Akin to your Point Given, my own sentimental pick would be Slew o' Gold, given his Claiborne Farm/Buckpasser roots (even if he was penioned and buried at another farm-favorite-- Three Chimneys (sidebar: when you visit Three Chimneys, while everyone else asking about and looking at Smarty Jones, be sure to get close to the gray and apple of my eye-- Exchange Rate, now up from Florida-- I am looking for big things from his future crops). Slew o' Gold,with his 12 wins in 21 career starts and in the money 18 times and earnings exceeding $3.5M, will you please remind me exactly what happened in the Derby? That was some rail trip  Eddie Delahoussaye gave Canadian-bred Sunny's Halo for the win. Reminds you a bit of another Louisiana-bred jock, Calvin "Bo-rail" on Street Sense?

Hard to argue against one not on your list, due to your understandable 1978 cut-off date: the Gray Ghost-- Maryland-bred Native Dancer-- his only career lost was by a neck in the 1953 Derby to Dark Star-- Dark Star not a bad horse by any means (finishing, I believe, in the money 10 of his 13 career starts), but clearly no Native Dancer.

How about Empire Maker??

Interesting pick with Johannesburg, I had forgotten all about the European beauty in '02.  I had very high hopes for that horse in the Derby.

Just out of curiosity, what were your thoughts on Afleet Alex? He was third in the Derby but won both the Preakness and Belmont. I don't think he was the best Derby starter who didn't win, but I thought it was interesting he wasn't included.

Isn't it funny how everyone has their all-time favorites?  But I'm with you on Point Given.  And if you are ever at 3 Chimneys to see Smarty, give a hello to PG--he's beautiful!  

I can't vote because my heart is torn between two: Risen Star and Easy Goer.

They were two wonderful racehorses with one following the other the very next year!

How about afleet alex?  He should have won the triple crown as far as I am concerned.  He was an amazing athlete just look at the preakness stakes?

Point Given was a very good 3yo but there is no way that he was going to beat Monarcos in that 2001 Kentucky Derby (one of the classiest, fastest and most exciting derby in recent memory). In my opinion Holy Bull is the best of those not to have won because unlike others that ran up to their ability but got beaten by the pace or jockey's tactic, he had a totally off day during the Derby.

I'd have to vote for Slew O' Gold (surprised?),simply because he was crowned champion at 3 & 4 yrs.old

I`ll have to go with Risen Star. His trainer didn`t realize the speed the horse had and was bringing him from far off the pace. He closed well in the Derby, but was too late. He blew by the filly in the Preakness and ran and hid in the Belmont. He should`ve been a triple crown winner and I fault the trainer for him not winning it.

Although I did vote, it would change if Afleet Alex was on the list. A phenomenal athlete, I believe if he had a better trip in the Derby, he would have succeeded as the triple crown winner that year.

It hurts to put Easy Goer on my list, since Sunday Silence was the first horse I really "fell in love with."  But he was an incredibly impressive horse.

I also think that if Afleet Alex had a better trip in the Derby, we would have had a Triple Crown winner.  It's too bad that he was unable to race in the fall.

The Victory Gallop/Real Quiet duels are my favorite horse racing memories, though.  I'm not old enough to remember Affirmed and Alydar, though the race clips I've seen online are awesome.. but I'm moved to tears by the Belmont that Victory Gallop (barely) won.  He did pretty well as a 4 year old, too.

Smittytoo: Perhaps in hindsight it's easy to say that Risen Star should have been closer to the pace, or he should have been here instead of there. What might have hurt Risen Star the most was his very wide trip. Forty Niner almost collared Winning Colors, and he started far back as well. It was the filly's Derby.

Obviously the scenario in the Preakness was much different for both colts, working against one, but for the other, the outcome was beautiful, and led to even bigger things. I'm just happy Risen Star proved to be the best!

I would have to say that Curlin is the best that did not win the Derby. Had he enough seasoning going into the race he would have won. He lost the Belmont to a Champion but was giving signifigant weight in a marathon race and could just as easily won. Look at what he's done since then. As for Point Given he merits consideration but was in top condition going into the race and had no excuses. Easy Goer? No way, he got beat by Sunday Silence (who was my pick) then and in the Preakness the next race. His Belmont was super but he was beatable in any other race. Hard to argue against Alydar but I would be reluctant to choose a horse who couldn't win one of the other big three regardless of who he faced. As for Risen Star he had no excuses in the Derby and was in a class of mediocre three yr olds so someone had to rise to the top.I don't recall him being an outstanding Handicap Horse after 3.

