Five greatest horses or your favorite

[joeprunes]

I use to love to see Merry Ruler run, a tiny horse that would come off the pace unbeleivable
AS far as my favorite horse no question about it Forgo.
I went to Aquaduct when they retired her, seen alot of people cry.
Greatest race I ever seen was watching him run the Marlboro Cup in 77 or 76 carrying 136 in pouring monsoon rain from dead last five wide and win. I got chills.
Favorite all time 1) forgo, secreteriot,cigar,seatle slew any many more hard to make top ones...jp

[cj]

My favorites

Broad Brush
Lost Code
Go For Wand
Tiznow
Lil's Lad

[Valuist]

personal favorite for money reasons: Invisible Ink---made a huge difference nosing out Congaree for second at 55-1 in the 2001 Derby.

for racing: Slew O Gold, Manila, Demetri's Boy (an old Illinois bred gelding who was very game), Cigar, Kona Gold

[shanta]

Ruffian

Pebbles

Forego

Secreteriat

Seattle Slew

Richie

[sq764]

Originally posted by joeprunes
I use to love to see Merry Ruler run, a tiny horse that would come off the pace unbeleivable
AS far as my favorite horse no question about it Forgo.
I went to Aquaduct when they retired her, seen alot of people cry.
Greatest race I ever seen was watching him run the Marlboro Cup in 77 or 76 carrying 136 in pouring monsoon rain from dead last five wide and win. I got chills.
Favorite all time 1) forgo, secreteriot,cigar,seatle slew any many more hard to make top ones...jp

I never got enough of Easy Goer and Sunday Silence going at each other in the triple crown.. My favorite rivalry in my time..

[JustRalph]

Alydar..........what a heart!

Tiznow........2nd breeders cup win was awesome.

Secretariat of course.

War Emblem. Yeah I know.........I haven't been playing that long.

Rockmill Two..............nobody knows who this horse is. 4k claimer.

God Love the old Bastard...........my first big score

[kenwoodallpromos]

Azeri
Gone West
Mr. Prospector
Phalaris
Secretariat

[Tom]

National:
Secretariat
Forego

Local:
Mountain Man
Sam Lord
Fieldglass
Sagely (50 wins lifetime, last at age 15)

[Binder]

Smarty Jones
Skip Away
Frisk Me Now
Buffalo Soldier
Harlands Holiday

[Secretariat]

My favorite’s:

Secretariat
John Henry
Ruffian
Personal Ensign
Cigar

[Rpd]

Secretariat
Cigar
Seabiscuit
Smarty Jones
Momsaysyes (out of Popsaysno) My first wager at Finger Lakes in 1973. lost the bet too :eek:

[Buckeye]

To Ri Boy
Handle With Care
Hot n Nasty
Dareandgo
and Smarty!

There's no accounting for taste.

[Binder]

I forgot about Charly
as one of my favorites

[bettheoverlay]

Favorites

Seattle Slew
Spectacular Bid
Smarty Jones
Thunder Gulch
Susans Girl

[LutherCalvin]

My Favorite of all time: Genuine Risk.

On Derby Day I was in the infield at Churchill Downs listening to the race on a transistor radio. When the field headed into the stretch, the roar of the crowd drowned out the stretch call. When I made my way to the windows I was pleasantly surprised at the posted results. There was no line when I went to cash my winning $50 ticket. Boxcar mutuels!

[Rpd]

I'd have to also add Ruffian

[Equineer]

Secretariat
John Henry
Cigar
Affirmed
Perrault

Does anyone have Perrault's PPs (life or 1982)... I lost mine in a move.

[Tee]

My Favorites

Skip Away
Tiznow & Budroyale
Pilsudski
Northern Afleet
Mecke

[racingrev]

From a down under point of view.... ( In the modern day ).

Kingston Town is the greatest horse to race in Australasia since Phar Lap and that includes Tulloch and Tobin Bronze.

Dulcify at No2.. Could have been anything, was jogging in the 79 Melbourne Cup, when the winner Hyperno galloped on D 's leg and snapped it...

Might And Power at No3.. Simply a wonder horse.

Manikato at No 4.. The best ever sprinter in Aussie, better than Vain etc..

