I hate to be negative but this is
 

just my opinion. I am sick of hearing about who should be the Horse of the Year, who is better. I think this would settle the debate, how about saddling it up and settling it on the track, a match race of sorts. I don't know how the voting occurs, but lets say it comes down to three legit horses. Why not just let em decide on the track? Especially, mind you, when their is some discontent on which horse deserves the award?

I know, this seems foolish in the eyes of the history of the sport but when you let men vote and decide who should get the award it leaves so many questions un answered. I say let the horses decide on a given Saturday at a track.

Just my opinion. Does anyone agree or am I once again completly off base?

Technically, the BCC should settle that debate, shouldn't it? :confused:

Yes, one would think but these debates seem to linger on, and on, and on. I agree, if a horse like say Butterface (thats for you Tim) smokes the field who knows? I don't know, this post is more in my frustration in projections, be it Horse Racing, NASCAR (you would understand this Cajun), Football etc. Who is your number 1 blah blah blah. Settle it on the track.

Do you feel what I am trying to convey here?

The ghost of Ruffian hovers over the sport and unjustly so.

I've wanted the BCC to be a primetime national broadcast and at least a $10 million purse. I've also wanted at least 6 prep races for it to be a qualifier of sorts. This would force owners and trainers to run their horses and increase the chances of the best running against one another.

But wtf do I know? It's obvious track management has all of the answers. If they didn't they would listen. Right? :p

[quote=Cajungator26]Technically, the BCC should settle that debate, shouldn't it? :confused:[/QU

LOL well if youre mineshaft and beat 6 horse fields all year yet lose in full ones you dont have to show to the bcc and will still get hoy

Every sport that I can think of has playoffs.... I really don't believe that One particular race can dictate who really is the best! I think its a culmination of performances..

My horse of the year is Barbaro.

Me too! This isn't college basketball

Agreed Somer. Curt would have us think that one race decides a year. It doesn't.

I say that if Barbaro gets Horse Of The Year then the system is flawed. Not his fault but the system.

Mike I am totally talking opposite of what you are thinking I am talking. No way one race defines the champion, no way. A string of races rather defines a champion, not one race. I can see what you might be thinking, a playoff like I alluded too but to me all this talk is jibber jabash. With that said and please excuse my use of the english language as I am tired and spent from a 14 hour day.

Lets assume this scenario -

Horse a, b and c get fairly equal press leading up to the Breeder's Cup. Support is equal at this point for these 3 to be Horse Of The Year. The race comes and is won by none of the aforementioned 3, or is won by one of the 3and it was a "suspect" race meaning trouble trip etc etc..

My point, if I have any:o , is that I don't buy into this Horse Of The Year stuff. Eliminate it. Let their numbers speak for themself on the track. It really is just a collection of peoples opinions, and everyone knows that opinions are like........

Again, I mean no harm with this. It is just my opinion is all.

Try this one "BARBARO" HOY hands down. This horse wins every day.

Suppose the 3 finalists for HOY are a Sprinter; a Turf specialist; and a dirt track dynamo. How could you run some kind of match-race that would be fair to all 3.

What the hell does this even mean?

There should just be a tie for the sheiks horses and let them split it between Henny,Bernadini,Da Cat

[quote=2MinsToPost]just my opinion. I am sick of hearing about who should be the Horse of the Year, who is better. I think this would settle the debate, how about saddling it up and settling it on the track, a match race of sorts. I don't know how the voting occurs, but lets say it comes down to three legit horses. Why not just let em decide on the track?QUOTE]

In '72 and '98, HOY was a 2 yo. I don't think running them against older at 1 1/4 would work out too well. Then again, voting a 2 yo HOY doesn't make much sense.

Yes! As I was reading the thread I kept waiting for someone to say this!! The idea of having one race to decide it is completely impractical for this reason.
You also do have the injury factor. Look at Smarty in '04. Did he deserve HOY? A lot of people thought he did but he certainly would not have been able to "settle it on the track" with Ghostzapper.
Personally I think HOY gets too much attention anyway. How do you compare a champion 2yo filly's year to a champion older male turf horse? The key eclipse awards are the divisional awards, because you can actually make comparisons.

i think there should be a concrete method for choosing horse of the year. whether a points system or something. voting should not be the way. too much like the oscars, and like the oscars, seems horses are pushed only towards the latter part of the year....the bcc was a good thing, but in many ways is a bad one.

and i almost choked on my sunflower seeds when i heard the arc referred to as a great PREP for the bc!!!! it's not a prep!!!! as tho all races leading to ky in the spring are preps, when they're legit races in their own right, as well as the fall racing leading up to the bc. i think the bc should be put smack dab in the middle of the year. or in the spring...it's too late in the year.

I actually prefer a points system to settle all the Eclipse Awards except for HOY. Let the points determine the champion in each division and then the voters can choose their HOY from those champions.

I assume he means he wins by living
the BC brings horses from all over together
if it wasn't for it, they'd probably stay in their own region
and then it would be really subjective
is it perfect? no...but I can't think of anything better
you can't make the owners race their horses against one another
all you can do is make them WANT to race against one another
and I feel the BC does a pretty good job of that
if you don't want to race your horse there, fine
but it may cost you a championship
in the case of Mineshaft, he really deserved it, great horse
but I'm sure there were a fair share of dissenting votes
for the ambassador not running him in the BC

Sheik Vs Sheik
 

Henny Hughes, Discreet Cat, Bernadini, Invasor, Etc, Etc. What Will Happen If One Owner Or One Family Of Owners Own A Great Percentage Of All The Great Horses. How Will This Effect The Sport And The Interest In The Sport. Will Their Best Horses Duck Each Other, Will The Spirit Of Competition Disappear At The Highest Levels, And Will The "common Man" Say What The Heck How Do We Compete With Someone Spending $100,000,000 On A Weekend !!

Don't expect the trend to lessen anytime soon Mistergee.
The Sheikh's son Matthew is said to be EVEN MORE passionate about the game than his father is. Hes an amateur rider himself, and already buying horses just like his dad. I believe when you see "Zabeel" as the owner, its a partnership of Matthew and Mohammed or just Matthew.
Expect the Maktoums to carry on this love for generations.

Doesn't it get annoying capitalizing the first letter of every word?

Joey...that is was happens when you keep the caps lock on. It only lets the first letter of each word be capitalized.

DOES IT REALLY?!!! :D

I GUESS NOT....:eek:

D*mn...wrong again...that is like the 8th time today I have been wrong about something....a new record for me, no doubt.

Welcome to my world. :o

but isn't this year a bit of an exception? you can buy all the high priced yearlings in the world and it will obviously bring you some level of success but there will often be some undervalued Seattle Slew/Smarty Jones type who turns out to be the best horse of his crop. they seem to have all the best this year, and they are certainly buying the expensive babies but that doesn't guarantee this kind of success 2 or 3 years down the road.

with a concrete method in place, would this conversation even take place?
that's part of what makes racing (and all great sports) unique.
Johnny Bench or Carlton Fisk? Bernardini or Discreet Cat?