Postmortem: Foggy wins!

Lost in the Fog won (barely) and, as expected, the message boards were filled with naysayers protecting the concept of greatness. Noticeably missing, however, were the diehard fans of this horse. I've yet to see more than a handful -- and wonder how many of those are just making an argument for argument's sake. Indeed, the debate has shifted in 2006. No longer do we find his fans arguing for greatness and his detractors wary to bestow it. Instead, it seems the battle is now fought over the past -- the undue disrespect (or adulation -- depending on your point of view) given to the Fog last year.

It's fairly clear -- at least to this writer -- that LITF is not as dominant as he was last year. If you had no history with him and only saw the race on Saturday, you'd probably would be impressed with the move on the turn and the determination he showed in the stretch, but you wouldn't call him a great horse -- under any meaningful standard of the word. And you certainly wouldn't go home, tell your family about him, and start wearing hats with his name.

In any event, though, horsefans should be happy that we have a chance to see him run as a four-year old. In many cases, we never get to see this occur -- our fast-maturing child stars are typically sent to stud long before they lose their cuteness and start working as security guards. It's fun to wonder, however: How would the story be different if he was hurt in training for the Breeders' cup and finished his career undefeated? Would he be viewed as Sadaharu Oh -- holding an impressive record against inferior competition...or would he had have been James Dean?

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We've got an exciting week upcoming with the Belmont Stakes and its usually terrific undercard. Make sure to come back later in the week for some analysis and a very exciting announcement.

S.A.