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Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS
Yes----because turf writers are lazy and massively incompetent.
He was from the 2nd smallest foal crop of the 1900's---not the 5th.
The smallest foal crop of the 1900's featured only 15 fewer horses. The best of that crop was Morvich--who went into the Kentucky Derby with an 11-for-11 record--and won the Kentucky Derby to go 12-for-12.
Morvich was said to be a very ugly looking Cal bred....and he almost certainly wasn't that much horse inspite of his record.
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this from legend like lightening by dorothy ours-page 15:
...he was one of 1961 thoroughbred foals registered in the united states that year. it would be the fifth-smallest crop of the entire twentieth century.
dorothy ours-from the book jacket--worked for seven years for the national museum of racing and hall of fame in saratoga springs new york, while researching man o war and has been cited for research contributions to several books on thoroughbred racehorses.
sorry, i'll go with her info.
and again, you're too hung up on foal crop size. also, keep in mind that it took years, sometimes decades, and in some cases hasn't happened YET where a horse ran faster than man o war. his travers is a case in point. NO horse has run the first six furlongs as fast as big red did in his travers, and crossed the finish line first.
and then there's the fact that man o war would set or equal track or american records eight times at three. one mile, one and one sixteenth, one and an eighth, one and one quarter, one and three eighths, one and one half, and one and five eighths. he topped triple crown winner sir bartons belmont mark by three seconds, setting an american record for that distance as well.
so, again, when there's no competition-there's the clock. man o war took that on, and won vs it many times. and many times his pps comments were never extended, under restraint, easing late, under a pull, etc.
he was voted best american racehorse of the first half of the 20th century in an ap poll of sports writers in 1950. bloodhorse magazine convened a panel of racing historians to rank the century's top hundred horses, man o war again. ap did a poll in '99, man o war again. lot of fools out there i guess...