Sunline at No 5.. What a super mare, proven in four nations...

Honourable mentions to, Super Impose, Better Loosen Up, Bonecrusher, Northerly and Vo Rogue...

[betchatoo]

Secratariat
Ruffian
Dr. Fager
Kelso
Graustark

I was lucky enough to see each of them race live

[cj]

Originally posted by betchatoo

I was lucky enough to see each of them race live

Would have been tough to see them race dead! :D

[Vinnie]

Betchatoo,

I am very happy for you that you got the chance to see Ruffian, Secretariat and Dr. Fager race live. That is Awesome. I would have loved to have gotten the opportunity to see any one of them or all of them run back when they were doing there thing.

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

Vinnie

[Suff]

CITATION
at 2:
* won - Elementary Stakes
* won - Pimlico Futurity
* won - Belmont Futurity
* Champion 2yo Colt

at 3:
* won - Kentucky Derby
* won - Preakness Stakes
* won - Belmont Stakes
* won - Jockey Club Gold Cup
* won - Empire City Gold Cup
* won - American Derby
* won - Pimlico Special
* won - Jersey Stakes
* won - Flamingo Stakes
* won - Stars And Stripes Handicap
* won - Tanforan Handicap
* won - Chesapeake Stakes
* won - Sysonby Mile
* won - Kentucky Derby Trial
* won - Everglades Handicap
* won - Seminole Handicap
* Horse of the Year
* Champion 3yo Colt
* Champion Handicap Horse

at 5:
* won - Golden Gate Mile Handicap (New WORLD Record - 1 mile - 1:33 3/5)
* 2nd - Santa Anita Handicap
* 2nd - Golden Gate Handicap
* 2nd - San Antonio Handicap
* 2nd - San Juan Capistrano Handicap
* 2nd - Forty-Niners Handicap

at 6:
* won - Hollywood Gold Cup
* won - American Handicap
* 2nd - Argonaut Handicap
* Champion Handicap Horse

EXTERMINATOR

at 3:
* won -- Kentucky Derby
* won -- Carrollton H
* won -- Ellicott City H
* won -- Pimlico Autumn H
* won -- Latonia Cup
* won -- Thanksgiving H
at 4:
* won -- Hotel Como H
* won -- New Era H
* won -- Ben Ali H
* won -- Camden H (carrying 132)
* won -- Galt House H (carrying 134)
* won -- Saratoga Cup
* won -- Pimlico Cup
at 5:
* won -- Long Beach H
* won -- Luke Blackburn H
* won -- Brookdale H
* won -- Windsor Jockey Club H
* won -- George Hendrie Memorial (carrying 131)
* won -- Saratoga Cup
* won -- Autumn Gold Cup
* won -- Toronto Autumn Cup (carrying 132)
* won -- Ontario Jockey Club Cup (carrying 134)
* won -- Pimlico Cup
* Named CHAMPION Older Horse

at 6:
* won -- Long Beach H (carrying 130)
* won -- Independence H (carrying 130)
* won -- Merchants' and Citizens' H (carrying 130)
* won -- Saratoga Cup (walkover)
* won -- Autumn Gold Cup (carrying 130)
* won -- Toronto Autumn Cup (carrying 137)
* won -- Pimlico Cup
* won -- a handicap at Laurel Park (carrying 132 lbs)
* Named CHAMPION Older Horse

at 7:
* won -- Harford H (carrying 132 lbs)
* won -- Pimlico Spring H (carrying 133)
* won -- Clark H (carrying 133)
* won -- Kentucky H (carrying 138)
* won -- Bayside H (carrying 133)
* won -- Garden City H (carrying 135)
* won -- Brooklyn H (carrying 135)
* won -- Saratoga Cup (for 5th straight year)
* won -- Toronto Autumn Cup (carrying 132)
* won -- Laurel S (carrying 132)
* Named CHAMPION Older Horse, Horse of the Year


* Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1957


KELSO

* 1960 Champion 3-yr-old Male, Horse of the Year
* 1961 Champion Handicap Male, Horse of the Year
* 1962 Champion Handicap Male, Horse of the Year
* 1963 Champion Handicap Male, Horse of the Year
* 1964 Champion Handicap Male, Horse of the Year
* Only 5-time Horse of the Year in history
* First 3-yr-old named Horse of the Year who didn't win a Triple Crown race.
* Won 5 consecutive editions of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the most consecutive wins of a major stakes by any horse in history.
* Won 3 consecutive editions of the Woodward Stakes.
* Three-time winner of the Whitney Stakes.
* Two-time winner of the Aqueduct Stakes.
* Two-time winner of the Suburban Handicap.
* Won 8 of 9 races (7 stakes) in 1960.
* Won 8 consecutive races (last 6 of 1960 & first 2 of 1961).
* Carried 130 pounds on 24 occasions, winning 13, placing in 5, and finishing third once.
* Won 39 of 63 starts (62%).
* Finished in the money in 53 of 63 starts (84%).
* In 1961, joined Whisk Broom & Tom Fool as the third in history to win the New York Triple of the Metropolitan, Suburban (135 lbs), and Brooklyn (136 lbs) handicaps.
* Set a new American record for 1 1/2 miles while on turf in the 1964 Washington D.C. International.
* Retired the all-time leading money earner with $1,997,896

RUFFIAN
Stakes Record:
at 2:

* won - Fashion Stakes ................. (Equalled Track Record)
* won - Astoria Stakes ................. (Equalled Track Record)
* won - Sorority Stakes ................ (New Stakes Record)
* won - Spinaway Stakes ................ (New Stakes Record)
* Champion 2yo Filly
at 3:

* won - Comely Stakes .................. (New Stakes Record)
* won - Acorn Stakes ................... (New Stakes Record)
* won - Mother Goose Stakes ............ (New Stakes Record)
* won - Coaching Club American Oaks .... (Equalled Stakes Record)
* Champion 3yo Filly

[TRM]

So many good ones.......memories of the first experiences of racing.

89' Super Derby- Sunday Silence
Easy Goer- my fav of all
Lure
Bayoka
Personal Ensign

[betchatoo]

Originally posted by cj
Would have been tough to see them race dead! :D

True. But so often it seems my horses are dead by the time they hit the homestretch

[CryingForTheHorses]

Davona Dale was a very nice filly for "John The Bald" and calumet Farms,Fly So Free was also a nice horse for Mrs genter, How bout Fantasy In Reality finished 4th in the derby,Sunny Clines was a speedy guy as was his daughter Honey Fox..Im sure all the new NY guys know her.Toga Toga for J Hartigan was also very speedy.Canada had some very great horses, Id have to say Northern Dancer outshines them all Not only was he a great Rachorse but he carried his greatness to becoming a legend! I had the pleasure of patting him on his head as he stood in his paddock at Windfields Farm in Oshawa Ontario when I was 17. I never knew the impact he would have onracing and breeding in the years to come..Remember his million dollar babies?

[Red Knave]

1 - Dr Fager
2 - Secretariat
3 - Seattle Slew
4 - Man O'War
5 - Red Knave :D

Suff, excellent post!

[cato]

Only considering contemporaries...


Secretariat

Cigar

John Henry

Charismatic (my first good Derby score)

Local: Clever Trevor

Happy turkey day

Cato

[foul]

RUFFIAN & SKIP AWAY

[Observer]

Alysheba .. his courage in winning his Kentucky Derby was absolutely spine-chilling.

Of course, there are so many others I consider favorites .. but Alysheba is the ultimate top choice favorite for me.

[ranchwest]

Some of my favorites:

Very Subtle
Gate Dancer
John Henry
Easy Goer
Alysheba
Earl of Spokane
Wise Times
Northern Dancer
Ferdinand

[toetoe]

racing rev,being a kiwi you may be more familiar with uk racing than is the typical statesider ... how about mill reef & brigadier gerard? mg won 12 of 14, including l'arc de triomphe in record time, but could not beat bg, himself 17 for 18, only loss to roberto (no, not clemente.)

