All of a sudden the editors from Bloodhorse...

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by Sightseek

HRTV just gave their endorsement of this list.

Sounds like that one Tiger Woods mistress isn't the only person out there with incriminating naked pictures of somebody.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

Look, this isn't health care or climate change.

I know as much about those two topics as this SI writer does about handicapping.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Gander

Congaree belongs on this list as well. If he faced some of the duds Ghostzapper and Curlin did, he would have won twice as many races. He was a superior animal. These are some of some of his tidbits...

Horse of the Year runner-up; Eclipse Finalist as champion older male and champion sprinter

Fastest miler of 2002 on dirt (1:33.11)

One of the most versatile runners in history (G1 wins at 3, 4, & 5, 7f to 1 1/4 miles)

Only horse in history to win Cigar Mile-G1 back-to-back

Made 22 consecutive starts in Graded stakes

2nd fastest mile in Kentucky Derby history

Leading North American based male from the Blushing Groom line

$3.2 million earner and five-time Grade I winner

That's all well and good ... but ... did he ever beat New Mexico breds?

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Dunbar

I think 1-18 is a decent list. If you and say 10 other knowledgeable posters here independently put up "Top 18" lists, I'm guessing the SI list would not stick out as the odd-list-out.

I'd be VERY hard pressed to imagine anyone putting up a list with Curlin and Zenyatta first and second ... and Mineshaft, Bernardini, Medaglia D' Oro, and Congaree all not included in the top 17.

It's as if the author slept through the part of the decade when racing was better in the two glamour divisions (3yo males going long on dirt & older males going long on dirt)

However - it wasn't a top 18 list ... it was a top 20 list... and Pepper's Pride was included over several horses who would have beaten her by double digits lengths on their off day.

How do you think Medaglia D' Oro would do racing against nothing but New Mexico breds his entire career? How do you think he would do matched up against this ....

[cakes44]

Putting Pepper's Pride on that list is the equivilant of including Sioux Falls and/or Mount Union in the discussion of best college football teams of the decade.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

I'd be VERY hard pressed to imagine anyone putting up a list with Curlin and Zenyatta first and second ... and Mineshaft, Bernardini, Medaglia D' Oro, and Congaree all not included in the top 17.

It's as if the author slept through the part of the decade when racing was better in the two glamour divisions (3yo males going long on dirt & older males going long on dirt)

However - it wasn't a top 18 list ... it was a top 20 list... and Pepper's Pride was included over several horses who would have beaten her by double digits lengths on their off day.

How do you think Medaglia D' Oro would do racing against nothing but New Mexico breds his entire career? How do you think he would do matched up against this ....

Well, she was 38/1 against PP in that race you circled.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by cakes44

Putting Pepper's Pride on that list is the equivilant of including Sioux Falls and/or Mount Union in the discussion of best college football teams of the decade.

That would be the case if you included her in the top 20 female horses of the decade.

[Gander]

The first half of the decade was far superior in every category with the exception of the filly and mare division from the past 2 years. 2001-2002 was better than anything we saw from 2005 to now.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by Gander

2001-2002 was better than anything we saw from 2005 to now.

Not with 2yo males. A lot of other divisions match up fairly evenly I think.

2003 and 2004 were the glory years of the decade for older males on dirt.

The 2001 crop of 2yo fillies was mind-boggling.

[Gander]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Not with 2yo males. A lot of other divisions match up fairly evenly I think.

2003 and 2004 were the glory years of the decade for older males on dirt.

The 2001 crop of 2yo fillies was mind-boggling.

I dont really follow 2 year olds in general so I didnt even notice, and I dont even think horses should race until 3. The sprint division doesnt even come close to matching up.

[VOL JACK]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

I know as much about those two topics as this SI writer does about handicapping.

Maybe you should learn more about politics....then see if you still vote for the Dem's.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

I pay more attention to politics than you think. I might be the only living person under age 30 who watched every single debate on CSPAN leading into the '04 Iowa Primary.

[chucklestheclown]

Lost In The Fog would have been on my list, but at the expense of Funny Cide over poor Pepper's Pride.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

I'd be VERY hard pressed to imagine anyone putting up a list with Curlin and Zenyatta first and second ... and Mineshaft, Bernardini, Medaglia D' Oro, and Congaree all not included in the top 17.

Steve Crist saw fit to put Curlin 2nd in his best-of-decade list, and said Zenyatta would probably have been somewhere between 4th and 7th if he had made a full top-10. He also indicated that a good argument could be made for making Curlin #1.

Medaglia D' Oro and Congaree got no mention at all, though Bernadini did get 3rd best 3-yr-old of the decade. (Well, Crist isn't perfect either.)

Here's what Crist wrote about Curlin:

2. Curlin in many ways deserves top billing. He was the champion of the decade's strongest 3-year-old crop, returned with a championship season at 4, became the first two-time Horse of the Year since Cigar, and became the first horse to earn $10 million. In terms of quantifiable accomplishments, Curlin was the Horse of the 2000's - but I think there might have been just one better racehorse:

(bold emphasis added)

--Dunbar

[The Indomitable DrugS]

At least Crist didn't include Pepper's Pride.... surprisingly.

Medaglia D'Oro, Congaree, Candy Ride, and Pleasantly Perfect were all defeated by Mineshaft for an eclipse award in '03 - since Crist was only rating eclipse awards winners - they couldn't get a mention.

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS

Medaglia D'Oro, Congaree, Candy Ride, and Pleasantly Perfect were all defeated by Mineshaft for an eclipse award in '03 - since Crist was only rating eclipse awards winners - they couldn't get a mention.

You're right. I jumped right over that qualification in my rush to see the rankings.

--Dunbar