JC / Railbird

HOF/Awards Archive

Reading into Rankings

I’ll leave it to others to debate whether it’s sexist or even right that Zenyatta finished second to tennis star Serena Williams in the Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year poll and instead merely note that the mare has been running second in quite a few rankings of late, such as the decade-in-review pieces compiled by Tim Layden for Sports Illustrated and Joe Drape for the New York Times, or first, as in the annual Thoroughbred Times readers’ poll. Is this the recency effect, as Ed DeRosa suggests, or are these considered placings, all lengths ahead of Rachel Alexandra, harbingers of how the Horse of the Year vote will tally?

Posted in HOF/Awards on December 23, 2009 / Tagged Eclipse Awards, Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra, Year-End-2009, Zenyatta

Close Call

… not just between Curlin and Zenyatta for Horse of the Year, but for 3-year-old filly division honors. Will the champion be Proud Spell or Music Note [or Indian Blessing*]? Consider:

– Proud Spell went 4-for-8 in 2008, with two Grade 1 wins in the Kentucky Oaks and Alabama Stakes. In those races, she beat 13 rivals, including Music Note (by a head in the Alabama) and Indian Blessing. After finishing second in the Cotillion in September, trainer Larry Jones declared Proud Spell done for the year and the filly didn’t start in the Breeders’ Cup.

– Music Note wrapped up the year 4-for-6, with three Grade 1 wins in the Mother Goose, Coaching Club American Oaks, and Gazelle Stakes. All were at Belmont Park, in short fields; she beat 10 others in those races, including Proud Spell (by 3 1/2 lengths in the Mother Goose, a perhaps misleading margin due to traffic problems suffered by ‘Spell) and Little Belle. Unlike Proud Spell, Music Note did run in the Breeders’ Cup, finishing a very game third behind Zenyatta and stablemate Cocoa Beach in the Filly & Mare Classic.

If I had a vote, I’d lean toward Music Note, but Proud Spell has a strong claim.

Posted in HOF/Awards on October 30, 2008

And the Winners Are …

The 2007 Eclipse awards go to best horses, people who made most money.

Posted in HOF/Awards on January 22, 2008

Sporting Greatness

Eight were inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame on Monday, including recently retired Funny Cide jockey Jose Santos, who got three standing ovations during the ceremony (DRF), and Boston-connected Triple Tiara winner Mom’s Command (Herald). With 11 victories in 16 starts, the champion filly’s place in the Hall of Fame is well deserved, but Bill Finley raises a good question about future equine honorees in his ESPN column:

Do the stars of the modern era, a period in racing’s history where the majority of top horses have had very limited campaigns — deserve to be enshrined alongside the true greats and warriors of the game?

It hardly matters. Hall of Fame rules stipulate one horse, one human inductee from each category every year. So, what will future voters do with Horse of the Year Invasor, one of the best racehorses in recent years, retired with an injury after only seven starts outside Uruguay? Or Rags to Riches, who will skip the Alabama to start in the Ruffian or Gazelle this September and then run in the Breeders’ Cup (DRF)? She’ll almost certainly enter the Hall of Fame on the basis of her historic Belmont win, even if her career ends after two more starts.

Posted in HOF/Awards, The Sport on August 7, 2007