Customer Reviews

Thoroughbred Champions: Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

While this book will provoke arguments among racing fans as to which horses merit the "greatest" label, this is indispensible to anyone who loves thoroughbred racing. While most of the horses were and are familiar names to racing fans, some are not so well-known. Each horse is described in brief yet highly detailed biographies, and there are photographs galore.

As I said, there will be arguments as to which horses were the best, and the authors note how low the fillies, especially Ruffian, arguably a top 10 horse, ended up on the list. There was also some controversy over Secretariat's ranking, as one of the seven experts did not even list him in the top 10, thus he managed to finish only number two on the list, behind Man O' War (this immediately calls into question the "expertise" of the unidentified panelist).

But that's what these lists are for, to provoke discussion and even argument. I found this book endlessly fascinating.

"Thoroughbred Champions" does a meticulous job of presenting the top one hundred Thoroughbreds who raced in America (at least once) during the 20th century. Each racehorse is pictured with accompanying statistics. Stories flesh out the statistics and try to give us a feeling for the drama inherent in owning, or working with, or following the career of one of these beautiful animals. One of my favorite stories describes Personal Ensign's final race:

"Four lengths were all that separated Personal Ensign from a perfect career. With an eight of a mile to go in the 1988 Breeders' Cup distaff, it seemed an impossible amount of ground for the bay filly to close on the leader, Winning Colors. It took about fourteen seconds for that final eighth to be run, but it seemed like an eternity. Personal Ensign closed the gap relentlessly, inching slowly toward Winning Colors, and at the wire, she thrust a desperate nose in front of her younger rival."

I watched that last race of hers on T.V. I was recovering from abdominal surgery at the time, and I think I must have busted a stitch or two trying to 'help' Personal Ensign down that muddy track and over the finish line ahead of her rival (who had already won the 1988 Kentucky Derby).

Because these equine champions mean so much to some of us, there has been and will be lots of disagreement over the order in which they were placed on the list. Why, for instance does Easy Goer appear ahead of both Ruffian and Personal Ensign, not to mention Busher, Twilight Tear, and Dahlia? Both Busher and Twilight Tear were voted Horse of the Year---an honor that eluded Easy Goer.

Here is the list as compiled by the seven panel members chosen by "The Blood-Horse":

1. Man o'War, 2. Secretariat, 3. Citation, 4. Kelso, 5. Count Fleet, 6. Dr. Fager, 7. Native Dancer, 8. Forego, 9. Seattle Slew, 10. Spectacular Bid, 11. Tom Fool, 12. Affirmed, 13. War Admiral, 14. Buckpasser, 15. Colin, 16. Damascus, 17. Round Table, 18. Cigar, 19. Bold Ruler, 20. Swaps, 21. Equipoise, 22. Phar Lap, 23. John Henry, 24. Nashua, 25. Seabiscuit, 26. Whirlaway, 27. Alydar, 28. Gallant Fox, 29. Exterminator, 30. Sysonby, 31. Sunday Silence, 32. Skip Away, 33. Assault, 34. Easy Goer, 35. Ruffian, 36. Gallant Man, 37. Discovery, 38. Challedon, 39. Armed, 40. Busher, 41. Stymie, 42. Alysheba, 43. Northern Dancer, 44. Ack Ack, 45. Gallorette, 46. Majestic Prince, 47. Coaltown, 48. Personal Ensign, 49. Sir Barton, 50. Dahlia, 51. Susan's Girl, 52. Twenty Grand, 53. Sword Dancer, 54. Grey Lag, 55. Devil Diver, 56. Zev, 57. Riva Ridge, 58. Slew o'Gold, 59. Twilight Tear, 60. Native Diver, 61. Omaha, 62. Cicada, 63. Silver Charm, 64. Holy Bull, 65. Alsab, 66. Top Flight, 67. Arts and Letters, 68. All Along, 69. Noor, 70. Shuvee, 71. Regret, 72. Go for Wand, 73. Johnstown, 74. Bald Eagle, 75. Hill Prince, 76. Lady's Secret, 77. Two Lea, 78. Eight Thirty, 79. Gallant Bloom, 80. Ta Wee, 81. Affectionately, 82. Miesque, 83. Carry Back, 84. Bimelech, 85. Lure, 86. Fort Marcy, 87. Gamely, 88. Old Rosebud, 89. Bewitch, 90. Davona Dale, 91. Genuine Risk, 92. Sarazen, 93. Sun Beau, 94. Artful, 95. Bayakoa, 96. Exceller, 97. Foolish Pleasure, 98. Beldame, 99. Roamer, 100. Blue Larkspur.

You can always buy the book, then cut and paste the list so that your favorite champions are more correctly placed.

