10-9-8 ... Counting Down Top Horses of the Decade

Now that the ball has dropped in Times Square and the final seconds of the year have been collectively shouted, here is another countdown at the end of the decade: the top 10 horses of the past 10 years—in the humble view of this turf writer.

Part objective, measuring earnings and graded victories, it also is very much a subjective list, reflecting my views for what defines greatness: class, achievements, consistency, and other factors. There was a lot to ponder and savor.

So here goes, from No. 10 to No. 1, ranking only regular North American participants and looking solely at their accomplishments this decade. This means not included are greats like Goldikova and Rachel Alexandra, the former because she was foreign-based and the latter because her 4-year-old season in 2010 paled relative to her Horse of the Year 8-for-8 campaign in 2009, which came during the previous decade.

No. 10: Bricks and Mortar

Although he will not be remembered for the competition he defeated—a seemingly below average group of upper-level grass horses—'Bricks' simply got it done. My vote for 2019 Horse of the Year, he completed a 6-for-6 year in 2019, winning top turf races from 1 1/8 miles to 1 1/2 miles, capped by the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T). Every victory came in a different state, and by year's end he had accumulated $6,723,650 in earnings, believed to be the largest seasonal total for a horse who competed strictly on the grass in the U.S.

He was not a horse with a single year of production. Over his career, Bricks and Mortar won 11 of 13 races, including the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T) in 2017, making more than $7 million in his career.

His ability to travel—and 85% win mark—swayed me to include him in the top 10, edging other classy horses such as Game on Dude (eight grade 1 victories) and Animal Kingdom (wins in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum Brands and Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline, both grade 1 events).

No. 9: Beholder

Over the decade, no female horse won more grade 1s. From 2012-16, she scored in 11 upper-level stakes, beginning with the Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) as a 2-year-old and finishing as a 6-year-old with a nose victory over Songbird in one of the most exciting Longines Breeders' Cup Distaffs (G1) of all time. In no race was her greatness more evident than in the $1 Million TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) in 2015 at Del Mar, in which she defeated males by 8 1/4 lengths.

She left her home base in California only twice, however, resulting in near misses when second in the 2013 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs and a close fourth the following year in the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park.

No. 8: Justify 

Last season's Horse of the Year proved one of the most challenging runners to evaluate because he never faced a single foe after winning the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), let alone an older horse. Regardless, for a short stretch in the spring of 2018, he somehow did what many thought to be nearly impossible—rising from maiden winner in mid-February to become just the 13th horse to win the Triple Crown. Unbeaten in six starts, he was retired that summer with a minor ankle injury, leaving fans to guess just what might have played out for the remainder of 2018.

No. 7: Tepin

Called "The Queen of the Turf" for her accomplishments on the grass, she was indeed that, winning 11 of 18 turf starts after making her first five starts on either dirt or synthetic surfaces. At her most brilliant in 2015-16, she rattled off 11 victories from 15 races on some of the world's most prestigious stages.

Besides beating the boys in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), she traveled to Royal Ascot in 2016 and won the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) while racing without Lasix. Also that year, she defeated males again in the Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T) before wrapping up her career with runner-up finishes in the First Lady Stakes (G1T) and 2016 Breeders' Cup Mile.

No. 6: Zenyatta

Most of her starts in a remarkable 19-for-20 career came before the decade began, but she still warrants inclusion. In a 2010 Horse of the Year campaign, she won five of six starts, captivating fans with her memorable stretch rallies. 

Only a loss in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) left a blemish on her record, though the race might have been one of her finest efforts. Struggling early, seemingly resenting the dirt kickback in front of her, she closed furiously, only to fall a couple of strides short of catching champion older horse Blame  in her finale.

No. 5: Arrogate 

For a seven-month stretch from August 2016-March 2017, no stakes horse in the world could match strides with the colt. He won the Travers Stakes (G1), the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), and the Dubai World Cup—somehow managing to win the latter race over Gun Runner  despite blowing the break.

Upon his return to America, he failed to maintain his form for the rest of 2017, losing all three of his starts, capped by a fifth-place finish behind Gun Runner in the 2017 Classic. It was a disappointing conclusion for a horse who retired with over $17.4 million in earnings as the all-time leading money earner in North America.

No. 4: California Chrome 

Though he lacked the brilliance of Arrogate and lost to him in two meetings, his lengthy excellence left a more satisfying mark. Great from age 2-5, he was awarded his first Horse of the Year title at 3 after winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes (G1) in 2014. He added a second Horse of the Year crown as a 5-year-old in 2016 when his only defeat in eight starts came when second in the 2016 Classic.

Not himself when ninth in the 2017 Pegasus World Cup, he retired with earnings of more than $14.7 million despite never winning a Breeders' Cup race. Besides his 2016 Classic, he ran third in the 2014 Classic. He also won the 2016 Dubai World Cup, one year after finishing second in his first try in that race.

No. 3: Gun Runner 

Skilled as a spring 3-year-old when he won the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) and ran third in the 2016 Kentucky Derby, he rose to greater heights later that year and then for the remainder of his career. After a runner-up finish in the Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in 2016, he responded by winning seven of eight races, including six grade 1s, topped by the 2017 Classic and 2018 Pegasus World Cup, the latter despite a difficult outside draw.

Only Arrogate had his measure over this eight-race sequence, coming at a time when Arrogate was the sharpest dirt horse in the world. Later, Gun Runner defeated him in the 2017 Classic.

No. 2: Wise Dan

In a remarkable span of races from 2010-14, the Wiseman's Ferry gelding won 23 of 31 starts—19 graded—on his way to becoming the first horse to win the same three Eclipse Awards in consecutive years: Horse of the Year, champion older male, and champion male turf horse in 2012 and 2013.

A graded stakes winner on dirt, synthetic, and turf, he won 11 grade 1 races and lost just a single time in 16 turf races, his favorite surface. He went 10-for-11 in 2013-14, only experiencing defeat when second in the Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (G1) in 2013 when it was taken off the grass and run on the synthetic Polytrack surface in place at the time at Keeneland.

No. 1: American Pharoah 

Though others won more races and amassed higher earnings, particularly after the lucrative Pegasus World Cup was introduced in 2017, American Pharoah won the races that mattered most, becoming the 12th winner of the Triple Crown and the first since Affirmed in 1978. He wrapped up his career by winning the 2015 Breeders' Cup Classic.

A champion at 2 in 2014, when he won the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and FrontRunner Stakes (G1), he shined even brighter at 3, winning the Rebel Stakes (G2), Arkansas Derby (G1), and William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) in addition to the Triple Crown and Classic.

Horse of the Year in 2015, he is also the horse of the decade.