What do you guys think, is Big Brown a truly great horse, almost great without the competition to push him to greatness, or a decent horse with competition that makes him look good?

Personally, I'm leaning towards almost great. But I reserve the right to advance depending on his performance in 3 weeks.

i thing he is a great horse and the fact that he responds to competition is part of his greatness. that often is what makes the difference in these animals, since they are bred to compete. and so, when they respond to competition, as part of the game, it is part of their greatness.

is that convoluted? i hope you see what i mean (i think my brain needs some caffeine.....)

Big Brown looks good but I have to wonder about the level of competition. It could be he is just that good but remember Secretariat set records in all three races and Affrimed barely beat Alydar each time. I guess if he wins all three it really won't matter.

You made perfect sense.

And for heart, he may well be great. But does he have the physical abilities that true greatness requires? June 7 and 1 1/2 miles will give me that answer. But he'll have to win going away again to move him to great IMO.

The official (oddsmaker) word on the competiton seems to be "weak."

I think Affirmed and Alydar were both great horses.

I believe Alydar would have won the triple crown in any other year. I guess that is the luck of the draw.