In 1999, The Blood-Horse magazine assembled a seven-person panel of distinguished horse racing people: Keeneland racing secretary, Howard Battle; Maryland Jockey Club vice president, Lenny Hale; Daily Racing Form columnist, Jay Hovdey; Sports Illustrated senior writer, William Nack; California senior steward, Pete Pederson; Louisville Courier-Journal racing writer, Jennie Rees; and Gulfstream Park steward Tommy Trotter.
Each of the experts compiled a list of what they considered to be the top 100 thoroughbred racehorses of the 20th century, which was then combined into a master list. The list was then expanded into a book with complete biographies.
First twenty-six:
Northern Dancer did not make the 100-list as shown above, but there is some question of the accuracy of the list. A reader says he/she "read the book" and Northern Dancer was tied for 17th in thee list.
Northern Dancer: wiki entry.
Sportswriter Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Northern Dancer is the kind of colt who, if you saw him in your living room, you'd send for a trap and put cheese in it. He's so little, a cat would chase him. But he's so plucky there's barely room in him for his heart. His legs are barely long enough to keep his tail off the ground. He probably takes a hundred more strides than anyone else, but he's harder to pass than a third martini."[
E. P. Taylor: wiki entry. Made his millions with the "toast" invention. As a reader noted, he toasted "bread" and he "bred" horses. One of the most fascinating men ever.
If one reads all the linked articles, one will know a lot of horse-racing history.
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