2010 World Thoroughbred Rankings

The headquarters of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities is located in Paris, and was founded in 2003. Horse racing industry members from around the world belong to this establishment, and one of its duties is compiling the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings each year. These rankings are the “official assessment of the top performers”, and since 2004, Sea The Stars, foaled in Ireland, has been the top performer of all time, with a points total of 136. This year, a newcomer to the list has been the closest to dethroning Sea The Stars.

The assessments are published twice a year, as the rankings are done at the end of a racing season. The seasons that are looked at are in countries that run from 1 January to 31 December and are for horses that are three-years-old and older. At present, countries such as Japan, Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Italy, Ireland, France and Germany are considered. The 2010 leader of the World Thoroughbred Rankings, foaled and trained in Great Britain, Harbinger, topped the list with 135 points. He is only one point shy of the 136 lead that Sea The Stars holds, and his performances have been breathtaking. The race that secured the rankings for Harbinger was the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, which was hosted by Ascot Racecourse on 24 July last year. He was able to outrun his competitors by eleven lengths and took this Grade I event in spectacular fashion. He ran four magnificent races, winning all, but was pulled from competing further due to an unfortunate injury.

Horses that made it onto the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities‘ published 2010 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings all scored over 115 points, and included Quality Road, Goldikova, Blame, So You Think, Rip Van Winkle, Makfi, Workforce, Twice Over and Zenyatta. Even though Blame made hearts stop in the Breeder’s Cup Classic by beating Zenyatta to the finish line, he only had 129 points. Michael Stoute, Harbingers trainer, has retired his winning horse to stud, but is still proud of his horse’s achievements on the track and his short lived racing career.