In his day, Rambling Willie was a great horse. I think a lot of people look at him as more like a premier Open/Invitational pacer, but let's not forget he was aged pacer of the year three years in a row and retired as the leading money winner of all time. Yes, he numerous stakes races, more than once, but for the most part he did it the hard way. Won something like 120 plus races in 300 something starts. I saw him race in the years he won aged pacer of the year, and later, before he retired.
Would I put him on my list of top 10 list of aged pacers? Yes. Do I put RW on my top 10 of all time? Obviously as everyone knows, it's hard to compare eras, and then compound that with comparing all ages. This one raced at 2 and 3, and this one didn't race at 2 and 3, but did all this at 4, 5, 6, etc. That said, RW doesn't make my Top 10 list, but upon further reflection, he's probably close. I think horses of yesteryear tend to fade a bit in memory with the dramatizing of today's times, the horses today, and the landscape of the sport and business.