[TOOZ]

SWALE - got married Derby Day 1984
LANDALUCE - unfortunate death
A.P INDY - retired too early
RISEN STAR - big Eddie D. fan
AFFIRMED - Cauthen at the top of his game

[joeprunes]

Boy its great to hear the name of horses that I compleatly forgot about thanks for bringing back good memories..joeprunes

[Alc]

Affirmed
Alydar
Tiznow
Skip Away
Italian King

[Valuist]

Tooz-

Gotta agree on Risen Star. They had that poll on the front page on who was most underrated. IMO, Risen Star was more underrated than any of those. He won the Preakness, murdered the field in the Belmont, and was, IMO, definitely the best horse in the Derby when he was beaten 1.5 lengths after going about 7 wide on the far turn and trying to close on a loose on the lead winner.

[toetoe]

valuist, you made me think of 1974 -- little current, a victim of trouble in the derby field of 23 horses, demolished the field in the preakness @ 13/1, then romped in the belmont. darby dan farms & lou rondinello, as i recall.

[Tuffmug]

Awesome Again
Alphabet Soup
Candyride
Kona Gold
Daylami

[TOOZ]

Valuist,

Had Risen Star in all three legs. Ran the Belmont in 2:26 and change, 2nd fastest Belmont ever at the time I think. They made Winning Colors the favorite and she finished dead last that day, the longest shot in the field came in second, and the exacta paid around 100 bucks, if I remember correctly. It was only a six horse field. Owned by Louie Rousell, who was quite a character. His family owned the Fairgrounds at the time, he donated part of the purse money won to some convent or similar entity. Plus he was a son of Big Red, best son he ever produced.

[trickey]

my top 5 favorites.........

1. Secreteriat

2. Affirmed

3. John Henry

4. Sunday Silence

5. Forego

[toetoe]

trickey, ialso loved big red, affirmed & 'silence. affirmed had alydar, 'silence had easy goer -- real rivals. red had sham. he WAS a sham. red went on to beat nothing in the belmont, but remains the greatest. linda's chief, same class of 73, never gets his due. he traded decisions with sham. in the 73 california derby @ 2/5, linda's chief was so lathered up & rank, he almost got caught by 50/1 easy ern. EASY FRIGGING ERN !!

[trickey]

thanks toetoe,

i didnt know that about linda's chief.....easy friggin ern...lololol.....

panic.....lololol

[Pubby]

Easygoer
Go For Wand
Ogygian
Personal Ensign
Gulch

[Zaf]

Secretariat
Seattle Slew
Cigar
Free House
Funny Cide

ZAFONIC

[maxwell]

Big Red - 30 years and we're still waiting for the second-coming.

Ruffian - Was never headed at any point of call ... except the one she couldn't make.

Northern Dancer - 950 lbs. of dynamo.

Formal Gold - Dusted Skip Away!

Exceller, John Henry, Kelso, Daylami, Kona Gold ... it doesn't end.

And I hope it never does. :)

[toetoe]

maxwell, formal gold was indeed a monster. his 2yo debut was a stratospheric beyer# ... 105 or sumpn. can we look it up, i wonder?

[maxwell]

I think he also ran a 120 Beyer as a 2yo ?

[cj]

Maybe 110 as a 2yo, not 120 for sure. 112 tops, but I don't remember the exact number.

[cj]

It was 112...here's a link.

http://breeding.bloodhorse.com/sronline/pdfs/formalgold.pdf

[maxwell]

A Beyer of 112 for a FTS!

I guess 120 is a bit of a stretch for a 2yo.

His stud fee is a surpise: $7,500.

[reckless]

Here are my top five favorite horses:

Secretariat

Seattle Slew

Smarty Jones

Tragedy (a claimer that won about 30 races after he was claimed by Phila. Park's then-leading trainer Bob Seeger from F.F. Ramos for $12,500, and whom broke an 11-year track record in his first start off the claim.)

Go For Wand

Can I add a sixth favorite: my last winner!

[timtam]

My favorite all time horse is/was Timtam

He just missed winning the triple crown and was also a horse in my spin horse racing game back in the late 50's

Being from Pennsylvania and at one time a frequent visitor to Keystone Park now Phila Park my second favorite horse was Smarty Jones

Another horse I liked was an old trotter named Chester Midnight who raced until they had to put him out to pasture. I forget if the horse was 13 or 14 whatever the age limit is. He raced at Pocono Downs in Pa and he won his first race and also won his last race on a rainy night. The announcer made a big deal about this being his last race after a long career and NOBODY cared. How sad but true!!!

