Who Is Horse Of The Year?

[Travis Stone]

Ultimately, I think it's a question of whether or not you want to call it Horse of the Year, or Horse of the Race. Horse of the Year is Rachel Alexandra, for she did amazing things throughout the year. Horse of the Race is Zenyatta, because she won the big race of the season.

I think the kicker is that Eclipse Awards go well beyond 'What have you done for me lately?' People are also forgetting the impact Rachel Alexandra had when she did her thing and how she was a hot topic on Twitter, ESPN and on the front pages of newspapers.

Also, testing an older filly/mare against males is not as bold and exciting as testing a 3-year-old filly against older males. That's insane... we'll probably never see that again.

Season ending honors are about results and the big picture. I give Zenyatta double bonus points for winning the BC Classic, but Rachel won the Preakness, Haskell and Woodward. She traveled, she tried and she conquered. The race is a photo finish but Rachel's nose is down first... Zenyatta closed hard, but needed one more jump to get there.

Yeah, if there ever was a year for co-Horse of the Years, this is it. But by doing so you do recognize a horse for having never left her comfort zone. Kind of risky, but forgettable. You also recognize a horse for skipping the championships, kind of lame, but understandable.

Interestingly, how big does the scratch at Churchill seem now. If Zenyatta had won on Derby weekend, what does that do to this debate? Interesting stuff to consider.