Horse Racing Top Ten – A Decade in Review

Not Just Another Horse Racing Top Ten List

Everyone has their Top Ten List for the Decade. I even put out my Top Ten Race Horses of the Decade.

This is not just another Horse Racing Top Ten List:

Shocker of the Decade: Some might day Giacomo’s upset in the 2005 Kentucky Derby was the biggest shocker of the decade, but for me, there was no bigger upset or bigger surprise than seeing Mine That Bird coming up the inside with jockey Calvin Borel aboard to pull off the second biggest upset in the history of the Derby, returning $103.20 for a $2 wager. I had to look down at my program three or four times before it finally registered in my brain who had won.

Honorable mention: Giacomo pays $102.60 in the 2005 Derby. Yeah, I did not have him either.

Worst Idea of the Decade: Without a doubt, the advent of synthetic surfaces this decade has turned the sport upside down. We have Polytrack, Cushion Track, Pro Ride, and Tapeta, and all four of these fake surfaces play more like turf than dirt.

There is no concrete evidence that the surfaces are safer, and the fact that this year’s Breeders’ Cup was run over the Pro Ride surface prevented us from seeing the match up we were all craving, Zenyatta vs. Rachel Alexandra.

Honorable mention: Holding back to back Breeders’ Cups over the Pro Ride surface at Santa Anita. What were they thinking?

Biggest Scandal of the Decade: When Volponi hit the wire first in the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Classic, Chris Harn and his cohorts Derrick Davis and Glen DaSilva held the only winning Pick 6 ticket.

As it turned out, Harn was an employee at Autotote, and managed to change their ticket during the sequence.

Talk about having an edge.

The odd sequence of events led to suspicions, and finally Harn admitted he had hacked the system. On March 20, 2003; Harn was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison. Davis received 37 months while DaSilva received two years. The $3.1 million payoff was split among 78 people who had five out of six races right; each got $39,000 in addition to their original $4,600 consolation prizes.

The tote system seems no more secure today than it was in 2002.

Honorable mention: Trainers getting multiple drug positives and getting little or no penalties handed to them.

Best Announcer Not Named Durkin or Denman of the Decade: Larry Collmus has flown under the radar for most of his announcing career, but is as good as any working today. He calls at Gulfstream Park, Suffolk Downs, and Monmouth Park, and has honed his craft over the past 25 years, producing consistent and accurate calls.

Honorable mention: Maryland racing is in the dumps, which is a shame because Dave Rodman is one of the best. Vic Stauffer is as good as anyone calling the big races, and should get a shot at calling the Breeders’ Cup.

Coolest Horse of the Decade: No horse captured the imagination of the general public more than Smarty Jones did in 2004. He came into the Kentucky Derby undefeated in six starts, and was still considered an underdog because his connections, trainer John Servis and jockey Stewart Elliot were basically unknown outside of horse racing circles.

After winning the Derby and Preakness, he seemed destined to win the Triple Crown, and millions attending "Smarty Parties" were left disappointed when he was in the lead in deep stretch and run down by Birdstone and jockey Edgar Prado.

At my Smarty Party, I was consoled after the race by several novices who tried to convince me that maybe Smarty Jones would win the Triple Crown next year.

Honorable mention: Xtra Heat was such a quick horse, and missed winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint by just a neck in 2001. She won 26 of 35 career starts and she always gave 110%. Not bad for a horse that was purchased for just $5,000.

Biggest Letdown of the Decade: While Smarty Jones coming up short in the 2004 Belmont Stakes certainly was a huge letdown, the 2008 Belmont Stakes might have topped it.

Big Brown came into the race for trainer Richard Dutrow off impressive victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and was sent off as the huge favorite in the Belmont Stakes, a Triple Crown just 1 ½ miles away.

Jockey Kent Desormeaux had to steady in traffic while the colt was rank, and after coming wide around the far turn came up empty and was pulled up approaching the quarter pole.

It was the fourth time during the decade that a Triple Crown bid was squashed at Belmont Park.

Honorable mention: War Emblem and Funny Cide coming up short in their Triple Crown bids in the Belmont Stakes.

Top Jock of the Decade: There are probably at least a half dozen jockeys better, but Calvin Borel was the face of horse racing the past few years. How many jocks would get off the Kentucky Derby winner (Mine That Bird) to ride a filly (Rachel Alexandra) in the Preakness Stakes? And it all worked out pretty well for Calvin, who do not forget won the 2007 Kentucky Derby on Street Sense.

Honorable mention: While Garrett Gomez has been the dominant jockey through most of the decade, I have cashed more tickets on horses ridden by Ramon Dominguez, so maybe I am biased, but Ramon is the man.

Who We Will Miss the Most of the Decade: We lost quite a few racehorses during the decade, none bigger than Barbaro and Eight Belles, who both died from injuries suffered on the racetrack.

We also lost hall of fame trainer Bobby Frankel, who won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer four years in a row from 2000-2004.

Frankel won 25 Grade 1 races in 2003, a record that might never be broken. He trained 10 champions: sprinters Squirttle Squirt and Aldebaran; female turf horses Possibly Perfect, Wandesta, Ryafan and Intercontinental; male turf horse Leroidesanimaux; older male horses Bertrando and Ghostzapper; and older female Ginger Punch.

Honorable mention: Jockey Mark Pace, who was killed in an accident at Blue Ribbon Downs, and Rene Douglas and Michael Straight, who were severely injured riding this year.

Who We Will Miss the Least of the Decade: Since most of us would have liked to see a Triple Crown winner during the decade, I am not going to miss Sarava, Empire Maker, Da’Tara, and particularly I am not going to miss Birdstone, all Triple Crown spoilers.

Honorable mention: Victory Gallop. I know he won the Belmont Stakes by a whisker in 1998 so he really does not qualify, but it really cost Real Quiet and me a big score, and I still have not gotten over it.

Race of the Decade: There were plenty of outstanding performances during the decade, but no race took my breath away more than the 2005 Preakness Stakes did.

After checking in third in the Kentucky Derby, Afleet Alex and jockey Jeremy Rose turned for home and clipped heels with Scrappy T, who had been given a hard smack of the whip from jockey Ramon Dominguez, veering out into Afleet Alex’s path.

Afleet Alex stumbled badly and it appeared Rose was headed to the dirt, but miraculously both horse and rider righted themselves and Afleet Alex went on to win the race by 4 ¾ lengths.

The colt ended his career with a seven-length win in the Belmont Stakes.

Honorable mention: Zenyatta beats the boys in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic despite me cheering loudly for my top choice Gio Ponti at 12/1.

The reaction of the crowd at Santa Anita (and my wife’s) took the sting out of ripping up my tickets.