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Before the "Race of the Decade"

The 1989 Preakness Stakes stretch run between Sunday Silence and Easy Goer remains one of the most compelling horse racing duels in the last 30 years. Here's a look back at that classic race.



The four races in 1989 that pitted Sunday Silence against Easy Goer began a discussion of which was the better horse that has lasted for 20 years. To this day fans will still debate which of the two was actually superior.

As a self-professed Sunday Silence fan I've always believed that while both horses were obviously tremendously talented, in the final analysis Sunday Silence defeated his rival three times in the four races they met. Easy Goer's sole triumph, his dominating victory in the Belmont, isn't enough (in my opinion) to overcome the fact that Sunday Silence finished first in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Like all great debates in sports, the Sunday Silence/Easy Goer will continue to be debated by fans on both sides of the fence. But regardless of which horse fans believe was superior we should all acknowledge this as one of the best racing rivalries in recent memory, if not the best.