This year feels different to me. I have seen every single one of these horses race and vividly remember their careers.
Same with the trainers. I cut my teeth with some of them while they were coming up the ranks.
Who would you vote for? (I’ll share mine down thread)
I agree.
For the horses…
Having followed all of them throughout their respective careers, makes it feel a bit closer to home.
They all brought something special to the game.
I can’t believe it has been five years since they have raced for some. Seems like yesterday.
Here’s my ranking for how I would prioritize horse voting:
Kona Gold - he had more stakes wins than some of these horses had starts. Not only was he a great racehorse, but he was a fabulous ambassador for the sport.
Game on Dude - you could make a strong case for him being number 1 on the list.
Lady Eli for that remarkable comeback!
Chrome, because he is just the coolest.
Rags to Riches - she made history! I could make a case for putting her as high as number 3 on the list.
It’s a 3 way tie between Blind Luck, Songbird, Havre de Grace. Three great race mares, taking nothing away from any of them. I just have a hard time picking one over the other.
Arrogate - I know he will make it in eventually because he was brilliant and earned it, but he was such a flash in the pan.
I have a hard time picking one trainer over another.
Agree about Arrogate. Amazing races, but so few. I think he may be the wave of the future, however. In five years, I guess we will be looking at a decision on Flightline.
Some really incredible choices on the ballot this year. I admittedly wasn’t a big Chrome fan at the time, but all the rest of these names were some of my favorites when they were running. Arrogate and Rags both won two of the most exciting races I’ve ever watched (Belmont & DWC). There’s really nobody on this ballot, trainers included, who isn’t deserving IMO.
I’m afraid I just can’t w/Chrome – and it is strictly because his fans were so weird.
Don’t hold the connections against the horse. Otherwise, I would never vote for a Baffert horse (if I were a voter, which I am not).
There’s a lot of great horses who had terrible connections.
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