In the spirit of March Madness, we are conducting a little experiment to determine how racing fans would evaluate the “best”, “greatest” or “most popular” (or any other criteria you think is applicable) horse of the last 5 or so years. Think of this as the “People’s Choice Awards” for racing. Use whatever criteria you think best determines which horses advance from round to round. Let us know how you arrived at your conclusions.
How it works: Each day from March 16 through the end of the month, we will feature one matchup. We will post career specifics and some highlight races on our site to help you in your handicapping. Then you the fans will vote– favorite the tweet if choosing horse A, retweet if selecting horse B. Voting windows will close by 10:00 p.m. each night. The horse with the most votes will advance to the next round.
Here is the Bracket.
Today, we feature a battle of the type this format was meant to showcase. Two horses that race in different divisions, who would never meet on the race track– Groupie Doll v. Animal Kingdom. Both these great runners were versatile, winning on multiple surfaces and tracks around the country and the world. We are really excited to see who prevails in the court of public opinion and advances to the Elite Eight.
Groupie Doll
It took Groupie Doll, and her connections, some time to figure out her “game” but when they did she showed her prowess. After attempts going a route of ground, Groupie Doll settled in as a prolific sprinter in the Filly and Mare Division. Although Gr. 1 stakes-placed at a mile, her best game was assuredly seven furlongs. A true home-bred, Groupie Doll raced for the family duo of Buff Bradley (trainer) and Fred Bradley. Her greatest quality was her ability to transfer her game to any track. This road warrior won back to back editions of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita, as well as many other prestigious Mares races including the Madison and Thoroughbred Club of America at her home track of Keeneland, two editions of the Presque Isle Downs Masters, The Humana Distaff at Churchill, a game second in the Cigar Mile against the Boys and wins at Ellis Park and Gulfstream in graded stakes.
Watch her dominate 2012 Breeders’ Cup F+M Sprint
Animal Kingdom
Another road-warrior, Animal Kingdom proved to the world his greatness by winning the Dubai World Cup as a four year old. This Team Valor runner, trained by Graham Motion had a knack for winning the big races, as he also claimed the Kentucky Derby the year before in his first start on dirt. However, one of Animal Kingdom’s most impressive races actually came in defeat, when after a 9 month layoff he finish a game second to Horse of the Year Wise Dan in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. In a 12 race career that was reduced by injury, Animal Kingdom showed his versatility by winning on turf, dirt and synthetic, Grade I victories on both dirt and synthetic, and twice Grade I stakes-placed on turf.
Watch Animal Kingdom “beat the world” in the Dubai World Cup and the Kentucky Derby.
