It seems rather pointless, as Secretariat, the genetic freak he was, would obliterate the rest of the field. It would be criminal for the "fantasy" race to put ahead any other horse. After all, Big Red II still owns all three stakes records of the Triple Crown races, some 47 YEARS after they were run.
The odds should be 1-10,000 or even more. Secretariat's odds in the 1973 Belmont were 1 to 10. A $2 win ticket, what few were cashed, would have paid only $2.10. Uncashed 1973 Belmont tickets are worth today hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
The fun thing to do is simply have Secretariat "scratched" the day of the virtual race. THEN it would get very, very interesting indeed.
Judging from what I know of the Triple Crown winners, only Count Fleet (1943) and Citation (1948) belong anywhere near the league of Secretariat. They both are typically listed among the 10 greatest racehorses in American history. Count Fleet, the longest-lived Triple Crown winner who was still alive in 1973 when Secretariat won, was also the maternal grandsire of the legendary Kelso, also a Top 10 all-time great. Kelso won Horse of the Year five consecutive years (1960-1964), the only horse ever to do so. Count Fleet himself had a great career as a three-year-old who loved to outrun his competition. He won his Triple Crown with the greatest of ease, with his victory margin in the Belmont 25 lengths. However, this would prove to be his last race. Sometime during the race he struck a foreleg, and apparently bowed a tendon or otherwise injured it. Weeks of trying to treat the injury so he could run again proved futile. He retired, just like Justify did. Unlike Justify, there was no controversy over the retirement.
A clip of Count Fleet taken from an old ABC video called Jewels of the Triple Crown (the first 11, of course):
As for Citation, little more needs to be said. He is usually ranked with Man O' War and Secretariat as one of the top three greatest racehorses in American history. His three-year-old career was nothing short of sensational. He won 19 of 20 races as a three-year-old, including winning the Jersey Stakes within the time frame of the Triple Crown. He was known as a highly intelligent horse, winning by just enough to finish first, with ears pricked forward when crossing the finish line. He never exerted himself, at least as a three-year-old. Jockey Eddie Arcaro never stopped singing the praises of his mount, calling him the best he ever rode. He had a right to brag about Big Cy. He was that good.
The only black mark in his career was the fact that because of some bone ossification, he had to sit out his four-year-old season. His owners, the Wrights, wanted him to become the first thoroughbred millionaire, but it was much harder than it looked. When Cy returned to the track as a five-year-old, he had to go up against a one hell of a runner by the name of Noor. Many of Citation's losses were to this outstanding racehorse, so he had a legitimate excuse. Eventually, though, Citation did become the first equine millionaire and retired shortly thereafter.
A newreel clip of Noor and Citation:
Anyway, without Secretariat in the mix, the race would have to come down to these two, but you never know with people who have no memory of these horses' stellar careers. I would say after them, it would be a tossup between Seattle Slew (1977) and Affirmed (1978), then another group would be American Pharoah (2015), Justify (2018), Whirlaway (1941), War Admiral (1937), and Gallant Fox (1930). The rest would be Omaha (1935), Assault (1946), and Sir Barton (1919). Now these aren't in any particular order in how they would finish in a "fantasy" matchup. These are just my classifications on their general quality. Now I like all of them, and all of them had interesting stories and backgrounds and varying abilities. It is just if I had to classify them, that is how I would do it.
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