My Eclipse Ballot.. (Updated with Winners, Voting)

[Kasept]

First choice selections of voters are above and as always, a number of head scratchers..

Horse of the Year: Adelaide (IRE), 1; Take Charge Brandi, 1
Older male: Game on Dude 1
Older female: Beholder 5
Female sprinter: La Verdad 1, Awesome Baby 1
Male turf: California Chrome 2
Female turf: Crown Queen 2, Coffee Clique 1, Room Service 1
Jockey: Alexis Batista 1

Always fun to see sources when voting is shown..

Adelaide and Take Charge Brandi for HOY!

Alexis Batista? 260/32-40-42 ($356,612)

[saratogadew]

I want to see voter names next to these choices, so we can publicly and verbally flog them.

[saratogadew]

HOY...Chrome 143, Bayern 36 ???
3YO Male...Chrome 193, Bayern 56 ???

popularity contest, I guess.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by saratogadew

HOY...Chrome 143, Bayern 36 ???
3YO Male...Chrome 193, Bayern 56 ???

popularity contest, I guess.

i'd imagine many of those voters saw that cc won the derby, and that's as far as they went...

[saratogadew]

Originally Posted by Kasept

First choice selections of voters are above and as always, a number of head scratchers..

Horse of the Year: Adelaide (IRE), 1; Take Charge Brandi, 1
Older male: Game on Dude 1
Older female: Beholder 5
Female sprinter: La Verdad 1, Awesome Baby 1
Male turf: California Chrome 2
Female turf: Crown Queen 2, Coffee Clique 1, Room Service 1
Jockey: Alexis Batista 1

Always fun to see sources when voting is shown..

Adelaide and Take Charge Brandi for HOY!

Alexis Batista? 260/32-40-42 ($356,612)

These same people voted for "Lisa's Booby Trap" in 2010.

[blackthroatedwind]

Way too many voters are completely unqualified or simply don't take their responsibility seriously. Main Sequence beat Twilight Eclipse in two photos for half of his wins. In no way is he a more deserving Horse of the Year than Bayern. It is an indefensible "opinion" and no matter how much BS people want to spew that our turf racing, at the highest level, compares to turf racing overseas, it is simply untrue. If anything, Main Sequence proves that.

[10 pnt move up]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Way too many voters are completely unqualified or simply don't take their responsibility seriously. Main Sequence beat Twilight Eclipse in two photos for half of his wins. In no way is he a more deserving Horse of the Year than Bayern. It is an indefensible "opinion" and no matter how much BS people want to spew that our turf racing, at the highest level, compares to turf racing overseas, it is simply untrue. If anything, Main Sequence proves that.

One thing seems certain, it will be more of an upset for a dirt horse to win older male than it used to be the other way around. What is that like 4-5 years in a row.

[OTM Al]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Way too many voters are completely unqualified or simply don't take their responsibility seriously. Main Sequence beat Twilight Eclipse in two photos for half of his wins. In no way is he a more deserving Horse of the Year than Bayern. It is an indefensible "opinion" and no matter how much BS people want to spew that our turf racing, at the highest level, compares to turf racing overseas, it is simply untrue. If anything, Main Sequence proves that.

That is true. It is also true he beat the horse that finished 2nd in the Arc and then won the HK Vase. It is also true that Bayern just barely beat a horse that had never run on dirt by a nose. Main Sequence is not great by any means, but he did have a very good season. The thing that is most clear though is that the silly season is at last over and we can get back to actual races.

[Thoroughbred Fan]

Let's not debate the terrible voters. They are bad. The horse with the toughest and most comprehensive campaign won. California Chrome. He raced nine times, won 6 stakes, 5 Graded stakes, 4 G1 stakes over two different surfaces and missed in the Classic by a neck. The horse who did the most actually won for a change.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by Thoroughbred Fan

Let's not debate the terrible voters. They are bad. The horse with the toughest and most comprehensive campaign won. California Chrome. He raced nine times, won 6 stakes, 5 Graded stakes, 4 G1 stakes over two different surfaces and missed in the Classic by a neck. The horse who did the most actually won for a change.

In your opinion he had the "toughest and most comprehensive campaign." I don't agree. Bayern travelled much more, covered different distances successfully, and beat CA Chrome in the two races that they met. I thought his campaign was better. It's a matter of opinion.

[Rudeboyelvis]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

In your opinion he had the "toughest and most comprehensive campaign." I don't agree. Bayern travelled much more, covered different distances successfully, and beat CA Chrome in the two races that they met. I thought his campaign was better. It's a matter of opinion.

Ditto

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

In your opinion he had the "toughest and most comprehensive campaign." I don't agree. Bayern travelled much more, covered different distances successfully, and beat CA Chrome in the two races that they met. I thought his campaign was better. It's a matter of opinion.

Bayern traveled much more? They both ran at CD and in the Preakness.

CC ran in the Belmont, Bayern the Haskell. Then they both ran in Pennsylvania.

Did I leave out a race? I think Bayern ran in Arkansas, which would give him one more out of state race, but that doesn't seem like he traveled much more.

Also, Bayern won two of the three meetings, not two of two.

The resumes were pretty comparable if you look at them side by side, though Bayern did have one more race. Two of those ten starts were a MSW and an alw.

[10 pnt move up]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

In your opinion he had the "toughest and most comprehensive campaign." I don't agree. Bayern travelled much more, covered different distances successfully, and beat CA Chrome in the two races that they met. I thought his campaign was better. It's a matter of opinion.

I would argue when it comes to voters and 3 year old awards that 1 Preakness win trumps wins in the BC and Penn Derby. Whether that is fair or not I think thats the way it is seen.