We ask this question because on August 24, Thorpedo Anna, The Chosen Vron, Vahva, and Silver Knott were all defeated in their attempts to maintain dominance in their respective divisions. On the previous day, Idiomatic lost in the Personal Ensign. So what does all this mean?

  A close look at each one of these stars of the sport tells us they ran admirably in defeat. Silver Knott and Vahva both finished third as they lacked their customary kick in the home stretch. The Chosen Vron and Idiomatic ran well but were simply turned away by their front-running foes as each came up a neck short. Thorpedo Anna ran her heart out, but was just a nose short as she attempted to beat the boys in the Travers Stakes.

  If we have a take away from all this, it could simply be a testament to the balance of the sport. Dominance in any division is difficult because of the depth in all of them. Running in graded stakes company is never easy and winning in stakes company period is tough. Everybody wants a piece of the pie. All of the aforementioned runners will be back as we move towards the Breeders’ Cup. Whether they run again before or simply train to those World Championships, we should get to see them on the track again in 2024.

  Naysayers of the world will degrade the talent because they don’t win EVERY race. As a positive thinking realist, the answer is more likely the competitive nature of the game.  The beauty of this game can be “any given race” and certain uncertainty. Fans can enjoy that and speculators simply have to hope they guess right.

  As to who is numero uno right now?...How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?... stay tuned:)