[cato]

Ahh the spin horse racing game! I think that may be why I have this addiction, I , uh, mean hobby. I think TimTam was the brown horse (I think they were all different colors--but they could have all been brown and just had different colored lanes).

CarryBack was another horse on my game.

I think Citation was another

What were the other horses on the game?

Great memory from child hood!

Take care, Cato

[trickey]

Even though i already listed my 5 favorite horses i forgot to mention the first horse i put a wager on....

the first time i ever went to a racetrack was the opening nite of the meadowlands ........was it 1975 or 76.....

had no idea what all the stuff in the program meant......

so i bet a horse who's name caught my eye.......

a pacer by the name of Rambling Willie......what a good older horse he was.....and i cashed the ticket.....

does anybody remember him?????????

[Buckeye]

Yes I do.

He was gelding as I remember and he won some very big races.

[John]

The last horse I cashed a ticket on is my favorite.

[MitchS]

I just have to throw one out there that no one else would mention, but one of my favorite horses to watch growing up as a kid, COUGAR II. He'd come on to the track, no outrider, beautiful long tail that practically touched the track surface, and then he would stop and face the croud for a moment as if he were checking out the croud, he'd get a big cheer and then be on his merry way. I love watching stretch runners (even though I don't bet them much anymore) and I've seen Cougar II some 15+ lenghts out of it, circle the field to get up at the wire. Of course many times he came up short, but those were just races to watch and enjoy.....Who in there right mind would bet on a horse going off at under even money, except a bridge jumper...

Mitch

[Maxspa]

Joe,
My list is as follows:

1. Secretariat
2. Dr. Fager
3. Kelso
4. Forego
5. Go For Wand

Have a Great Holiday Season!
Maxspa

[TOOZ]

Rambling Willie - Kenny McNutt was the driver. He might be dead now, Kenny, that is. That's when the Meadowlands would draw 35 - 40 thousand people on a Saturday night, if you can believe that. Rambling Willie - Oil Burner was the big matchup. Benny the whip Webster on Oil Burner. I think the whip was whipped of all his cash in the AC casinos.

[toetoe]

just stumbled upon your post @ another site. silent witness's stride, his action, reminds me of officer before it occurred to team baffert to destroy him. when i lived in no-cal, we had local race replays, with so-cal stretch runs crammed in @ end of show. well, one day the feature race was officer, i think @ del mar. okay, about 13 or 14 seconds of footage, but from the first image he looked like a 2-mile turfer just out of the gate. he was just floating, & by the way, that's why i never believe "he could win by more if urged." he's already flying. anyway, s.w. had that relaxed, long stride, looked like 2 to everyone else's three. hate to be "p.c." but i want to see pico central vs. s.w. on turf @ .. oh, say 7 or 8 furlongs. props to s.w. for doing it on a straightaway. seems it would be more brutal than around a turn.

[toetoe]

it's official: GERRY coetzee could win on this horse. i,ve watched 4 of his races, 9 to go.

[dogkatcher]

This is tough, trying to pick only 5 is like choosing a favorite child, just can't be done. Here are 5 that I've seen run in person and can still remember them LOL.

Native Diver
Swaps
Silky Sullivan
Buckpasser
Majestic Prince

Happy Holidays to All

[freeneasy]

john henery. if you wanted this horse to stop trying then you had to hit him with a 2x4. press em all you want but when push comes to shove you aint go'n by. the best horse to hold mud i ever seen

forego it didnt matter if you bet against him, he was the one you could never take your eyes off. if you loved horseracing then you sure as hell loved forego

vigors this horse put on a move at 3/8's pole that made him absolutely invisable. that was his move, man this horse was an absolute experience to watch, this horse just went by with uncaged power

ruffian had she gone on, well she was simply the greatest. thruout all her races i bet you could count the number of times she got hit with the wipe on one finger. what an absolute dynamo

crystal water owned by connie ring, trained by charlie whittingham, as far as these two were concerned crystal never lost a race and thats ok with me. get all 3 for a two dollar ticket.

secratariate, seattle slew, affirmed, terlingua, dr. fager