How do you.....

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Because I don't want to type up a million words saying you can't really learn anything by rating them....so rating them really doesn't matter - I will give in and do so.

Curlin's career is still unfinished - and when you look at what is out there in the older male division now - he's got a very easy road to #1 on everyones list of these if he stays sound. I will rate him though as if he's been retired today...and not account for what he might do later on.

#1 Smarty Jones (really - almost nothing seperates these five horses in a rating system. Especially the top 3. His Preakness win was awesome. His Rebel win was strong. His Belmont Stakes effort was massively better than looked. I wasn't a big fan of his - but he was a very good 2yo, excellent 3yo, he had his huge race, and where was his bad race?)

#2 Curlin (He was always the better horse than Street Sense and Hard Spun, but as an immature type in a race run as the Derby was - he wasn't going to show it. Won the Preakness as a lightly raced horse despite getting outtripped. Finished off 3yo season VERY strong. Doesn't corner well, isn't very effective picking through the pack, thus prone to needing wide trips)

#3 Bernardini (he lossed his debut sprinting - A. P. Indy's don't do six furlongs well. After that, it was a steady diet of one impressive race followed by another slightly more impressive race - and that trend concluded with his better than looked 2nd in the Classic. A good case could be made for #1. However, all of his wins came with soft trips in soft fields.)

#4 Afleet Alex (He was the star of a weak triple crown series - even though his best game naturally was probably elongated sprints. Great training job. Very underrated early season 2yo. His win in the Sanford was outstanding.)

#5 Barbaro (he easily was cut out to be the kind of horse that could top this list. I'm rating based on what he did though - and not on a projection as to what he could have done)