For weeks I have been trying to give people a different look into horseracing. I wrote about why I decided to become a fan, I wrote about who the greatest horse of all time is and I tried to take everyone on a journey to remember their first trip to the track. In between, I got to talk about jockeys, horses, stakes races and (in my opinion) screw jobs. I appreciate you all reading, but I am about to try something different, hope you enjoy and be sure to leave a comment on who you are picking and why.
This week, we have a situation; let’s say for a minute you have the money to own racehorses, not for profit, but as a hobby. Now, I am selling three horses and I am going to tell you what they are predicted to do in their career. You tell me which one you would choose. Remember, you do not need the money and I am selling both horses for the same price.
Horse A, is going to race for 3 years. As a two year old, Horse A will break their maiden in their second race on synthetic, then will have a layoff of about 8 months. Following the layoff, the horse will turn 3 and lose their first race back, on dirt. The horse then wins the next allowance race on dirt. That win takes the horse into stakes races, 4 to be exact for the rest of the year. The horse loses only one of the stakes races. The following year, as a 4 year old, the horse will race in 5 stakes races, one grade 3 and four grade 1’s. The horse will lose one of the races, but finished their career as a winner of a Breeders Cup. The wins will come on dirt and synthetic. The highest weight carried by this horse is 126 pounds. The highest speed figure the horse will receive in their career will be 111, and the horse will reach this level at least twice.
Horse B is going to race for 4 years. The horse will win the first 2 times out, a maiden race and an allowance race both on synthetic as a 3 year old. Then the horse will start their 4 year old campaign in stakes races, 1 on dirt and the rest on synthetic. The horse will win all 7 of them; those include 4 grade 1’s which include a Breeder’s Cup and 3 grade 2’s. Then come back during their 5 year old career and win 5 more races, 4 grade 1’s and 1 grade 2. This year will also include a Breeder’s Cup Classic win. At the age of 6, he horse will race in 6 grade 1 races, winning 5 of them and losing only to Horse A. The highest weight this horse will carry is 129 pounds and I believe the highest speed figure the horse earns is 112.
Horse C will race for 3 years. The horses’ 2 year old campaign includes 2 maiden races, over dirt then right into a grade 3 stakes where the horse comes in second. The horse will then win an allowance, finish second in a grade 3 and then finally win a grade 2 stakes race under a new jockey. There is a 10 week layoff taking the horse into its 3 year old campaign. The campaign will give the horse 8 wins in 8 races. The wins include 2 grade 2’s and 6 grade 1 races. Finally, there will be a 6 month layoff for the horse and then the horse comes back as a 4 year old to win 2 races and finish second twice before being retired. The highest weight carried by the horse is 124 pounds and the highest speed figure is 116.
These horses’ identity is no secret to any of us, I am just asking you to look simply at the stats and pick HONESTLY which horse you would want to own. Let me know, I am curious about who you would pick. I read the arguing that goes on and don’t normally comment, but I truly wanted to know based on these stats, which would be picked. I hear the arguments for picking a horse based on speed figures and weights carried, so here are some of the facts now you can choose. Also, what helped you choose the horse you did or what information is missing that is important to you. Maybe we can do this again.
These are not the only stats that I consider when I look at a horse and their career, but I consider myself a different fan. I like horses based on what I consider spectacular…a win by 20 lengths in graded company, never being the favorite in the field and finding the winners circle anyway or perhaps digging in and fighting when you are trying to overtake the leader-not giving up. Based on the stats I just provided, and only on these stats, I changed my own mind. I went into this blog thinking I would pick one horse and left this blog picking another. Who would you pick?