Discuss horse racing's 10 most unbreakable records

All this fuss about Rapid Redux and the like even being mentioned in the same breath as Citation, or even Zenyatta, is ridiculous. And now they're even talking about giving Redux a special Eclipse award for his winning streak. Boy, if they do that the Eclipse awards will have become totally meaningless. Nothing against the horse, he's done everything asked, and done it well, but any award ought to go to the connections who keep finding races they can win, which of course in starter races are basically the same race over and over again. Come to think of it, I wonder if starter races are a good idea at all -- instead of being opportunities for promising horses to run without being subject to claim they've become mortal locks for connections with horses that fit the conditions. Hey, we already have claiming races, maiden races, nw1s, nw2s and nw3s. Throw in differences in distances and surfaces and there ought to be lots of opportunities for all.

In regards to longest losing streak - a Japanse mare named Haru Urara went to post 113 times without winning. Towards the end of her career she was famous in Japan and large crowds came to watch her race and cheer her on, to no avail. I have a Haru Urara long sleeve t-shirt that my mother-in-law (lives in Japan) acquired for me. Haru Urara can be translated as Beautiful Spring or Glorious Spring.

When "The Bid" was HOTY, he didn't finish ahead of a single horse in NY, That same year the Belmont, the Travers, and the Jockey Club Gold Cup were all won by the same horse. For me, that is why the whole HOTY thing is a sad joke.

This list is missing KINCSEM 54 for 54 at all types of distances and all types of weight assignments. RIBOT's resume is quite impressive at 16 for 16 with 2 Arcs againts tops level competition. RUSSELL BAZE 11,000+ WINS. At the rate he is going, if he stays healthy he could make it 14,000. He is only 53 and just recently "Got Hot" again and the record just keeps growing. EXCELLER BEAT 2 triple crown winners...... however, BORROW beat 3 Kentucky Derby winners. I also think that LAVA MANs California triple of the Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup, And Pacific Classic is a tough one to beat only because each race is ran on a different track surface and even though a really good horse could win the Big Cap(dirt) and the Gold Cup(cushion)....... that Pacific Classic(poly) will play mind gmes with a horse.

Good read bill, how about wins by jock on one horse?

Kelso! Unless we are blessed with another great gelding I believe his record will stand the test of time.

A good friend of mine was alive with 5 horses in an 11 horse field last leg of a pick 4. The payoffs being between 4000.00 and 7000.00. So he bet between 40 and a hundred bucks on the rest of the longshoots. When the race was over a 40- 1 horse had won. This was not one of his live tickets. When he checked his tickets some how he left that one ouy.

One for debate can be the longest losing streak (for a horse that is). The most prominent one that comes to mind would be Zippy Chippy. Maybe Mr. Christine can do some digging into this one.

Attn:Bill Christine Was the 6 furlong interior fraction of Dr Fager's Mile also a record? If so, that would be tough to beat. Enjoyed your column and I wondered why 56 wasn't on that list ???? Best Regards

I thought Travis Dunkelberger won eight at Laurel and eight at Charles Town on the same day.

Thank you for the article. Also would like to make a clarification about Camarero, he was originally buried at the Quintana Racetrack near San Juan, Puerto Rico. When this track closed down his remains were moved to the"old" El Comandante Racetrack located in Carolina. They were left there until the mid 90's when these were "rescued" by Mr. Jorge Colon Delgado who initiated a movement to have the champion's remains moved to the "New" El Comandante Racetrack (that happened I think in the mid to late 70's). The racetrack that was originally named El Nuevo Comandante a couple of years ago was re-named Hipodromo Camarero is located in Canovanas. If Mr. Colon Delgado had not stirred up things Camarero would be sufferig the indignity of lying somewhere below Home Depot and Walmart (the old El Comandante is now a shopping center!). In addition to that Camarero's owner, Mr. Jose Coll Vidal, owned many horses in the US and was always in search of the elusive records as a result he certainly nursed his horses to accomplish those feats. In fact, he was also the owner of Condado (a son of Gadstick by speedy Broomstick) who won I think either 43 or 44 races in a row and won 38 races in 1937. Although I do not have my notes at hand I think that Condado got to beat imported horses a couple of times. Regards, Rosana Rivera

In the realm of negative records, when my horses were involved in photo finishes I once lost 17 straight photos. And that was back before instant video replays, so one had to literally "wait" for the result - and suffer accordingly. Wasn't there a horse racing about 15 years ago who ran like 89 times in maiden races? I don't know if he ever won. Talk about banging your head against the wall.

