Having to Have a Great Horse Every Year Insults the Legacy of Those in the Past

Greatness. It’s the one thing every sports fan hopes they see in their lifetime. But often, sports fans get too involved in finding the next great athlete and unknowingly tarnish the images of the past greats by proclaiming the year’s “hot” athlete to be the next great.

One of the definitions of great is “Of an extent, amount or intensity considerably above the normal or average."

Sure, this technically can fit a racehorse every year since we do have a few that stand above their respective crops, but to automatically call them great is a disservice to the true greats of the past.

Admittedly, we have been spoiled the past few years with horses such as Curlin, Goldikova, Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra and others. But with all but one of the above mentioned horses retired, racing fans seem to be searching for any horse they can to call great, even if the horse hasn’t achieved that level.

However, a fan trying to find a new great every year needs to realize that what makes these horses great is that they aren’t replicated every year or even every decade. What they do is not something a mere mortal can do just by stepping onto the racecourse and winning a few races.

It is unlikely we will see a horse ever come close to Secretariat’s Belmont, Affirmed and Alydar’s legendary rivalry, Man O’ War’s impact on the breed or Goldikova’s career, let alone her Breeder’s Cup victories.

To put any promising horse in the category of these horses is not only insane at times, it is insulting.

There are many really good horses on the track that do deserve recognition. There are even some horses that have the chance to grab the “great” title in time. But these horses need to have a chance to actually earn this title before prematurely having it thrown on them.

It isn’t fair to those that have left their mark on the sport and it isn’t fair to the horse that carries the burden of proving he or she can live up to that title that so many legends of the sport carry.

Everyone understands wanting a great horse every year, just like we all understand wanting a Triple Crown winner every year. But not having a great horse year after year is what makes the great title so important and well…great.

But just like having a Triple Crown winner every year would diminish the prestige of winning the biggest award in all of sports, having a great horse every year would only leave us blind to the truly exceptional horses that set foot on the track every once in a while.

So the next time you see a jaw-dropping race, don’t discount the horse’s awesome performance, but don’t stick the great title on the animal just because of a few races. You’ll be doing both the animal and the sport a service that fans and horses of the future will thank you for.