The Problem: The sport of racing has enjoyed great champions over the past five years. From the late race heroics of Zenyatta to the determination and resolve of Wise Dan. However, one of the most frustrating aspects of racing is the inability to settle debates as to the “greatest” on the track. Divisions created by gender, surface, distance, and geography make it nearly impossible and impractical for the best of the best to meet or for debates to be resolved.
The Experiment: 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. We went back and forth on the criteria for evaluating a matchup of horses who had success at different divisions–such as Animal Kingdom v. Groupie Doll. We even thought about setting fake race conditions—like putting Wise Dan on the synthetic against Zenyatta but limiting the race to a mile. In the end, however, we found it more appropriate to leave it to the fans. 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. Maybe it’s the greatest career? Or who was most dominant at his or her peak? Perhaps who won the big ones? Or even as simple as I made a bunch of money on this horse. Regardless, make your choices, and let us know how you arrived at your conclusion. We’d love to see how you handicap some of these classic match races.
How it works: We internally debated the top 18 horses of the past five years. We then each ranked our top 18 and using points, seeded the field (including two play in games). 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.
The Bracket: Here is the bracket– March Madness Handicap
Note: Apple users apparently cannot view a changeable PDF. We will update tomorrow but in the interim, here are the pairings.
Play in 1: Shackelford v. Uncle Mo
Play in 2: Blind Luck v. Main Sequence
Left side of the bracket
1. Zenyatta v. Play In 1 Winner
4. Royal Delta v. 5. Untapable
3. California Chrome v. 6. Blame
2. Rachel Alexandra v. Mucho Macho Man
Right Side of the bracket
1. Wise Dan v. Play in 2 Winner
4. I’ll Have Another v. 5. Game on Dude
3. Animal Kingdom v. 6. Groupie Doll
2. Shared Belief v. 7. Havre De Grace
First Four Out: Judy the Beauty, Union Rags, Triniberg, Mizdirection
First matchup is tomorrow–Shackelford v. Uncle Mo.
