oh--and Key to The Mint, who became 3-yr old Champ. .. with but a Preakness 3rd & a Belmont 4th. By contrast, Affirmed faced either by Alydar, Slew, or The 'Bid in 12 of his 29 starts
@ewd76 At the risk of offending Sham's fans, he wasn't remotely the equal of Alydar. (And would have been hard pressed to get the better of Believe It, or even Sensitive Prince). The comparison is without merit, in my opinion. Then too, Secretariat's recorded times & celebrated margins of victory can be viewed with jaundiced eye--in context not only of Small Fields, Well Beaten (and arguably No Longer Trying), but inasmuch as Secretariat towered over a relatively soft crop of three-year olds.
