By Dick Jerardi
As we get ready for the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 20 and the final Grade I race for 3-year-olds in 2025 , I started thinking about the best 3-year-olds of the 21st Century. As I was putting my list together, I considered accomplishment/wins/Beyer figures and only 3-year-old form. So if you don’t see a horse on this list that you think should be on the list, there is a reason.
In chronological order, my list is Point Given (2001), Smarty Jones (2004), Afleet Alex (2005), Bernardini (2006), Curlin (2007), Rachel Alexandra (2009), California Chrome (2014), American Pharoah (2015), Arrogate (2016), Justify (2018) and Sovereignty (2025). Also considered: Tiznow (2000), Barbaro (2006), Beholder (2013), Songbird (2016) and Thorpedo Anna (2024).
Point Given finished his 3-year-old season with wins in the Preakness (111), Belmont Stakes (114), Haskell (106) and Travers (117) after a 110 in the Santa Anita Derby.
Smarty Jones’s four-race Beyer series from his Rebel (112), Arkansas Derby (109), Kentucky Derby (107) and Preakness (118) is unmatched this century for horses in TC preps and into TC races.
Afleet Alex won the Arkansas Derby with a 108, the Preakness (112) and Belmont Stakes (106). And did it all with style, his Preakness being one of the most memorable races ever.
Bernardini was a virtual unknown when he won the 2006 Preakness with a 113 Beyer, He followed that with wins in the Jim Dandy (114), Travers (116) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (117).
Curlin was good during the Triple Crown, great after with a 119 when he won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, 114 in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, along with the 111 in his Preakness win.
The great filly Rachel Alexandra’s 2009 season is the best of the 21st Century without much argument. Consider she won in succession the Martha Washington (104), Fair Grounds Oaks (101), Fantasy (108), Kentucky Oaks (111), Preakness (107), Mother Goose (116), Haskell (109), and Woodward (101), with three of the last four wins against males.
California Chrome was actually faster before the Triple Crown than during it in 2004, as his Beyers in the San Felipe (108) and Santa Anita Derby (107) show. He got just a 98 when winning the Derby and a 105 in the Preakness.
In 2015, American Pharoah, of course, won the only Grand Slam in history after winning the Triple Crown with Beyers of 105 in the Derby, 102 in the Preakness and 105 in the Belmont. He got a 109 in the Haskell and that incredible 120 when he finished his year and career in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Prior to the Derby, Pharoah got a 105 in the Arkansas Derby and a 101 in the Rebel.
Arrogate had not done all that much until he appeared in the 2016 Travers. All he did that day was set the track record and earn a 122 Beyer. Turned out it was no fluke when he followed that by upsetting Chrome in the BC Classic with a 120. It was the following January so not long after his 3-year-old season, but he got a 119 when winning the Pegasus and who knows what the figure might have been in the Dubai World Cup with the greatest single performance of the 21st Century when, after a disastrous start, he ran down Gun Runner who never lost another race and was named 2017 Horse of the Year.
Justify was never super fast during his perfect 2018 Triple Crown season, but what was amazing is that he went from the first time starter to Triple Crown winner in just 113 days with a win against maidens (104), an allowance (101), the Santa Anita Derby (107), the Ky. Derby (103), Preakness (97) and Belmont Stakes (101).
Sovereignty had never hit 100 on the Beyer scale before winning the Derby. Now, he has won the Derby (104) , Belmont (109), Jim Dandy (104) and Travers (115) in succession, an amazing run of consistent excellence.
So those are my 11. Feel free to debate and wouldn’t it be fun to consider an imaginary race with those 11 in the gate and the considered five on the also eligible list or even, if one could find a 16-stall gate, in the race.