1973 ,bel. big red by 31 holds record time too. ky. time too.

Okay..Now here's one..Somebody already mentioned the Only Undefeated Triple Crown Winner of All-Time...Seattle Slew..But, in lieu of how they baby horses today, & the bulk of them never race past 3. He's the only Triple Crown winnner to demolish another Triple Crown winner. Not once, but twice{albeit the Slewster ran 2nd in one of the races}. Just think..First, a horse has to win the Triple Crown, & then another one has to win it. & then they have to meet..That aint happening.. Greatest horse to look thru a bridle...On the track & off it......I don't want to hear the Affirmed excues either..They could have raced for the next 10 years & he still wouldn't have gotten into smelling range.......

Why not include the only undefeated horse to win the Triple Crown , or the only horse to ever come in second in all three Triple Crown races, . To this date these records still stand and with the competitive nature of todays' racehorse and team, more than likely will not happen again!

An excellent and thought invoking article . Got all the baseball questions which essentially makes the writers point .

Thank you for compiling this list. I have been involved in racing most of my life and was not aware of some of these. The only comment I would make is that when discussing the one mile record times, it should be noted that both of those races, even though at different tracks, were one turn miles.

My horse Golden Topaz has 162 recognized starts on his form. That does not include all the races he ran on the buhes. He may have not won a lot of races or made alot of money he sure was a "old hard knocker".

What would be more difficult to break... training 5 straight Belmont winners or a dam producing two straight Belmont winners? Better than Honor foaling both Jazil & Rags to Riches. I can't image a mare producing 3 in a row! Great Column!

Spectacular Bid 1 1/4 American record of 157 4/5 in 1980. It has been over 30 years and no one has come close to this time, The Classic distance of 1 1/4 has been run for over 30 years and The Bid's record still stands, The Kentucky Derby, Breeders Cup Classic and many other 1 1/4 races have been run. yet The Bid stands alone..............

I don't know about Eclipse Awards but Ghostzapper was the best Older Horse and best Sprinter in the same year. Can't answer for the voting.

2:24 in the Belmont Stakes by Secretariat - that will stand for another 50 years

Dear Mr. Christine: I enjoyed this story immensely, a fine blend of superb research and tight, bright writing. Thank you!

Nice article. These Top Ten Lists always are great to stir debate! I sure can't argue with Secretariat's Belmont and it would be # 1 in my book. Kelso was mentioned also and I got the chance to see him run back in the 60's. He not only took the 5 straight Horse of the Year titles but he also broke a world record for 2 miles (3:19.1 I believe was the time). In this day of speed horses and with 1 1/8 miles considered a long distance, that record will never be broken. The great Kelly also won Belmont's Jockey Club Gold Cup FIVE year's in a row. In those pre-Breeder's Cup Days, that race was as close as we had to the Breeder's Cup Classic for older horses.

Goldikova's three consecutive Breeders Cup Mile wins. No horse is going to win the same Breeders Cup race 4 years in a row.

My record of not cashing a ticket in 40 straight races at Saratoga in 2002

Storm flag flying is a third generation maternal side champion 2 yr old and third generation BC winner. I don't know if those records will ever be broken. I'd also venture to guess that Goldikova's feat of three straight BC mile wins is gonna be around for a long time. I think you might even be hard pressed to find a taller winner of a BC race then young Joseph O'Brien this year. Those three are all gonna take some special circumstances to top.

Loved the 10 choices. Interesting and quite a lot of racing history in that group. Thanks for a great article!

In the "modern era," doubt anyone will ever break world/track records like Swaps did in one year!! Long live Swaps.

