For those of you who live in or near Lexington, you may have had the pleasure of stopping by a neat, little bar & grill called Harry's. Located in the Lansdowne section of Lexington, Harry's is a spot with a popular outside patio area, excellent food and drinks, and a pleasant staff.
But the thing that makes Harry's uniquely cool is its tribute to horse racing. The inside portion of the bar has tabletops made of original Keeneland memorabilia dating back to the early part of the 20th century, and the walls are littered with silks from many of the leading Thoroughbred owners and winner's circle photos of every Kentucky Derby winner since 1943.
All of that is very cool, but perhaps the most notable thing about Harry's décor are the three exclusive tote boards that offer fans a fantasy version of the all-time dream match-ups of the Breeders' Cup Classic, Distaff and Sprint. The tote boards stretch across the far wall and read just like a racing program, complete with the horses names, trainers, owners, and even mythical odds on the races. The compilation of horses was selected by racing experts from all over Kentucky.
Since we seem to be in full debate mode right now with all of this Rachel vs. Zenyatta stuff, I thought it would be fun to offer our opinions on these dream races. This time, we'll focus on the BC Classic, but we can revisit the Distaff and Sprint in later blogs.
Here is the "field" for the fantasy Breeders' Cup Classic, complete with odds, according to Harry's. For the sake of argument, we'll say the race takes place at Belmont:
There is much more to debate here aside from the winner of the race. How do you see the race playing out? What would it look like from a pace scenario? Who are the biggest overlays on here? What horse not on here should be part of the field? What would your exacta and trifectas look like?
Some of my thoughts? Well, first of all the field excludes six Triple Crown winners, including Sir Barton, the first horse to accomplish the feat. Perhaps he should have been on there instead of Seabiscuit, but other than that I don't really have a problem with the field. If it is limited to 12, you can't have all the great ones.
As far as the odds, I think the biggest overlays are The Bid at 10-1 and War Admiral at 30-1, the longest shot in the field. Yes, War Admiral lost to ‘Biscuit in the famed match race, but in a field of 12 in his prime, I would take my chances at 30-1.
My picks: Well, how can leave out Man o' War? A winner of 20 of 21 races, many of them while carrying 130 pounds as a 2-year-old and 138 pounds as a 3-year-old (can you imagine that now?), and all of the world and track records. I only wish there were video of him racing.
Citation would also be there. He won 27 of his first 29 starts, including beating the older HOY from the previous season as 3-year-old, twice, swept the Triple Crown, set records, came back from injuries to become the first millionaire and on and on. He was a beast.
And then there is The Bid, who I consider the best horse of my lifetime. His record of 26-2-1 from 30 starts stands on its own, and had he not lost the Belmont he might be looked upon as better than Secretariat by the public. His 4-year-old season was unreal, with records to prove it.
It's hard to leave out any on here, but the three above would comprise my trifecta.
The winner? Citation by a neck over The Bid. According to what I've seen and read, he was the best of all-time. He also won at the Classic distance five times and was undefeated at Belmont.
Let the debating begin...
