Is horse racing making a comeback? If numbers don’t lie, the Sport of Kings has enjoyed a fast track on the business side of the house for the past year. First there was the 2003 magical run of long shot Funny Cide, who almost became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. That was followed by the box-office success of Seabiscuit, which grossed over $120 million and was nominated for Best Picture. As a result of this positive publicity, approximately 17 million people watched this year’s Kentucky Derby on May 1, a 16 percent increase over last year.

Smarty Jones' dominating victory in the Preakness Stakes, setting up another run at the Triple Crown, will only add to the sport's rebirth.

When compiling a list of the top five horses of all-time, I turned to a man who has seen them all, Dogwood Stable’s venerable founder and president, Cot Campbell.

No. 5: Seabiscuit
When deciding between Seabiscuit and War Admiral for a spot in the top 5, Campbell makes a compelling argument for the more famous of the two.

“I thought during his (Seabiscuit’s) career that he was harder used than War Admiral. He went everywhere to race, and he raced 35 times as a two year old. Of course he wasn’t much of a two-year old . . . I don’t know how he withstood that, and then he suddenly blossomed. What he accomplished in the face of rather vigorous handling and being asked to do a lot was remarkable. War Admiral was a sleek Ivy Leaguer type; Seabiscuit was the blue collar working man.”

Because of his poor training as an overworked two-year old, Seabiscuit’s overall record in 89 starts was only 33 wins, 15 second place finishes, and 13 thirds. But one of those wins was perhaps the biggest event in the history of horse racing: A match race between War Admiral and Seabiscuit at Pimlico that was heralded as a contest between East and West. At the time, any horse that raced back east was seen as superior to those west of the Mississippi.

Seabiscuit entered as a 2-1 underdog to War Admiral, the grandson of Man ‘O War. After the two exchange leads, Seabiscuit won a sprint down the back stretch to win by four lengths, clocking in at 1 minute, 56 and 3/5 seconds, a track record. Seabiscuit was later named horse of the year in 1938.

No. 4: Man O' War
Man O’ War’s lifetime record is astonishing; winning 20 of 21 starts, with the only blemish being one second place finish. Ironically, his one loss came to a horse named Upset, hence the origin of the commonly used sports term upset.

“I saw Man O' War when I was nine or ten years old after he was retired,” Campbell recalls.” It was a great thing just to see him. He would affect you like no other horse ever did, because he would stare off into the horizon like he was waiting to conquer some new world. His defeat by Upset was a fluke kind-of-thing that was a combination of racing tactics that kept him bottled up. But he was something else . . . looking at him was like seeing the Taj Mahal.”

Man O' War set two American records and three world records despite carrying as much as 138 pounds, conceding 20-30 pounds to his opponents and still winning easily.

What kind of impact did Man O' War have on the American public? When the horse died in 1937 at the age of 30, he was preserved and lay in state for several days in a personally made casket decorated with his racing colors, making him the first horse ever buried in this fashion.  Reportedly more than 2000 mourners attended his funeral.

No. 3: Citation
Also known as Big Cy, he made one of the most difficult accomplishments in sport—winning the Triple Crown—look easy. He won the 1948 Kentucky Derby by 3 1/2 lengths, the Preakness by 5 1/2 lengths, and took the Belmont by 8 lengths. No horse would win another Triple Crown until Secretariat in 1973.

In 1948 Citation was named the best three-year old of the year and Horse of the Year among older runners as well. Overall that season, he won 19 of 20 races, with most of them against older horses when there were no more three-year-olds left to dominate.

“He was a grand looking horse,” explains Campbell. “He was in great hands when the Jones boys (Ben and Jimmy Jones) trained him. He could do it all. He could sprint. He could go two miles. He was just a marvelous, versatile horse who came back from injury and ran awfully well then. He wasn’t much a sire, which has nothing to do with his racing qualities, but he was a God-awful race horse.”

Osslets and tendon problems kept Citation out of racing at age four, but he returned for two more years because of owner Warren Wright’s insistence of hitting the million-dollar earnings mark, which he accomplished in 1950. It would mark the first time a colt had surpassed seven figures.

No. 2: Secretariat
When was the last time you saw a horse go off as a 1-10 favorite in a Triple Crown race? That is how dominant Secretariat was in 1973. Going into the Belmont, there was no doubt the favorite would win, it seemed the only question was by how much.

Five lengths?

Ten lengths?

Try 31 lengths.

His time of 2:24 for 1½ miles set a world record many believe will never be broken.

Secretariat’s career only lasted 16 months. He had 21 races in that stretch, winning 16 and finishing in the money in 20. He made such a tremendous impression from the start that he was an odds-on favorite 17 times, winning all races but four. By the time his owners opted to stud, he had won consecutive Horse of the Year awards in 1972 and 1973.

“Secretariat was a super horse. He was just a magnificent specimen,” reminiscences Campbell. “He took your breath away when you saw him. And he had a heart, literally, that measured much bigger than the average equine heart, which gave him the great power and thrust that he had. He was murder.”

No. 1: Kelso
According to Campbell, when it comes to endurance, a high-level of consistency and complete supremacy, no horse can touch Kelso.

“Kelso was undoubtedly the greatest horse who ever looked through a bridle. No horse ever did what Kelso did. Five times he was Horse of the Year, and he could do it all. He could go on the grass, he could go long, and he won the Jockey Club Gold Cup at two miles five times. He could sprint too. He ran in California, Chicago, New York, and Florida — everywhere. And no horse did it as long as Kelso.”

On top of the aforementioned multiple Horse of the Year honors and Jockey Cup Gold Cups, Kelso set or equaled fifteen track records. Despite racing primarily in the early sixties and inflation, he is still horse racing’s all-time money earner at a time when the maximum purse was only $100,000. Of his 63 starts, he finished in the money an eye-popping 54 times with 39 wins.

Cot Campbell, who has seen thousands of thoroughbreds in his 70-plus years around horse racing, leaves no doubt who is at the top of his list.

“He’s the greatest horse I ever saw, ever heard about or ever will see.”

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