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.
Befitting of the first Saturday of the NCAA basketball tournament, we have a dandy of a matchup for you today in #HorseMadness. This matchup features two of my personal favorite horses of the past decade — Rachel “the Super Filly” Alexandra against “The People’s Champion” Mucho Macho Man. I will admit that I have a huge pro-Mucho Macho Man bias. I have loved that horse from the beginning of his career all the way through his curtain call in the 2014 Santa Anita Handicap. And who doesn’t love Rachel Alexandra? While many people point to her fantastic Preakness victory, or her absolutely Secretariat-esque Kentucky Oaks performance, I will never forget her scintillating Woodward victory at the end of the 2009 Saratoga meet. I honestly don’t know which of these two I will be voting for. I guess I have until 10:00 pm to figure it out. Here’s the breakdown:
Rachel Alexandra
Rachel Alexandra is one of the most beloved horses of the past decade. Her 2009 season was an exhibition of unparalleled dominance that included: (i) a Preakness win over colts (sidenote: the Preakness that year was sponsored by BlackBerry… LOL); (ii) a victory in the Kentucky Oaks by nearly 21 lengths; (iii) the Mother Goose Stakes by nearly 20 lengths (under wraps); and (iv) the Woodward Stakes against older males. She notably skipped the Breeders’ Cup that year because of her owner, Jess Jackson, did not care for the Santa Anita synthetic surface. Turns out, he was just a few years ahead of his time. Although race fans missed out on seeing Rachel in the World Championships at the peak of her powers, it doesn’t take away from her unblemished 2009 record. She is a sure-fire Hall of Famer.
Here are Rachel’s career stats: Rachel Alexandra Career Profile
And here is her win in the 2009 Woodward: She is indeed Rachel Alexandra, THE GREAT!
Mucho Macho Man
Mucho Macho Man was a bit of a late bloomer, with an early habit of always being a bridesmaid rather than the bride. In fact, after his 7th place finish in the 2011 Belmont Stakes he had won but twice — a maiden contest and that year’s Risen Star Stakes at Fairgrounds. But in that same period, he had already racked up three place and three show efforts. After the Belmont, however, it seems that his connections really figured him out, and he really hit his stride. He began taking several months between starts, and the layoffs helped — he almost always brought his “A” race. In fact, other than a DNF in the 2013 Sunshine Millions Classic and his 4th place finish in the 2014 Big Cap, he never again finished off the board. In that time, he won the Sunshine Millions Classic twice, the Suburban, the Awesome Again and, of course, the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He also finished an extremely game second in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic to Fort Larned.
Here is the key information on Mucho Macho Man: Mucho Macho Man Stats
And here is Mucho Macho Man’s fantastic Breeders’ Cup victory at picturesque Santa Anita Park: Mucho… MACHO … MAN!!
Check back tomorrow to see which one of these two moves onto the Elite 8…
