Secretariat was not perfect, but his performance in the Belmont in particular makes one wonder how he ever lost a race. In fact, his run in the Preakness also showed he was able to simply run right by his opponents. Sham’s early push in the Belmont helped him run harder. I’m not surprised that Secretariat’s times were so good because of the “match race” effect. In the absence of Secretariat, Sham would’ve been an easy Triple Crown winner. The same goes for Sunday Silence and Easy Goer. Each would’ve almost certainly been a Triple Crown winner if not for the other.
We can’t be certain that Big Brown has had any competition to this point. In his last two races, he’s simply stayed with the pacesetter until the 3/4 mark and then took off. You watch the pacesetter (Gayego, for example) and how hard the horse is running. His head is pumping, while Big Brown looks fairly relaxed. When Big Brown starts pumping, he blows the other horses away with no difficulty. It’s possible he’s really just that much better than the other horses. I think Casino Drive is only being mentioned so there’s some interest in the Belmont and so it doesn’t end up being Big Brown against an empty field.
It’s certainly possible that the Belmont might be too long for him, but I’ve seen nothing in any of the races I’ve seen (Florida, Kentucky, and the Preakness) that leads me to believe he’s even gotted tired on the track. It looks like Desormeaux runs him just hard enough to win comfortably (as he’s done in ever race he’s ran). It’s tough to argue that a horse who hasn’t lost - and furthermore has won convincingly every race - isn’t potentially one of the best.
“In the absence of Secretariat, Sham would’ve been an easy Triple Crown winner. The same goes for Sunday Silence and Easy Goer. Each would’ve almost certainly been a Triple Crown winner if not for the other.”
With that comment in mind, I love this quote...
Affirmed’s trainer, Laz Barrera, once said: “Affirmed is greater than Secretariat, or any Triple Crown winner, because only Affirmed had to face Alydar.”