With the Test of Champions just around the corner, I decided to have a little fun with the classic race. There have been 31 winners of the Belmont Stakes since Affirmed outgamed Alydar to become the eleventh winner of the Triple Crown. Today I took on the unenviable task of ranking them 1 through 31. The basis for the ranking was on their overall racing career and a blending of excellence and accomplishments. Have fun and please let me know where you think I may have gone astray...
1. Easy Goer 20-14-5-1
2. Point Given 13-9-3-0
3. Risen Star 11-8-2-1
4. A.P. Indy 11-8-0-1
5. Afleet Alex 12-8-2-1
6. Conquistador Cielo 13-9-0-2
7. Swale 14-9-2-2
8. Coastal 14-8-1-3
9. Thunder Gulch 16-9-2-2
10. Rags to Riches 7-5-1-0
11. Bet Twice 26-10-6-4
12. Empire Maker 8-4-3-1
13. Hansel 14-7-2-3
14. Lemon Drop Kid 24-10-3-3
15. Victory Gallop 17-9-5-1
16. Summer Bird 8-4-1-1
17. Tabasco Cat 18-8-3-2
18. Birdstone 9-5-0-0
19. Touch Gold 15-6-3-1
20. Crème Fraiche 64-17-12-13
21. Danzig Connection 17-6-5-4
22. Temperance Hill 31-11-4-2
23. Colonial Affair 20-7-4-3
24. Caveat 21-6-4-3
25. Go and Go 15-6-0-2
26. Summing 23-7-5-1
27. Editor’s Note 31-6-4-3
28. Jazil 11-2-5-0
29. Sarava 17-3-3-0
30. Commendable 12-2-1-1
31. Da’ Tara 17-2-5-2
I would like to know how you separated Easy Goer and Point Given. Before I opened the website, I said both would be 1a and 1b but I couldn't separate them. Did beating Sunday Silence hold a lot of weight in lifting Easy Goer?
ReplyDeleteYes Michael, competition was a factor, also while Point Given was a very good two-year-old, I believe Easy Goer to have been even better.
ReplyDeleteLoved Afleet Alex's belmont. It brought me to tears and I have never seen a race that has impacted me as much as his belmont did. Amazing! So glad he is at 5!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, Afleet Alex's Preakness wasn't too bad either!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Easy Goer being #1. His 14 wins out of 20 is more impressive than Point Given's 9 out of 13.
ReplyDeleteJust think, 5 of these were trained by one (fabulous) trainer!!!
ReplyDeleteFive wins is amazing, but five in a row??? Unreal!!!
ReplyDeleteIf any of you wish to make your own list, you can do so here: http://bit.ly/c1NMNT
ReplyDeleteWhat i find amazing in list such at this as it is relatively easy to rank the top and bottom , but the middle is nearly impossible.
Good job Brian! :-)
The top five were all great horses, I would put AP Indy first because he won the Breeders Cup Classic and beat older horses. Easy Goer had trouble winning outside of New York and Point Given didn't race after the Travers.
ReplyDeleteMy #1a and 1b would be Afleet Alex and Point Given.
ReplyDeleteGood job.
Diane
Great list, Brian. Who was the trainer who won 5 in a row? Lemon Drop Kid had a pretty impressive career, longevity-wise...Loved Rags to Riches win but her career was pretty short-lived...It is amazing how many races Creme Fraiche battled (sue from Palos).
ReplyDeleteThanks folks, it was fun to put together. Sue, Woody Stephens won five straight Belmonts from 1982-1986.
ReplyDeleteLove Easy Goer in the number one and Da' Tara in number 31.
ReplyDeleteWasn't that Woody Steven's who trained the 5 consecutive Belmont winners?
Thanks Railrunner, I hope I did pretty well with 2-30 as well.
ReplyDeleteSee the comment directly above yours for Woody. I should also give special mention to Julie Krone who became the only female rider to win a Triple Crown race when she piloted Colonial Affair to win in 1993.
Well you took on one heck of a task and did pretty well IMO. I don't know what criteria you used, but I'd wished you'd have place Rags a bit higher. That Belmont was simply awesome. I agree with just about everything else and love that you have EG, PG, and Alex in you top five, those horses were just amazing.
ReplyDeleteOh snap Brian. Afleet Alex should be #1. Point Given and EG tied for the #2 spot.
ReplyDelete