Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Ed — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 00:21:17 GMT

Secretariat would have blown them out of the water. Still holds the all time record after 37 years. Also holds the Kentucty Derby time record. Greatest Horse to run the tracks.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

jayjay — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 22:13:26 GMT

Point Given

Afleet Alex

Summer Bird

Empire Maker

Rags To Riches

Birdstone

Sarava

Commendable

Jazil

Da Tara

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Ike — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:01:16 GMT

How was Point Given overrated??!!!! He won more major races than Empire Maker did. So I guess every field he faced was nothing? BS.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Judy G ~ California — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:55:47 GMT

p.s. I was so excited to submit my comment, I forgot to add:

R2R had a bad gate break (in most cases, doomed for winning), then she had to go VERY WIDE AT THE TOP OF THE STRETCH, then she hooked up down the stretch with HOY Curlin ~ a tenacious run ~ ALL HEART!!

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Judy G ~ California — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:50:20 GMT

RAGS TO RICHES BABY!!!

I was screaming & yelling with tears in my eyes. I witnessed greatness, and I will never, ever forget it!!!

~UNBELIEVABLE~

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

gw_bushwacker — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:13:35 GMT

Point Given all the way. Afleet Alex, Rags, and Empire Maker are the only others who would stand a chance. Totally agree with slyder on the Da Tara Belmont. Nothing much came out of that class of 3 yr olds.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

rckolon — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 03:52:13 GMT

Ice Box would crush them all and will win gloriously this Saturday.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

slyder — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:00:17 GMT

Point Given wins this race. Afleet Alex, Empire Maker, and Rags, then it's distanced to the rest of the field. Da'Tara hands down finishes last. Da'Tara's Belmont was the weakest field in history including the overhyped Big Brown who won the Derby and Preakness in the weakest year for 3 yr olds in history.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

splitsof12 — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 02:11:25 GMT

Point Given was the best three-year-old of his decade, and would have gone down as one of the all-time greats, if not for his Derby Day dull, 5th place finish, still a mystery to me. Now,isn't it funny how in 2001 Monarchos (Marias Mon) won the Derby in the second fastest running of the Kentucky Derby. He then runs an uninspiring 3rd at Pimlico in the Preakness and is beaten easily by Point Given, a Bob Baffert horse. Now spin your reels to this years Derby winner, Super Saver (Marias Mon). He goes to Pimlico, runs out of gas in the final turn and gets beaten handily by another Baffert horse, Lookin at Lucky. It prompts me to wonder if the Marias Mons runners, the Classic Types, have or not have an affinity for that particular surface. I'd like to know what ya'all think?

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

DK Stables — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 01:07:14 GMT

Only one for the top...Point Given, on that day, would take all comers. Great Talent!

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

rj — Mon, 31 May 2010 13:10:03 GMT

Let's be subjective. If racing is an interactive sport, I will vote my two most profitable winners, in an upset, of course; Da'Tara and Sarava.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Smarty Party — Mon, 31 May 2010 12:00:27 GMT

Smarty Jones ran the best Belmont in the last ten years. Watch the replay, he never had a chance to relax with the others teaming up on him, and he still almost won! If he gets a fair trip (or maybe a better ride) he wins by 15.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Monarchos Matt — Mon, 31 May 2010 04:06:45 GMT

With a clean trip, I think Empire Maker wins this narrowly over Point Given. A lot of people forget about him, but 9/10 times he beats Funny Cide in that Derby and probably wins the Triple Crown in 2003. He was the real deal.

1) Empire Maker

2) Point Given

3) Afleet Alex

4) Birdstone

5) Summer Bird

Big drop off after this in my mind. Jazil would probably be next, just a stone cold closer. Throw Rags to Riches in there for 7th. The other three approach fluke status, no?

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Terri — Sun, 30 May 2010 23:28:09 GMT

This was a tough one -- I think Point Given's probably the best of the bunch. But we were there for Rags' race against Curlin, and it was great! Afleet Alex was also a great 3-year-old. I was less thrilled with horses like Birdstone, Da Tara and Jazil.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

secretariat7273 — Sun, 30 May 2010 17:27:10 GMT

We've had all of these disappointing near Triple Crown losses in the Belmont in recent years such as Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Smarty Jones, Big Brown, Funny Cide, etc., but probably the best horse of this era to lose the Triple Crown by one race was Point Given. Baffert made a big mistake by racing him so lightly prior to the Derby & I believe he admitted to that. Of the above named horses, he is the only one to win Horse of the Year. Shame he didn't run as a 4 year old.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

daisy1 — Sun, 30 May 2010 06:47:52 GMT

alex was the best

pg was next

rags was good but it took so much out of her

summer bird realy good hope he races again

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

redpants — Sun, 30 May 2010 02:03:55 GMT

Point Given All The Way!

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

wista — Sat, 29 May 2010 13:46:40 GMT

This list speaks volumes about the soundness of today's thoroughbred and current breeding practices.

Did any of the listed Belmont winners do anything as four year olds? Of course not!

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Glenn Craven — Sat, 29 May 2010 07:34:58 GMT

There's a lot of voting with your heart going on here, and not on time nor talent.

Only a couple of these Belmont winners were in any particular way impressive on an historic level. Point Given won by *12 1/4*. Birdstone's move in the stretch was scintillating and he defeated an extremely good horse -- who'd never before been beaten -- in Smarty Jones, in definite "racehorse time."

Other than that, look at the times and who they beat. Afleet Alex crushed, but second was Andromeda's Hero and third Nolan's Cat. ... NOLAN'S CAT.

Rags gutted it out against Curlin, but the time just wasn't very good. The comment earlier that -- other than wide spreads of several seconds -- time is hard to judge because of track conditions, pace, etc. And I agree. But the fact is, Jazil won more impressively than did his half-sis, did take down G1 horses (as did she) and did it in about four lengths' better time.

Obviously it's impossible to speculate with any accuracy. But if they all brought the same "game" they brought on the day they won their Belmont, it's Point Given by four or five lengths over Birdstone and long-shot Jazil, who'd probably still go off as seventh-favored of 10 in the betting, even though we all know how fast he ran his Belmont in 2006.

Assuming clean trips for all and each bringing their Belmont Day "A" game, no way any of these other nine beat Point Given. None.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Gina Spadafori — Fri, 28 May 2010 23:23:08 GMT

That was fun. More like this, please!

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Slew — Fri, 28 May 2010 22:54:56 GMT

Hall of Fame...Point Given. Spectacular horse and career.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

BAILEY — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:15:43 GMT

Summer Bird birds forever

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Robert — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:37:36 GMT

Point Given, Afleet Alex and Empire Maker.

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

Fran Loszynski — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:34:53 GMT

If we want to see another Afleet Alex win the Belmont put Afleet Express in. Watching his race again he could beat Ice Box. He has the speed and heart! A word to the owners of Afleet Express the Belmont Trophy could be yours! Can they run Afleet Express in the Belmont TC Race?

re: Belmont Stakes - The Last 10 Years

randy in Lakeland FL — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:09:16 GMT

Too bad it doesn't go back 11 years because the great LEMON DROP KID was the best I would have to say.