Point Given was not a better horse on Derby Day (obviously), but even if he did give his best performance, there is no way he was catching Monarchos that day. Monarchos almost beat Big Red's record time. I think he finished in 2:00 2/5. I was at the finish line in the infield that day and he was much the best.  

Point Given was victimized by a bad ride in the Derby. He was much to close to a blistering pace and was empty in the drive. The horse who ran an amazing race that day to finish second was PG's stablemate, Congaree. He was on the pace and managed to hold on for the place. Monarchos was perfectly placed in last, and if Stevens would have done the same with Point Given, he would have won easily.

Curlin gave Rags to Riches a few pounds, but that's the way the rules are, and I would never use weight as an excuse in a situation like that; and remember, Rags stumbled coming out of the gate to, not to mention that she broke from the outside (can't remember if she was in the extreme outside post though).

Easy Goer's Belmont Stakes win was the first of 5 consecutive grade 1 wins. Yes, Sunday Silence usually had his measure, and I'd never deny that, but Easy Goer was a great horse too, and the one that decisively denied Sunday Silence a Triple Crown.

I also disagree that Risen Star was in a mediocre Derby field, which had male juvenile champ Forty Niner, and Private Terms, undefeated with seven wins going into the race. Winning Colors didn't win because everyone else was mediocre. She'd already proven she was as good as the boys in the Santa Anita Derby, winning that one by 7 1/2 lengths, and before that, she destroyed her own gender in the Santa Anita Oaks. The fact is, Risen Star had a wide trip, but I'll never take the Derby away from the horse that it belonged to on that day: Winning Colors.

Risen Star was retired after his Belmont Stakes win because of injury, and that's why you didn't hear about him after that.

Why don't we go back a little further; let's say....1991.  What about Hansel?  Should have been a Triple Crown winner, but tanked on Derby Day.

I would have to go with Point Given. I loved him as a racer. To be honest, Curlin would not have won the Derby even with more experience. Curlin was pretty much going all out in the stretch, and Street Sense still smoked him. Also, Curlin has won the most of his big races on off tracks. Preakness, Classic races ring a bell? Curlin also lost in the Kings Bishop to Hard Spun. Curlin's a closer. If he's that good, he should have blown by the frunt-running speedster. That's my opinion. Again, my vote's on PG. Hope he's as good as a sire as he was on the track.

I gotta go with Biglemmer on this one but am putting Point Given on par with Curlin. I see a lot of talk about Risen Star but have to respectfully disagree with anyone who goes with a horse who only raced 2 more times regardless of reason. Simply put, he retired and did not go on to so we will never know. As for his class they were an inferior group. Forty Niner was a 2 yr old champ only and outside of Street Sense we know where that gets you. Private Terms? I have to laugh at that one. Terms was undefeated into the Derby but had beaten no one. After the Derby he was an obscure animal. Point Given proved his geatness over the long haul and Curlin is doing the same. You don't make the Hall Of Fame by winning 20 games and recording 300 strikeouts in one year. Greatness is measured over a long period of time. You can't be the best if you don't consistently play the game overtime.

Good point Wiz; ("greatness is measured over a long period of time"), thats why the votes should favor Slew o' Gold. He was a champion at 3&4 yrs. old, and he was never really 100% for his championship years!!

Private Terms went into the KY Derby as one of the favorites based on his undefeated record. I personally wouldn't laugh at that.

I would hardly call Forty Niner "only" a two-year-old champion either. In fact, I think if he had been ridden differently in the Preakness (no fault of Day's either), he was certainly a horse good enough to win the race himself. He proved repeatedly that he was an outstanding three-year-old. Forty Niner won the Fountain of Youth, lost the Florida Derby by only a neck, then was kept too far back in the KY Derby, yet lost that by only a neck, then he won the Haskell, the Travers, lost the Woodward by only a neck to the great Alysheba, and then won the NYRA Mile against a field that included Precisionist. He didn't place in the BC Classic but he rallied well after a wide trip to finish fourth; and Forty Niner did all of this "after" his two-year-old season. Whether he's Hall of Fame worthy or not isn't the point. Forty Niner was a very good, solid horse all through his career.

