Reader poll: who was the most memorable winner of the 'Big Cap'

Seabiscuit winning the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap. Photo: www.santaanita.com

Tomorrow Santa Anita will open its gates to stage its most historic race, the Santa Anita Handicap. Commonly known as the ‘Big Cap’, it has been won by some of the nation's biggest equine stars. We want to know which you think was the most memorable?

Possibly the highest-profile winner was the great Seabiscuit. He twice finished a close second in the race in 1937 and 1938 before a near career-threatening injury ruled him out of the 1939 edition. A year later, after making a miraculous recovery, he finally won the Big Cap in what would turn out to be his final start.

Another legendary horse to take the race was 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed. The flashy chestnut smashed the track record when taking the 1979 edition in a time of 1.58.60. That record stood until 2014, when it was broken by Game On Dude, who was winning the race for a record-breaking third time.

But there have been many other outstanding winners - horses like Round Table (1958), Spectacular Bid (1980), John Henry (1981 and 1982), Alysheba (1988), Tiznow (2001), Lava Man (2006 and 2007) and the ill-fated Shared Belief (2015). And there was 1989 victor Martial Law, whose story was told on this site earlier this week.

We want to know which you think was the most memorable. Give us your view in the comments section. 

Check out a full list of Santa Anita Handicap winners here.

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