Several authors were involved in telling the stories of the top one hundred Thoroughbred champions.. Its stories pay tribute to a remarkable breed of athletes, and if you were fortunate to watch Secretariat win the Belmont or Personal Ensign win the Breeders' Cup Distaff, this book will mean all that more to you.

That should have been the title of this book. I just received my copy and have been so deeply absorbed in it that the afternoon just flew by on golden hoofs. I've been an enthusiast of thoroughbred racing since, at a very tender age, my dad brought me to the stables at Belmont Park to see a friend who works there. They showed me a huge gray horse and I was so small I looked up into that massive animal's face, felt his warm breath on my face...and fell totally in love. The horse was Native Dancer, the love affair continues though I am now getting closer to retirement age. This wonderful book will take you from one champ to the next and all I could say was "I agree, I agree" as I moved down the list of the top 100. Though I knew most, there were some I did not know and those interested me the most. The list, together with pictures, pedigree and a small writeup on each makes this book a keeper! an encyclopedia of the 100 greatest thoroughbreds!

I was so thrilled to find such a well-written & reserached guide to some of the best TB race-horses of our century! Hurray! It's complete - informative (I have read & reserached A LOT and learned things about my mare's grandsire that I didn't know - and I really enjoyed the photos of each horse. Thanks!

I really enjoyed reading this book. Many people disagree on the placings of different horses, but I think it must have been hard to compare horses from different eras. Books like these were made to provoke discussions, anyway. I like the little charts at the end of the book that name things such as most wins, most starts, etc. One of the main things I like about this book that it contains one photograph (2 photos of numbers 1-20), past performances, and a four generation pedigree of each horse. Before I ordered the book, I suspected that the photos would be tiny and barely visible, but the photos are easy to see.This was a wonderful book!

Like so many I guess, I seriously got into horse racing after I'd seen the Seabiscuit movie.... I went on reading Hillenbrand's book and from there on, I was helplessly done in. I moved up to Man O' War, from there to Secretariat, and finally I found this book. I was thrilled and still am. While of course virtually every horse's position in these top hundred is arguable, like the editors do acknowledge in the very introduction and as everyone may see for themselves in some fierce reviews of the book right here, I think this is not the real point of this book. I see it as a fantastic collection of all these magnificient champions I guess none of us would want to miss today. Whichever horse is first, second or last, these were all outstanding creatures that had the heart and soul, courage and strength to compete like they did. They lifted everyone up as they soared across the dirt or turf, they made and still make us dream. To have them all together in one book with pedigrees and pictures is awesome.
I am way too young (and moreover not american) to have seen the better number of them run, but I keep coming back to this book with the same fascination every time. It sends me dreaming, trying to imagine and of course... wanting more. Like one other reviewer, I think it's a great starting point for anyone who's gotten interested in horse racing. Enjoy !

This book, compiled by a panel of seven from The Blood-Horse, provides an excellent run-down on 100 of the greatest horses to grace the Thoroughbred racing scene in America during the 1900s. Each horse is honored with a brief biography (the top 20 horses get four pages each, and all the rest get two) that describes his/her history, racing career, and any notable offspring or other key accomplishments in clear and easy-to-read language. In addition, a race record, pedigree, and one or two nice photographs of each is provided.

At the back of the book one will find a few more helpful resources. A table of the chosen 100 provides a nice quick-reference to year of birth, owner, breeder, and trainer. There is also a "Leaders List" with interesting statistics, including horses with the most wins, unbeaten horses, once-beatens, horses with the most starts, Kentucky Derby (and Triple Crown) winners, multimillionaires, geldings, top trainers, top breeders, and the foaling years that produced the most champions.

The 100 horses included are ranked as follows:

(1) Man O'War; (2) Secretariat; (3) Citation; (4) Kelso; (5) Count Fleet; (6) Dr. Fager; (7) Native Dancer; (8) Forego; (9) Seattle Slew; (10) Spectacular Bid; (11) Tom Fool; (12) Affirmed; (13) War Admiral; (14) Buckpasser; (15) Colin; (16) Damascus; (17) Round Table; (18) Cigar; (19) Bold Ruler; (20) Swaps; (21) Equipoise; (22) Phar Lap; (23) John Henry; (24) Nashua; (25) Seabiscuit; (26) Whirlaway; (27) Alydar; (28) Gallant Fox; (29) Exterminator; (30) Sysonby; (31) Sunday Silence; (32) Skip Away; (33) Assault; (34) Easy Goer; (35) Ruffian; (36) Gallant Man; (37) Discovery; (38) Challedon; (39) Armed; (40) Busher; (41) Stymie; (42) Alysheba; (43) Northern Dancer; (44) Ack Ack; (45) Gallorette; (46) Majestic Prince; (47) Coaltown; (48) Personal Ensign; (49) Sir Barton; (50) Dahlia; (51) Susan's Girl; (52) Twenty Grand; (53) Sword Dancer; (54) Grey Lag; (55) Devil Diver; (56) Zev; (57) Riva Ridge; (58) Slew o' Gold; (59) Twilight Tear; (60) Native Diver; (61) Omaha; (62) Cicada; (63) Silver Charm; (64) Holy Bull; (65) Alsab; (66) Top Flight; (67) Arts and Letters; (68) All Along; (69) Noor; (70) Shuvee; (71) Regret; (72) Go For Wand; (73) Johnstown; (74) Bald Eagle; (75) Hill Prince; (76) Lady's Secret; (77) Two Lea; (78) Eight Thirty; (79) Gallant Bloom; (80) Ta Wee; (81) Affectionately; (82) Miesque; (83) Carry Back; (84) Bimelech; (85) Lure; (86) Fort Marcy; (87) Gamely; (88) Old Rosebud; (89) Bewitch; (90) Davona Dale; (91) Genuine Risk; (92) Sarazen; (93) Sun Beau; (94) Artful; (95) Bayakoa; (96) Exceller; (97) Foolish Pleasure; (98) Beldame; (99) Roamer; (100) Blue Larkspur

Of course there will be debate over the rankings. The top three - Man O'War, Secretariat, and Citation (rated in that order) - in particular will fuel heated and unending dispute. But one must take into account that these horses raced in different times, under different conditions. Track surfaces, weight carried, equipment used, living conditions, diet, training methods, quality of the competition, types of races entered, and more all varied greatly. Some were dirt horses and some turf horses. Some were sprinters and some ran longer distances. Some were pacesetters and some were come-from-behind horses. The only way to know for sure which ones were better than others would be to line them all up and race them against each other. But we can't do that. So the rankings given here should be taken rather lightly, and not be the focal point of the book. Rather, it is a nice, concise overview of a group of 100 very good racehorses, and that is all it should be taken for.

The book is not a completely comprehensive reference - those looking for in-depth information on one particular horse would need to read additional sources, as the biographies here are just very brief overviews squeezed into a couple pages - but it makes for interesting reading and the statistics and pedigrees given can be quite useful. On the whole I would highly recommend this to any Thoroughbred racing enthusiast.

Sure there will be some who disagree with some of the rankings, but it's all subjective and those with a differing opinion should realize that. Plus the voting wasn't just a bunch of nobody's, it was the opinion of a respected and knowledgeable panel. To paraphrase what Nack says in the intro, the best thing about the list is that it causes you to think about the candidates and draw your own list. In my opinion, the fillies are shorted a bit. Ruffian at 35? Undefeated Personal Insign #48? Honest Lady at #76 and Miesque at #82, and who could forget Genuine Risk at #91, though she was fouled out being the only filly to take the first two legs of the Triple Crown. I'm of the belief that under Whittingham and Shoemaker, Spectacular Bid may have never lost. Say what you want about going a mile and a half, but he only lost at those distances after stepping on a pin once and a second to the older Affirmed when Bid was not tightened for that race. True, he didn't have competition in the form of other horses, but his competition came from the clock, which he stopped in record times at different distances for all three years of his career. If not for the Belmont accident, he'd be top 5 for sure.

A magnifient collection of interesting data, personal experiences and observations with good photos, written in a fine concise and appealing style! Each page is vibrant reading and vivid portrayals of these phenomenal horses! A highly recommended book, worth twice the price!

Had a love of racing since i was knee high to a grasshopper and saw this book as a definitive way of putting my interest in racing on the other side of the pond in one handy reference point,it is a cracking book i really enjoyed,in fact keep re-reading bits to see wether to change my mind on anything,checking times etc.There is a fair amount of info on the horses;a race record at each age and breeding history.for me more photos would have been a bonus.also would have liked some sort of list of the top tracks and track records to have handy as a possible future reference;this would of been nice in the LEADERS LIST section.(not a criticism just a wish).
as for the 100 list you could argue for a month about who was best.they were all great although did not ruffian,majestic prince,noor especially and excellor deserve to be a bit further up.
are there any times for cigar.are any available?swaps is one of my favourites-if only his owners had run him in the preakness and belmont.i just hope secretariat wasn't kept at no2 to spice up the debate and make the book less obvious.
one of the other reviewers asked about a european version of this book.can't help him any more than a couple of years ago i picked up a very interesting book written by julian wilson that featured a lot of the greats.it wasn't a top 100 of sorts but horses from eclipse,ormonde(i think)through to sea bird 2 (the best in my view)ribot,sir ivor,mill reef and nijinsky through to shergar and others-it also included secretariat and a horse called arkle without question the greatest horse over fences.unfortunately never seen the book again although its probably still out there somewhere!