As for Risen Star, I'd put him against any of these other great horses mentioned in this discussion, and the son of Secretariat would have been right at their throatlatches, and that includes Easy Goer's, another horse that I love. When Risen Star won the Belmont Stakes by 14 3/4 lengths in a time of 2:26 2/5, he was just starting to get good! I can only imagine how great he could have become if he hadn't been injured. His career, although brief, exhibited brilliance and he was blessed with an amazing amount of talent. Risen Star never finished lower than third, earned over $2M and was a champion.

People we all know that the Derby is a scramble to the first turn and that pace makes the race. Point Given was and alway's will be a better horse than Monarchos. As a matter of fact I don't think Monarchos won another race after the Derby. We all know what Point Given did after the Derby. The pace was blistering in the Derby that year and Stevens had Point Given way too close to the pace. As for Holy Bull he just didn't like the slop that day and Go for Gin did.

afleet alex is my choice.  without biancone's rabbit and a blistering pace, the triple crown would have been his.

I agree with Imagine17, has to be Afleet Alex. I was at that derby and everyone thought he had won it 100 feet from the wire. He came back to crush everyone in the next two. Career might have been too short though.

Point Given was not the best on the biggest day of his career.  Monarchos ran the 2nd fastest time ever at the Derby and no one was going to beat him that day, not even Point Given at his best.

I can't vote...Afleet Alex left off the list...ooh the travesty!! With that athletic move in the Preakness stretch...never seen anything like that ever!!  I don't think he ever saw Giacomo coming.  Afleet is the man!!

I must admit that Afleet Alex was the first name that came to mind, but only because he's so recent. However, I think the answer is Alydar. He and Affirmed were so far and above all the other horses of their generation. Had Affirmed not been there, Alydar would have easily won the Derby...had Affirmed not been there in general, we'd have a different Triple Crown winner and an uncontested champion.

I also have to agree with your 1st poster.  f there's no cut off date, Native Dancer is clearly the best ever Derby starter not to win the Run for the Roses.

I certainly agree that Native Dancer was the greatest horse not to win the Kentucky Derby. It was  the most shocking Derby upset ever, in my opinion.

Whenever I think of Native Dancer and the Derby, I also think of the horse that wasn't even entered in the race: the magnificent Man o'War.

Easy Goer in a runaway----I think he and Smarty Jones are the best since "the Bid"......Easy Caught slop in the Derby---Easy Goer also should've won the BC Classic----were not for the Phipps/Shug team's disasterous decision to run him in the (then) 1 1/2 mi JC Gold Cup----he got a tough challenge from Cryptoclearance----and it took his edge off for the shorter Classic......

For my money it was Cavonnier who lost to Grindstone by a nose in the 1996 Derby. If he doesn't get hit in the face by another jockey's whip coming down the stretch he wins that race.

jmark: i thought Alex had won the Derby also. Alex could have easily won, but unfortunately, when i watched the replays, Rose eased up on Alex. he thought he had it in the bag, and Alex, not having encouragment anymore, slowed down and lost momentum. Alex sure walked all over the feilds in the next two races. i would have liked to see him as an older horse.

POINT GIVEN had a HUGE chance to win the Kentucky Derby. Five horses were abreast at the top of the stretch, and for some reason he just didn't kick into his groove.  Even the best bowlers in the world miss a strike now-and-then.  It could have been something small which turned out to be so big. I had money on him, too.  Darn it!

Empire Maker was a gorilla and would have won without the bad luck of a sore foot.

I have never saw a move like Arazi made as a 2 year old...I love visual aids...Don't forget the Delaware Park horses and trainers this year....remember...Barbaro...Afleet Alex ...Matz...Motion  

Captain Bodgit

I think captain Bodgit was better than Silver Charm and would have proven it if not for a bowed tendon.

flyinhome- Curlin wasn't ever in the Kings Bishop, so what are you talking about? Curlin last year ran in the Rebel, AK Derby, the triple crown, the haskel, the JCGC, and the BCC. After the Triple crown Curlin faced Hard Spun in the Haskel and that was it till the BC. Also Curlin had a nasty trip in the Derby if you look close enough. If Curlin had as smooth a trip as SS he would've beaten him, he did in the Preakness and he still had more problems than SS.

Curlin. We are watching history in the making. No doubt about it.

