Horse Racing Fantasy Community

There is a connection What's up, everyone?I'm currently huddled up in my living room, enjoying a cup of hot tea and listening to the leaves rustle in the autumn wind. The Breeders' Cup has reached it's conclusion, which means we can start thinking Derby. Of course, the big news out at Churchill Downs is that Barbaro's ashes will be interred there. It's a classy move, but it's also savvy marketing: Horse racing needs a shot in the arm, and short of a horse that wins the Triple Crown, national publicity is hard to come by. So what better way to infuse some pub into the sport than by bringing Barbaro, arguably the most popular horse the sport has seen since Secretariat, back into the public eye? The Derby is always a marquee event, and everyone connected with racing is, like every year, crossing their fingers that that year's Derby winner can break through and become the first Triple Crown Champion in 30 years. We'll have plenty of time to discuss that later, but let's get back to Barbaro: His popularity is unquestioned, to be sure, but where does his place in history lie?

I believe Barbaro to be a fine horse. We all know about his great performance in the 2006 Kentucky Derby (in case you were on a desert island at the time, here it is: )

Of course he dominated that race, broke down in the Preakness, fought for 8 months, and succumbed to laminitis. During his battle to recover, the whole country adopted this horse. There was an emotional stake the public invested in Barbaro. Indeed, I clearly remember where I was when I saw him break down in the Preakness and thinking it would be the same as Go for Wand or Ruffian, that he'd be put down in short order. When he made it through the operation I was very surprised, and I suppose that my experience mirrored many: I didn't think he'd make it through the night, and when he did I was elated, but still very nervous because his veterinary staff kept mentioning that "he wasn't out of the woods yet" or "he still has a long road ahead", stuff like that. Plus, the haunting image in my mind of how catastrophic that injury looked was still fresh in my mind, and the truth is that I don't know any horse that has ever survived from that kind of damage. Hope kept me thinking positive during Barbaro's 8 month fight, but realism always tempered my expectations; the reality is that it was miraculous Barbaro survived that injury for as long as 8 months. It seems to me that's the source of our collective emotional investment, and when he died I, just like legions of his fans all across the country and the world, had my own emotional breakdown and cried like a baby.
Now that it's been over a year since his passing and nearly 2 years since his Derby victory, I'd like to discuss what to me is a very intriguing phenomenon: The question whether or not Barbaro is the greatest horse of all-time?
Now, before batting this around with all of you I think it's only fair to give you my thoughts on this issue. My feeling is that it's crazy to even ask that question. I mean, to say that Barbaro was even as good as horses like Seattle Slew, Affirmed, The Bid, Kelso, Forego, Man o'War, or Secretariat is an injustice to those horses. Barbaro only completed 6 races. He won them all, yes, but there are too many questions that were left unanswered because of his tragic demise, questions like, Assuming he wins the Preakness (a big assumption), could he go a mile and a half in the Belmont? For instance, look at how great Big Brown was this year heading to the Belmont. How would he handle other champions in a stretch drive (something we would've found out in the Breeder's Cup)? Could he beat older horses? These are just a few questions that cannot be answered, and it's important to bare in mind that we judge the greatest in anything based on what they actually do, not on what they might have done. Oh sure, theories on those greats meeting in fantasy races are certainly advanced, but the key is that those horses proved their greatness on the track over a period of time long enough to establish, without any question, their place in the pantheon.
Barbaro's case reminds me very much of another great athlete whose time was cut short due to injury, Bo Jackson. Consider the similarities: When Bo hurt his hip in that 1990 playoff game against the Bengals, he had clearly established himself as an amazing talent (and ANYONE who has ever played Tecmo Super Bowl will shudder at the mere mention of his name!), but because he never played again, when people speak of Bo it's with a certain wistfulness. "Bo could've been the greatest if he'd stayed healthy." When people talk of the greatest running backs to ever play, certainly Payton, Brown, Simpson, Dickerson, Sayers, Campbell, all those guys come up in the discussion. What about Bo? With him there's a pause and then, "Well, he got hurt before we could find out." Same concept with Barbaro. He was gone too soon. Imagine if the ankle injury Walter Payton suffered in the final game of the 1976 season, just his second in the NFL, ended his career? Would we now be saying he was one of the greatest in history? No, of course not. We determine the greatness based on what we know, not what might have been. Barbaro was a fine horse with great ability, and his Derby win was a glimmer of what he could have done had he not broken down. The sad thing is, we will never know, and on that basis alone I don't think he should be mentioned in the same company as the all-time great Thoroughbreds.
So now you've got my position on this whole thing, but just because I feel that way doesn't mean we don't want to know your thoughts, so here are the Barbaro questions I'd like to hear some responses to: Was Barbaro the greatest of all-time? If so, why?