Greatest Living Racehorse?

[Antitrust32]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

And you would have an argument although it seems that his stature gets worse with time instead of better. At the end of the day he didn't really "do" anything. Smarty was another three year old that fell just short of a triple crown and was retired early. He had a HUGE following but in reality his star lasted for two months.

I think Z will be discussed for better or worse for many years to come although not right now by me for fear of permanent banishment.

I just dont understand how Z will be discussed.

Outside of some horse racing folks debating her HOY status.. and maybe a newspaper here and there in California, she's already done being discussed.

And what did Zenyatta do that Smarty didnt? Z won a BC Classic... Smarty won a Kentucky Derby. Neither retired undefeated... both horses actually only lost their last race. While Zenyatta ran admirably in defeat, Smarty's Belmont elevated people's opinion of him... as he was burned in a speed dual and still managed a corageous 2nd at 1 1/2 miles. the horses he beat on the front (who werent slugs - Rock hard ten was probably better than Blame) RHT, Eddington, Purge.. were beat by a combined like 65 lengths or something.

In my mind, Smarty's legacy will outweigh Zenyatta's. People remember the Kentucky Derby. I still have some people when I ask them if they follow horse racing say "oh yeah I remember that one horse... whats his name? Smarty something?" A lot of people I meet, the only race horse name they can recall is Smarty Jones.

I respectfully disagree that Zenyatta will have a longer lasting legacy than Smarty Jones.

And, while Smarty Jones may not be the best stallion on the market, he still will sire 100 horses a year to be on the race track... Zenyatta will have one. That alone will keep Smarty Jones on people's mind more than Zenyatta.

In my opinion, people will remember Zenyatta as much as they remember Azeri.