The Horse Of The Year Debate - Racing Fans What Is Your Opinion?

[Grayce Brooke]

Acclamation received five straight graded stakes in California earlier this 12 months, but none of his wins came on a traditional dirt track and he did not compete within the Breeders' Cup. Two New York-based runners, Flat Out and Tizway, are additionally on the short checklist of Horse of the Year candidates. Flat Out received the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Suburban Handicap, but he was second to Havre de Grace within the Woodward Stakes and likewise checked in behind the filly within the Classic. Tizway's candidacy has gained a bit of steam not too long ago after Mike Watchmaker, nationwide handicapper for the Daily Racing Form, declared the colt his Horse of the Year. Tizway had solely two wins this 12 months, however they came in two of recent York's most prestigious races. Tizway set a brand new stakes document when profitable Met Mile, and he followed that up with a dominating win in the Whitney Handicap at Saratoga. Unfortunately, Tizway was injured in the run-up to the Breeders' Cup and didn't take part.

Others likely to receive Horse of the Year votes are Cape Blanco, who was by far probably the most completed turf runner in North America in 2011; and 2-12 months-outdated filly My Miss Aurelia, who capped an ideal 4-for-4 campaign with a win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. The Horse of the Year Award will be offered as part of the Eclipse Awards ceremony on the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif. It was a very merry Christmas for Southern California race fans when Santa Anita Park opened for enterprise on Dec. 25, 1934. The sprawling facility, built on a 410-acre parcel outdoors of Los Angeles, proved an instantaneous hit with its art-deco structure, postcard vistas of the San Gabriel Mountains and prime-class racing. Santa Anita Park was the brainchild of Dr. Charles H. Strub, based in San Francisco, Los Angeles-based movie producer Hal Roach and architect Gordon B. Kaufman. Santa Anita would come to be identified, proved such a direct success that buyers within the observe obtained a 100 percent dividend within the first yr, in response to Wikipedia.

Along with its effectively-received architectural design, Santa Anita Park ushered in a bunch of other practical improvements to horse racing. It was the primary monitor on the planet to employ such issues as a mechanical beginning gate, electric timer and picture finish digital camera when it opened for enterprise that Christmas day. Throughout its history, Santa Anita has been house to a few of essentially the most legendary names in horse racing. Perhaps none more so than the great Seabiscuit. The popular racehorse cemented his legacy by successful the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap and its unprecedented purse of $100,000. Seabiscuit would prove such a fan favourite that a movie primarily based on his life starring Shirley Temple was filmed at Santa Anita shortly the win and a statue of Seabiscuit was erected in the paddock, which still stands in the present day. One of the darker durations of Santa Anita's history got here in a three-12 months span starting in 1942. With the onset of the Second World War, racing was suspended and Santa Anita was changed into an internment camp for Japanese-Americans. As many as 17,000 people had been housed within the horse stables throughout the warfare. A bronze plaque in reminiscence of that episode of Santa Anita's history additionally stands on the grounds. Today, Santa Anita Park is owned by a bunch led by Frank Stronach Stronach found success in the business world by way of his Canadian-based auto components firm, Magna International. He also owns certainly one of the most important Thoroughbred racing and breeding operations in the world.

This 12 months's race for Horse of the Year is undoubtedly one of many more muddled in recent history. An absence of any actual standout campaigns this season, coupled with Drosselmeyer's upset win in the Breeders' Cup Classic, has left voters with the duty of deciding who's the better of a seemingly mediocre lot. Havre de Grace, who would turn into the third straight feminine to win Horse of the Year following Rachel Alexandra in 2009 and Zenyatta final yr, is taken into account a tepid favorite by most observers. The 4-year-old filly won three Grade 1 races this year, including the Woodward Stakes vs. Breeders' Cup Classic. However, her disappointing fourth-place end has lent some voters to look elsewhere. Other main candidates embrace a pair of California-primarily based runners, Game on Dude and Acclamation. Game on Dude merits consideration primarily based on his wins in the Santa Anita Handicap and Hollywood Gold Cup, California's most prestigious races for older horses, and his game runner-up finish in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

If you thought Middle Earth's monumental statues of Isildur and Anarion had been cool, Scotland now has something that is almost as badass. They might not be as imposing because the Argonath, but the 100-foot-tall horse horse figurines heads recognized as the Kelpies are still out of this world. Created by a staff led by Glasgow sculptor Andy Scott, the heads are long-established from 600 metric tons of steel and stand as a monument to working horses in Scottish history. The Kelpies are positioned alongside the Forth and Clyde canal, a nod to a time when horses pulled barges by means of Scotland's canals. Additionally they draw inspiration from Kelpies, that are magical, shape-shifting horses from Celtic folklore said to inhabit rivers, streams, and lochs. Modeled on two Clydesdales named Duke and Baron, the sculptures guard a brand new department canal that runs underneath the M9 highway, welcoming visitors to the region. Scott says in an artist's statement. The Kelpies are slated to open to guests in April 2014. Meanwhile, take a look at the attention-popping views of them in the video beneath.