LDP- Sorry. i meant the Haskel and how Anygivensaturday won.

I think it was Alydar, he just didn't handle the track on Derby day like Affirmed did. Their two year old rivalry cannot be denied.  I think Velasquez moved a little late in the Preakness. Affirmed was only inches better in the Belmont and they raced the last mile of that race virtually as a team. It was the biggest rivalry since Secretariat and Sham. And 'Believe it' was no slouch either. Alydar would've been a deserving triple crown winner.

Afleet Alex, all the way.  He overcame extreme adversity in the Preakness, and blew away the field in the Belmont.

And, yes, I DO blame Jeremy Rose for not listening to his horse during the Derby.

I watched Secretariat's Triple Crown career with wide-eyed wonder, like most everyone else of my generation.  But, five years later, Alydar would run his heart out behind Affirmed, in second place, as did Sham to Secretariat.  If you compare 2nd best to greatness, Alydar was my favorite.  Oh if he had been born in another year.

How did he (The Jockey) not win the Derby?  Point Given...Gary rightfully took the blame for having him on the traditional blistering pace and Easy Goer....I still remember the TV commentator asking Shug if he thought Pat was going to be that far back...it was a difinitive "NO."  Easy Goer being the "push button" horse could have been placed anywhere.  Point Given came back to redeem himself.  Easy Goer changed tatics two weeks later and still lost.  

Let's all go back and watch Afleet Alex's triple crown races again. He loses the Derby because if you watch he loses forward motion when JR guides him toward the rail.  If he stays in the same path he hears and feels the others coming on and most likely wins with the same heart and grit he showed in the Preakness.  Just keep your eye on him in the Preakness and the Belmont when he makes his move.  He just swallows horses stride for stride like their going in reverse.  And remember he's most likley running at least somewhat injured in the Belmont after that {trip} in the Preakness.  I don't care if he didn't run another step, he would have my vote. Not only that, if I was blessed with a worthy mare I would breed her to him before all others mentioned just for a piece of his grand heart and slice of his proven monster athletic ability. I was privliged to see him in the flesh at Pimlico.  Gods perfection!

The greatest would have to be curlin,easy goer,.remember the preakness when easygoer,sunday silence/curlin,street sense gave everyone what they wanted an all out preformance,to the end.I will never forget them.

Just one more comment about Spectacular Bid: 13 Grade 1 wins on 10 different tracks!!! Delp didn't park his horse on the Salt Flats. The Bid pounded more surfaces than most of these horses will see in a lifetime.

Damascus and all his lineage are famous for not handling Churchill Downs-Skip Away , Mr. Frisky, Private Terms etc. With Dr. Fager not running in any of the triple crown races Damascus not only should have won the triple crown but was probably the equal of any 3 year old of the last 50 yrs.

Point Given gets my vote, even though some of these guys give good reasons for some of the other horses, among the best being Alydar and Risen Star.  But, just looking at the horses and their records before and afterward, Point Given is the best horse to ever step on the grounds since Secretariat.  He was just a great horse, period. Beautiful and big!!

If we could go all the way back to before our own era, I would have to say Man o'War was the best horse ever NOT to win the Kentucky Derby.  Everything I have read, and that my dad and grandad ever said about the horse, makes him the best race horse to ever live, in my opinion.  

Does ANYONE wonder what happened to Nashua in the Derby? I love that horse & his tenacity, but he whooped Swaps soundly in the match race, so what the..???

I missed the poll by months, but if I had to choose I to would put Point Given at the top of the list.....Easy Goer would be my second choice as well.  Though history does not back me up, I do believe Easy Goer was the better of the two race horse when compared with Sunday Silence (who was brilliant in his own right!).

I'm way late but I want to at least mention  Sham.  He did run the second-fastest Derby in history.  It was real bad luck that he happened to be born in the same year as Secretariat and that he tore his mouth open in the gate at the Derby.  They say Secretariat broke his heart in the Belmont-- one thing for sure, Sham was never the same after that.

As for Easy Goer and Sunday Silence, I'll offer what I always say about horse racing-- it's not "may the fastest horse win", it's "may the best horse win."  Sure I believe Easy Goer was the faster horse, but I think Sunday Silence was smarter, more competitive, had a hell of a lot more heart-- and thus, having won 3/4 races against EG, in my terms, better.