Now I Have Zero Respect Left for Shirreffs

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by 10 pnt move up

You dont understand the award.

The award goes to the horse who accomplished the most in the sport for the calender year, not who was the "best" horse. The two are often synonymous but not always.

Kotoshaan was horse of the year, I highly doubt he was a better horse then Bertrando or Best Pal, but they ran in separate divisions and their accomplishments are weighted separately.

The idea is basically for the best dirt router in the country. Usually, that's an older male horse. The door gets opened up to others when there is no clear outstanding older dirt male. That was the case when Azeri won it and when Lady's Secret won it. Same as when Kotashaan won it. There usually has to be a strong resume compiled throughout the year but that's not a requirement. As I've mentioned before, Arazi was one of the three HOY finalists in 1991 and that was after winning only the BC Juvenile during his year. This year, Curlin has compiled a good enough resume to win it. It's not the strongest ever presented but it is good enough. I don't think Zenyatta has come close to accomplishing the most in the sport this year. The ironic thing is that there's no doubt in my mind that she's actually better than Curlin this year.

My argument is not whether or not she should win the award. I wouldn't vote for her but I can totally understand those that would. My point is having the opportunity to make your case but chosing not to take it and then campaigning in the media is weak.