Who's Your Favorite Horse

Favorite Horse: As a kid from a non-racing family in Memphis, I became infatuated with Thoroughbreds while at UVA. In 1982 the Champion 2-Year-Old was Roving Boy (Olden Times), who dominated the stakes on the West Coast. Being a direct male line descendant of Man O'War, Roving Boy was not only brilliant but also romantic as the horse that would continue the Man O'War sire line. Roving Boy fractured a cannon and missed all of the 3-year-old classics, but came back in October to run second in an allowance and...

CHRIS BAKER, THREE CHIMNEYS Favorite: Sandpit (Brz) This is a difficult choice for me. I have had the good fortune in my professional career, both on the racetrack and in breeding farm management, to work with many outstanding racehorses and get to know them beyond the limited amount you learn from watching races or studying past performances. From A.P. Indy, Kotashaan (Fr), Phone Chatter, Siphon (Brz), Soul of the Matter, Afternoon Deelites and Gentlemen (Arg) in racing to Saint Liam, Quality Road, Raging Fever, Summer Colony, Gygistar, Gun Runner and...

Favorite: My all-ime favorite was Triptych (Riverman). She was nicknamed the "Iron Lady" like Maggie Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister of the U.K. (and the longest serving). She won 14 times. She frequently took her game to the boys, by accelerating from a position of power close to the pace, and was relentless all the way to the line. Triptych won the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac as a 2-year-old and ran in every major race as a 3-year-old. I was at The Curragh when she won the Irish 2,000...

BOB FIERRO, DATA TRACK Favorite: I was a 12-year-old from Queens who was a horrible athletic prospect, but who loved racehorses. When a t.v. station broadcast the Bluegrass S. at Keeneland won by a diminutive colt named Round Table who scorched his way to a track record, he pierced his way into my heart. I checked his pedigree and decided he was the best-named horse ever (*Princequillo--*Knight's Daughter, c'mon!) because he came along when I was in school wallowing with joy through the Arthurian legend. However, I was devastated when...

HANNAH MATHIESEN, OAKMONT HORSE CLUB Favorite: My favorite racehorse of all time is definitely American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile). He was running when I was first getting involved in racing, and I followed him closely since he ran early in his career at my home track, Del Mar. One day, a family friend who writes for the local newspaper said she was going to interview Bob Baffert, and asked if I wanted to come along to be her photographer. Having only been to the backside a handful of times and...

EVAN FERRARO, RECRUITING & MARKETING MANAGER, FASIG-TIPTON Favorite: Songbird The two-time Fasig-Tipton sales graduate has been a personal favorite of mine since first seeing her as a yearling. Back in 2014, my friend and Fasig-Tipton colleague Dennis Lynch returned from a yearling inspection trip in California raving about a Medaglia d'Oro filly he had accepted for our Saratoga Sale. Whenever Dennis talks up a horse, you better listen, as he is one of the best judges around. That filly turned out to be Songbird. Songbird was easy to fall for,...

The terms 'best' and 'favorite' are typically two subjective concepts when it comes the Thoroughbred racehorse. The TDN's Gary King reached out to key players from different facets of the industry to hear their thoughts. Email Gary King ([email protected]) to have your say. I was a terrible hotwalker. In fairness, I didn't grow up around horses; I grew up going to the track. And by the time I got my first full-time job in racing in the NYRA press box, I had seen enough people get thrown, trampled and seriously...