Secreteriats triple crown races, the race I was most impressed with was the Preakness the way he just cruised from last to 1st on the backstretch, his Belmont win was so visually awesome but his best race was in the Derby he ran every quarter as fast or faster than the previous quarter mile, that is unbelievable especially at a 1 1/4 miles

The year that Ta Wee had in 1970 merits inclusion. In seven starts she carried an average weight of 135.57 lbs. In her final 2 races which she won both of, she carried 140 & 142 lbs. The animal rights groups would never allow this today. Also Spectacular Bid's 1980 season is something we will never see again, highlighted by his world record 1 1/4 miles, and his walkover.

RE: Dr. Fager having to share his 1:32 1/5 mile world record, I say the heck with the .004, the other horse still ran it slower, plus Fager carried 134 lbs. What did the other horse carry? If memory serves it was something like 116. So Bill Christine should have gone with his gut and included this in his top 10. Any one who watch's Dr. Fagers mile today will still get a chill and shake their head in disbelief.

A very interesting article that I much enjoyed - and I've forwarded it to several friends who are racing fans. I expect there will be some books read and exchanged among us that will help us better understand the magnitude of some of these accomplishments. I will start first with learning more about Kelso - our dog answers to that name :) Thanks....

Greatly respect Bill Christine's writing and sense of history; but I do believe a number of very significant records were omitted from even the 21 Honorable Mentions list: Calumet Farm being leading breeder 11 straight years from 47-58, replicating a similar streak by John E. Madden (not the inimitable football coach & commentator) from 1918-1927; Angel Cordero, Jr., "The King of Saratoga" winning 11 straight riding titles at Saratoga from 1976-86; Hall of Fame trainer Burley Parke's feat in 1950 with *Noor, defeating Triple Crown champ Citation four times in succession; and Affirmed's 33-years-and-counting streak since any horse has won the Triple Crown.

Definitely a very cool article. Of all the records, I would vote for anything Dr Fager did. Obviously. I've got one of my own to add. I went well over 2 years, without coming out on the winning end of an inquiry or objection. Play the races every day and see if anyone can beat that!.

Angel Cordero consecutives riding titles @Saratoga

I think Goldikova's 3 straight Breeders Cup Mile wins also may never be broken for one simple reason. It is the richest one mile turf rich in the world and a horse would have to stay fit for 3 years to do it.

Hi Bill Christine, This is a fun list that can be studied (and enjoyed) for hours on end. The obscure is a revelation, but the talk of Dr. Fager and Kelso, Woody Stephens and D. Wayne (Lukas) should remind all of us “horse heads” how great it can be. The jockey records, I would think, are the most likely to fall, and we’ll leave it at that. Great column, great sport, and have a Happy New Year – the reporting is appreciated. H PS - cashed a ticket at Suffolk once for 406. The teller goes, "Ted Williams once hit 406", as he handed me my money. "He just hit .401" as I gave him a fiver. Had forgotten that.

How about FOUR STAR DAVE nine years in a row winning at Saratoga?

And what was the lowest amount of money bet on a winning horse? Apparently there was $8 bet on this Wishing Ring. So he doesn't have the record. I was at Green Mountain Park in the late 60s when Fleetglow won with just $4 on him in the win pool. (I believe he paid $658 for $2 to win.)

I don't understand Mr. Christine's use of the numbers 73 and 755. He seems willing to accept Bonds's total of 73 as the single-season home run record. Yet he refers to Hank Aaron's final total of 755 as the career record, I guess because he questions the legitimacy of Bonds final career total of 762. But if he accepts Bonds's 73 as legitimate, why not his final total of 762? The same degree of skepticism should apply to both numbers. As for .367 for Ty Cobbs as the top career average of all time: Lately, that average has been adjusted down to .366 by some analysts. The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia, for example, credits Cobb with 4,189 hits in 11,434 official at-bats, or .36636. No one will ever surpass Nolan Ryan's career strikeout record of 5,714, not in an era of five-men rotations, of intense pitch-count monitoring, when pitchers are considered "workhorses" if they pitch 200 innings. Likewise, no one will ever break Walter Johnson's record of 110 career shutouts, not at a time when a quality start is considered to be six innings. No one will come remotely close to either standard.

