Horses of the Decade

Over on ESPN.com, Jeremy Plonk has posted his list of the most influential horses of the decade. Guess who is #1: Barbaro. And I quote:

"Barbaro changed the way even we hardened racing fans look at the health of a horse, not to mention opening the public's eyes as to how much the racing industry can potentially care for one of its own."

He goes on to mention that other parts of Barbaro's legacy include veterinary advancements and his "careful preparation" leading up to the Derby which "single-handedly changed the way the nation's trainers looked at how they would space the prep races of future Derby contenders." Remember all that furor over five weeks between races? Now it seems the norm.

Other horses in Plonk's list are Curlin, Smarty Jones, Eight Belles, Rachel Alexandra and of course Zenyatta. I agree with him on all his picks but still wonder whether or not Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta have made the leap from the sports pages to the front pages. They may be cult heroes but I maintain they are heroes only within the sport of racing. Smarty Jones, by contrast, had mainstream appeal, evidenced by the fact that, as Plonk points out: "He drew 120,139 fans to Belmont, a whopping 17,000 more than any other race in the series' history."

Only one horse on the list made it into Time magazine (as opposed to Sports Illustrated or ESPN) and that was Barbaro. And only one horse continues to pop up in the headlines (when his sibling's run) and that is Barbaro. Smarty Jones' mainstream fame lasted, according to Plonk, five weeks.

Plonk gives Honorable Mentions to Afleet Alex, Funny Cide, Medaglia d'Oro and Rags to Riches. I think he has his list just about right. Can you think of any you might add?