Top Horses of 2011: Breeders' Cup Classic Winner Drosselmeyer Tops Earnings Table

Following years in which the likes of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta electrified the racing world, the 2011 season has to be considered a bit uninspiring by comparison. That's not to say there weren't horses that rose to the top of the sport. In fact, there were 25 horses that surpassed $1 million in earnings this year. That must have certainly been inspiring to those horse's connections if no one else. Here's a look at the top horses of 2011 based on seasonal earnings and what's on tap for those runners in 2012. Drosselmeyer (7 2-3-0, $2,927,000)--Rocketed to the top of the earnings chart when pulling off a 14-to-1 shocker in the $5 Million Breeders' Cup Classic. The son of Distorted Humor, who had been largely a forgotten horse since his win in the 2010 Belmont Stakes, earned his connections a cool $2.7 million with the win. Drosselmeyer's only other win came in the $60,000 One Count Stakes in the spring at Aqueduct. He was retired following the Classic win and will stand stud at Winstar Farm in Kentucky. Shackleford (10 2-4-0, $1,950,437)--Shattered any hope for a Triple Crown winner this year when scoring a front-running victory in the Preakness Stakes. While his only other this year win came in a Gulfstream allowance race, the son of Forestry became a fan favorite for his hardy 10-start campaign. He finished second in four other stakes—the Florida Derby, Haskell Invitational and Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, all Grade 1's; and the Grade 2 Indiana Derby. Shackleford is slated to return for a 4-year-old campaign. Game on Dude (8 3-3-1, $1,917,400)-- Hit the board in seven of eight starts this year, which included wins in the Santa Anita Handicap and Goodwood Stakes, both Grade 1's. Game on Dude capped off the year with a gutsy 2nd-place finish to Drosselmeyer in the Breeders' Cup Classic. He also added runner-up finishes this year in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup and the Grade 3 Charles Town Classic Stakes. A candidate for champion older horse and Horse of the Year, the gelded son of Awesome Again is expected to race in 2012. Animal Kingdom (5 2-2-0, $1,904,900)—Stamped himself a serious racehorse when springing an upset win in the Kentucky Derby. Animal Kingdom was unable to run-down Shackleford when second in the Preakness and was unfortunately injured in his 6th-place finish in the Belmont Stakes. Word is Animal Kingdom has recovered nicely from his leg injury and will begin light-training for a 4-year-old campaign in mid-December. Royal Delta (7 4-1-1, $1,657,000)--The lone filly or mare on the list, Royal Delta capped off a likely championship season with a sharp victory in the $2 Million Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic. Prior to that she won the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes and Grade 2 Black Eyed Susan Stakes. She also added a 2nd in the Grade 1 Beldame Invitational Stakes. Royal Delta was put up for sale at the Keeneland November sale and brought $8.5 million from Benjamin Leon's Besilu Stable. Leon and trainer Bill Mott said Royal Delta will return in 2012 with the major goal being the Dubai World Cup in March. There are a lot of top race horses every year. Imagine putting these great champions together in all types of fictitious simulated races at various racetracks around the world on different surfaces and at different distances. Further imagine running these races over and over again and each time changing the various pace scenarios for each thoroughbred contender. How would the race turn out? Adjusting the traits on each horse can dramatically affect the finish of the race. Now you can visually see firsthand how those adjustments might actually affect these champion thoroughbreds. This exciting software program is considered one of the best download horse racing games on the Internet – free to play. If you like horse racing or exciting fantasy sports action games, then try this one-of-a-kind virtual horse racing program , considered the best racing game on the Web, www.horseracegame.com.