A Sad Day For Racing

[pointman]

The Eclipse awards lost all credibility with voting Zenyatta horse of the year. The criteria now appears to be the most popular horse, not the horse who accomplished the most over the racetrack. The funniest argument from the lost Zenyatta lovers to justify the decision is that she was the better horse in the classic. Since when does losing a race justify horse of the year?

Poor Al Stall and Blame's connections must be wondering if they can put their hands down yet.

[alysheba4]

Originally Posted by pointman

The Eclipse awards lost all credibility with voting Zenyatta horse of the year. The criteria now appears to be the most popular horse, not the horse who accomplished the most over the racetrack. The funniest argument from the lost Zenyatta lovers to justify the decision is that she was the better horse in the classic. Since when does losing a race justify horse of the year?

Poor Al Stahl and Blame's connections must be wondering if they can put their hands down yet.

.......curlin.

[brianwspencer]

Originally Posted by alysheba4

.......curlin.

Of course -- with those minor footnotes of winning the Dubai World Cup, Stephen Foster, Woodward, Jockey Club Gold Cup, and a 2nd in the Man o' War.

Very, very, eerily similar to what happened this year. I agree completely.

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by brianwspencer

Of course -- with those minor footnotes of winning the Dubai World Cup, Stephen Foster, Woodward, Jockey Club Gold Cup, and a 2nd in the Man o' War.

Very, very, eerily similar to what happened this year. I agree completely.

It's clear the Eclipse Awards are no longer about racing performance, or racing results.

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

It's clear the Eclipse Awards are no longer about racing performance, or racing results.

Exactly. I fail to see how people think this is some "subjective" process. It isn't. There is nothing subjective about her winning. On merits she had less of a case this year.

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

Exactly. I fail to see how people think this is some "subjective" process. It isn't. There is nothing subjective about her winning. On merits she had less of a case this year.

I also find it interesting that the DRF... who is railed daily as having an East Coast bias, had enough writers who voted for Zenyatta to make their section of the voting close, but ultimately, had Blame on top. They're not motivated by what horse garnered more comments on their on-line blogs and stories.

[OldDog]

Originally Posted by randallscott35

I fail to see how people think this is some "subjective" process. It isn't.

Isn't that the problem, if there is one, with Eclipse Award voting? Just like the voting processes for the NFL pro bowl, the NBA and MLB all stars, as well as various Halls of Fame, there are no hard and fast guidelines to produce an absolute result. With the amount of leeway given to the voters, is it any wonder that the award winners are often the subject of dispute? These awards are subjective, largely opinion-based, and voters are people who bring their own bias/emotional baggage with them to the table, which is why I don't see the results as anything worth getting too worked up about.

[CSC]

Originally Posted by Travis Stone

It's clear the Eclipse Awards are no longer about racing performance, or racing results.

Maybe not by results, but for racing performance? I don't know, Blame's performances last year were not dominating by any stretch to make him a slam dunk winner.

[Travis Stone]

Originally Posted by CSC

Maybe not by results, but for racing performance? I don't know, Blame's performances last year were not dominating by any stretch to make him a slam dunk winner.

Same difference. I thought his performance in the Classic was pretty freaking awesome. Plus he overcame some fairly moderate paces in the Foster/Whitney. That's all secondary though... he beat her in the race that counted.