Divisional best by decade since 1900

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by King Glorious

Thanks for posting that Drugs. So if my ciphering is correct, here's what I get. Out of those seven horses (Candy Ride, Congaree, Medaglia d'Oro, Milwaukee Brew, Mineshaft, Perfect Drift, Pleasantly Perfect), here's the total number of matchups against the others in that group:

Congaree-8 (in four races, one win)
(Pleasantly Perfect 3x, Milwaukee Brew 2x, Perfect Drift 2x, MDO 1x)

Pleasantly Perfect-7 (in three races, one win)
(Congaree 3x, Milwaukee Brew 2x, MDO 1x, Perfect Drift 1x)

Milwaukee Brew-6 (in three races, one win)
(Congaree 2x, Pleasantly Perfect 2x, Candy Ride 1x, MDO 1x)

Medaglia d'Oro-5 (in two races, no wins)
(Candy Ride, Milwaukee Brew, Pleasantly Perfect, Congaree, Perfect Drift 1x each)

Perfect Drift-5 (in three races, two wins)
(Congaree 2x, MDO 1x, Pleasantly Perfect 1x, Mineshaft 1x)

Candy Ride-2 (in one race, one win)
(MDO, Milwaukee Brew 1x each)

Mineshaft-1 (in one race, no wins)
(Perfect Drift 1x)
___________________

So with the exception of Candy Ride and Mineshaft, each of those other five faced another of the top seven in multiple races. It's pretty easy to see why I said they were facing each other consistently and beating each other. It's not unlike 1997 when Will's Way, Skip Away, and Formal Gold kept facing each other and beating each other up and Favorite Trick snuck in and won HOY. Again, you can't fault a horse for who shows up to face them, especially when they are running in the right races as Mineshaft was. But you also can't excape the reality of the fact that Mineshaft got off easy that year in comparison to what the others were facing on a regular basis.

he got off easy? i disagree. i thought he ran a good campaign (especially when you consider other hoy campaigns that have been run the last few years-i think mineshaft started almost as many times in that one year as GZ did in his entire career) and was deserving of hoy. was he the best since bid as has been suggested by another poster here? hell no. if he didn't deserve hoy, who did that year?

[dalakhani]

Originally Posted by Danzig

he got off easy? i disagree. i thought he ran a good campaign (especially when you consider other hoy campaigns that have been run the last few years-i think mineshaft started almost as many times in that one year as GZ did in his entire career) and was deserving of hoy. was he the best since bid as has been suggested by another poster here? hell no. if he didn't deserve hoy, who did that year?

He isn't saying he got off easy in the sense that he purposely took on a light campaign. I think he is saying that although he mapped out a schedule of tough races, all of those races came out really light that year and he got off without having to run against all but one of the best horses.

Tough to make a compelling case as a more deserving HOY that year but I do agree with KG that olmodavor and hold that tiger are the best that mineshaft beat. That's pretty weak all things considered.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

He isn't saying he got off easy in the sense that he purposely took on a light campaign. I think he is saying that although he mapped out a schedule of tough races, all of those races came out really light that year and he got off without having to run against all but one of the best horses.

Tough to make a compelling case as a more deserving HOY that year but I do agree with KG that olmodavor and hold that tiger are the best that mineshaft beat. That's pretty weak all things considered.

which is why i don't think he belongs on any 'all time' list. he was no monster imo. but i don't have any qualms about the schedule he ran, especially compared to some other hoy winners we've had in the last few years. gz with four starts, zenyatta last year with nary an open win, blame was a candidate with, what, five wins in six starts? i think the chief criticism some have regarding mineshaft was he didn't run in the classic.