You're asking that question on the wrong Forum! This is a Forum of Man o' War fans! We believe Man o' War is #1 (as did the Bloodhorse!) and nothing will change our minds.
I have all the respect in the world for Secretariat, he is also a great horse, but Man o' War is still #1 for me!
The other part, I guess, that is bothersome for many is that a lot of Secretariat fans seem to discount all of racing history prior to Secretariat. It's a funny dichotomy - All the race horses prior to Secretariat were sort of glorifed platers, and then suddenly the 70's blossomed with all time champs - and then all the horses since have declined.
Sorry - but the Thoroughbred did not magically change into a drastically superior animal from 1920 to 1970, and then just as suddenly disintegrate into mediocraty from 1980 to present.
As for the times - if you really want a yardstick, take a look at the times in Europe that haven't changed that much from the early part of the 20th Century to now. And Euro horses can come over here and whip our butt, so it's not like Euro's are plow animals. The difference is that England and Europe have not juiced up their tracks like we have done in the U.S.
If you think there is little difference between the track and the shoes that Man o' War ran with and on vs. conditions in the 1970's, then I suggest you try this: Wear a pair of old P.F. Flyers and run 100 yards on a schoolyard blacktop. Now, put on a pair of Nikes (fine - 1970's Nikes) and run the same hundred yards over an Olympic Track surface. Think your times would be the same?
We've made vast improvements in shoeing and balancing in the shoes, and we've also made vast improvements in soil conditioning, drainage, composition, etc. compared to the steel shoes and plowed dirt roads they raced over 80 years ago.
