Horse Racing Fantasy Community

The thing about the truly great horses is that they do great things when the lights shine brightest, and then they surpass our expectations; with 2009 Horse of the Year to be decided soon, I thought it appropriate to consider how truly historic Rachel Alexandra's win really was, and how her charisma is similar to that of another great horse from a bygone era: Secretariat. No, I'm not saying the great filly is as good or entering into a debate about their relative talents. All I'm saying is that they are both that rarest example of what we as racing fans are so desperate for: horses that we will drop everything to see run.
Many fans complained loudly that Rachel Alexandra wasn't entered in the 2009 Kentucky Derby, even though she crushed her female opponents by a record margin of over 20 lengths in the Kentucky Oaks. After taking over as principle owner, Jess Jackson paid the supplementary fee and entered the fantastic filly in the Preakness, and in the process stole Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird's jockey Calvin Borel for the race. Borel told everyone who wanted to listen after the Oaks that this filly was the greatest horse he had ever ridden, and after the Preakness, we started to believe him.

What an amazing moment. The thing about the 1973 Preakness with Secretariat is that, from a certain perspective, the race is arguably the least well-remembered of his Triple Crown wins, but that's really only because of the fact that it was the middle of the three. One thing about Secretariat is that he was absolutely electrifying; he had a way of running that seemed to defy logic and convention, and that's what makes his Preakness win so impressive. He was the favorite, very much so, but there wasn't a soul that thought he would make a move so powerful that early in the race and then be able to win so easily, especially without his jockey Ron Turcotte even cocking his stick! You talk about charisma? Well, Rachel Alexandra and Secretariat had it!