Hello, I find this article most interesting and one that should not be quibbled with. Horse Racing has been a very parochial sport and the lack of a national governing body has ultimately hurt it. Finding records can be time consuming and lead one down many a dead end. This article is no dead end. I remember traveling to the 1978 Kentucky Derby and we stayed the Friday night before at a Hotel off the Interstate in Florence, KY. There was a light drizzle and lower than average temperatures so, on fear that the Cincinnati Reds game, just across the Ohio River, might me canceled we stayed in the area rather than cross the river and attempt to go to a game that could be canceled. The only thing that made the game of interest, other than the Reds were my NL team, was that Pete Rose might get hit #3, 000. They played, he did, and we got to see it on the TV “break-in” when it happened. It was a cold miserable night, and the 78 Derby was drenched in sunshine. But early in the night, getting away from memorization of past Derby winners I asked the desk clerk, "is Latonia nearby"? He said it was, “but it ain’t the original”. I think most knowledgeable horse people are aware of that fact. And Green Mountain was a pretty obscure track in Vermont, but a hit like that should be remembered. I guess my point would be that sometimes finding the greatness in Horse Racing can be like studying the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The only living witnesses were Indians and horses and the only U.S. survivor was a Calvary horse named Comanche. I have it on good authority that he wasn’t talking, although they say he was at death: Age: 29 (1891) Height: 15 Hands Color: Buckskin Peculiar Markings: Left hind fetlock white, black tail & mane, white saddle marks, small white star on forehead, bullet wounds. So I just love a list like this and can’t argue with the Top Ten at all. And yet, just the mention of King Kelly (Kelso) and Woody Stephens would have been enough to take the moon over the mountain for me, personally. If anyone really feels that they are owed compensatory damages, I guess, you can just bill Christine:) Thanks for a list of interest. Now to look at that Agua Caliente Racetrack chart and try to figure out how the race was run. Happy New Year!!!

Love this column. Under jockeys I remember a rider named Tim Moccasin winning 14 consecutive races but I think it was over a 2 day period, back in 2001.

Loved this column but kind of disappointed that #1 is the amount of a bet payoff instead of something that our beloved athlete's (the horses or jockeys) did.

Actually Ak-Sar-Ben was located in Omaha, they closed for live racing after the 1995 season and closed for simulcasting after the 1997 season.

There are a few,,,,but certainly one that we will never see again,,in this lifetime are Secretariats 3 Triple Crown Wins and the way he did it,,,Weve never seen it before or after,,,,There have been many great horses,,and a few super horses,,,,and yes even they do get beat on a givin day,,,However when this horse was on realy on,,,his was a supernatural presence,,,,The Sport needs moe of his like as well as media coverage,,,,its hard to believe we were at one time the number 1 spectator sport,,,,,GOD Give us more Secretariats,,,And Zenyattas

Great column by Bill Christine on The 10 Most Unbreakable Records In Racing. It was a clever concept; with equally clever execution. One minor correction, Ak-Sar-Ben was formerly in Omaha, not Lincoln. But thanks for spelling the name in the original fashion, instead of the AK-sarben spelling which came with the sale of the track to Douglas County. Such a Beloved Jewel of Midwest Racing. Long live Aks! Long live Bill Christine! Thanks for the column Bill.

This is the Legendary Kieth Assmussen along with his fellow horse jockey/trainer, Oscar Wells... around 1981.Oscar Wells is my father in law. when Oscar went to visit him in Lorado,Texas. Kieth Son is Cash and Steve Assmussen.. Steve is Rachael Alexader's trainer,, Well know all over the world. My father in law and Steve's dad rode horses together in the 1950's and Oscar rode horses for Kieths Dad also.

Great column by Bill Christine on The 10 Most Unbreakable Records. It was a clever concept; with equally clever execution. One minor correction, Ak-Sar-Ben was formerly in Omaha, not Lincoln. But thanks for spelling the name in the original fashion, instead of the AK-sarben spelling which came with the sale of the track to Douglas County. Such a Beloved Jewel of Midwest Racing. Long live Aks! Long live Bill Christine! Thanks for the column Bill.

In 1912, Latonia Racetrack was not located in my hometown of Florence, KY. It was located in Latonia, KY which even today is an area located adjacent to and slightly south of Covington, KY. Your author did not do his homework.