all in Legends

They are, without question, the two best fillies to race on dirt in this century.

They most likely would both appear on a Top 10 list of North America’s all-time greatest fillies or mares.

Their combined collection of wins includes such prestigious Grade 1 stakes as the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Preakness Stakes, Haskell Stakes, Breeders’ Cup Distaff and Kentucky Oaks.

They finished 1-2 in the balloting for 2009 Horse of the Years honors.

During the glory days of the great Calumet Farm, the stable was filled with so many talented horses that when one went to the sidelines, even a Horse of the Year, a stablemate could step up and fill the void. Such was the case in 1949, when the legendary Citation was on the sidelines after an incredible campaign in 1948 that saw him win the Triple Crown, Horse of the Year, and 19 of his 20 races.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Pat Riley and Phil Jackson dominated the National Basketball Association coaching ranks, accounting for 10 championships between them. But during the same time frame another basketball coach was even more dominant than the two NBA legends, he just chose to ply his trade in a different sport.

What defines a champion?

Is it talent; the raw ability that gives an athlete the ability to excel in their sport? Is it accomplishments; the record of achievements that their talent enables them to compile? Or is it something else entirely; an innate desire to perform as well as possible and give your all every time you compete?

In the United States, it took 37 years for American Pharoah to follow up Affirmed’s 1978 Triple Crown sweep.

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