is "FLIGHT LINE" the greatest thoroughbred since SECRETARIAT??....Breeders Cup Classic, Keenland Race Course...P.T 5:40 P.M....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfQLLTLtEZI ^ | 11/05/22 | Basalt

[basalt]

hes going against the best in the World..mile 1/4. This is gonna be very telling...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfQLLTLtEZI

[the OlLine Rebel]

Actually MOW’s time records are beyond anything in racing history, besides perhaps his own descendent Swaps. But Swaps was I think no world records and all on CA fast tracks.

MOW set a record of some level 3 out of every 4 times he touched a track as a 3yo. Leave out his Preakness and start with his first record it tips 80% rate.

3 of them were WR.

I believe he and Sir Barton were cheated out of another AR by the absurd world record credited to Whisk Broom II. As it was they only got a TR, but it was Saratoga which is the cream of horses.

[SE Mom]

Her?

[basalt]

im in no way comparing Flight Line to Secretariat..just the horses SINCE then...and theres been some great ones....i always loved Seattle Slew..he was a fighter and took em all on. Plus that great name!!. Easily one of the most frustrating was Spectacular Bid. He was a great race horse and i’ll never understand why his trainer kept that terrible jockey on him...cost him the Triple Crown. When you get a great colt like that, you dont play games...you get the best rider there is..

[thinden]

Actually 10 and definitely 20 lengths in a mile race means a great deal more than 30 with extra half mile.

Of course they must be tied with great times to truly mean anything.

But it is no insult to say someone is the greatest SINCE. That means in the time since that horse may be 2nd best.

Which I have yet to believe.

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not necessarily. winning at 1.5 miles is considered a Classic distance for thoroughbred champions

not many of today’s brilliant horses can even make the 1 1/2

a lot of um spit it out at the classic 1 1/4 Ky Derby

there’s a lot of horses in the past 50 years with more than 3 Grade one wins.

Flightline has made his connections happy.

I hope he does well today & finishes healthy

[Bookshelf]

He has Seattle Slew in his pedigree. Must be good!

[Nifster]

Understatement

[Nifster]

Was euthanized

[basalt]

Slew was a GREAT sire...a “total” champion. Still dont understand why theres not a Stakes race named after him...i just thought he was awesome..

[srmanuel]

Secretariat holds all 3 all time records in the triple crown races, imo there is no question that Secretariat is the greatest horse of all time and it’s not close

[Nifster]

Indeed they are

[the OlLine Rebel]

The Triple Crown is mostly an artificial construct, and these days most horse never touch it except if they goin the Belmont, or turf races.

Everything else being same, there is no question that running 20 lengths clear over a short distance is the same as running a certain amount more at longer distances. This was the whole point of Breyer speed figures, trying to normalize across distances as well as tracks. One only has to do basic physics to see that yes, a big margin at short is more impressive than at a long distance.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Spec Bid was a real great, and the first horse I ever paid attention to.

[LibWhacker]

Any of these horses take a knee during the National Anthem? I’m not watching if they have.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Jockeys did, in June 2020. Jockey clubs, and tracks all shamed us, and the KY Derby jockeys sported BLM down their pants in their delayed 2020 run.

I haven’t paid much attention since. This is the most I’ve done for 2.5 years.

[38special]

So far today the favorites aren’t getting it done

[thinden]

The Triple Crown is mostly an artificial construct, and these days most horse never touch it except if they goin the Belmont, or turf races.

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right

we should prolly go back to steeplechase for all horses

[OneVike]

There will never be another Secretariat. The secret of his power was his heart. After he died they did an autopsy, and found out his heart was almost twice as big as a regular horses heart.

It give new meaning to the phrase, “He has a big heart”.

Once he got ruling, he could have gone at a gig speed for ever.

This horse may be good, but there will never be another Secretariat.

[the OlLine Rebel]

I respect it, but it is not the end-all be-all, and it hasn’t even been consistent in form until the ‘60s. Citation, as many other iron horses of the old days, had to run another major race between the Preakness and Belmont. The schedule now is no more grueling than horses of old used to regularly run. The so-called golden age of the ‘70s actually was a time where “top” horses were no longer running frequently, and becoming hot-house flowers. Today, even cheap claimers run much more and harder than our tops for some 50 years.

For one thing, TC are restricted races. 3yo only. So you don’t see how they perform in totally open company. Never mind too early in the year for 3yo. Better if we saw them later in the year when they fully mature and MIGHT start facing elder.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Indeed he was one of the greatest, but not the best.

The heart thing is played up. Few TBs are ever measured. It’s kind of meaningless. Even moreso when it can be because he was 19 and some reports said he suffered from enlarged heart syndrome.

[OneVike]

Secretariat’s Heart Size: Inside the Tremendous Machine

Secretariat’s heart size still remains a wonder of the racing world, and the power of it prompted Audi to use it in a commercial. “The all-new, 354 hp Audi S5 Sportback is here,” the commercial says. “Progress is powered from within.”

“We were all shocked,” Swerczek said. “I've seen and done thousands of autopsies on horses, and nothing I'd ever seen compared to it. The heart of the average horse weighs about nine pounds. This was almost twice the average size, and a third larger than any equine heart I'd ever seen. And it wasn't pathologically enlarged. All the chambers and the valves were normal. It was just larger. I think it told us why he was able to do what he did.”

In Pure Heart, originally published in the June 4, 1990 issue of Sports Illustrated, Bill Nack reports the words of Dr. Thomas Swerczek, who performed the necropsy that discovered just how big Secretariat’s heart was.

In February 1994, she wrote a piece for Thoroughbred Times entitled The X Factor, which suggested that the large heart traces to a single mare, Pocahontas, born in England in 1837, heralding back to the great sire Eclipse. The article went into detail on the theory, examining all available research to that time, and why it was so important to the breeding world. It was a very good article.”

Haun’s first book, The X Factor, What it is & how to find it: The Relationship Between Inherited Heart Size and Racing Performance, was published in 1997. This was followed up by Understanding the Power of the X Factor in 2001, and Solving the Mystery of Secretariat’s Heart in 2013. Haun passed away February 12, 2016, but her first, second, and third books can still be purchased.

The third book is aimed to help breeders reproduce a heart similar to Secretariat’s by breeding bloodlines that follow the X Factor pattern. While Secretariat was able to produce a Thriving Legacy, including 1986 Horse of the Year Lady’s Secret, he never replicated himself.

The enlarged heart wasn’t the only thing that allowed Secretariat to smash record after record during his 1973 Triple Crown campaign. He was also known for his astonishing confirmation, which Wikipedia summarizes:

“Secretariat's absence of major conformation flaws was important, as horses with well-made limbs and feet are less likely to become injured. Secretariat's hindquarters were the main source of his power, with a sloped croup that extended the length of his femur. When in full stride, his hind legs were able to reach far under himself, increasing his drive. His ample girth, long back and well-made neck all contributed to his heart-lung efficiency.”

Looking at the beginning of Secretariat’s career race history, it was clear he was a talented colt who deserved to be highly regarded on the Triple Crown trail. The three classic races would only grow his fame, as he still holds the fastest times for the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. His Derby time was 1:59.40, and the only other winner to make it under two minutes was Monarchos in 2001, with a time of 1:59.97.