Horse Of The Year- Rachel Alexandra had the best year. The cumulative sum of her campaign outweighs any one particular performance from her rival Zenyatta. One most consider the whole and not just the emotional reaction from one particular amazing performance. It is also right to reward the horse with the long and brilliant campaign rather than the horse that took it easy all year and pulled off one extraordinary win late in the year.
Race Of The Year- Zenyatta's amazing win the Breeders' Cup Classic. In a race she had every right to lose, Zenyatta proved the naysayers wrong and overcame every adversity. With the crowd behind her she obliged with a stirring win. Her performance energized the crowd and minted many new racing fans. An unforgettable performance in the biggest race of the year.
Track Of The Year- Tampa Bay Downs; this facility that was once squarely in the backwater of racing has surpassed Gulfstream in many ways as the best place to enjoy horseracing in Florida. Not only has this facility improved the local bloodstock but they have some of the largest fields in the game. The best part for the horseplayers was that management had the foresight to lower takeout this year.
Horseracing Blogger Of The Year- Brooklyn Backstretch is a blogger that is not just Solo Scriptura; she talks the talk and walks the walk. When it comes to writing about the game her style and choice of topics brings class to the blogopshere. However what separates her from the pack is her work at the Belmont Child Care Association.
Bet Of The Year- Spy In The Sky Aqueduct race 7 05NOV; this grade one winner was 10-1 in a N1X flat race going 11 furlongs. This horse held the dual class/distance edge. This horse should have been a heavy favorite in this race yet he was 15-1 on the morning line. It is so rare to find this kind of value when betting on horseraces. He was the only horse that figured to get the distance and he had that class edge. His edges on paper translated well to the turf; he won with ease. A fair price would have been 2-1; at 10-1 he was the bet of the year.
Power cap- existential handicapping
3 comments:
Wow, Greg--thanks very much, especially for your mention of the Belmont Child Care Association.
I too love Tampa Bay Downs; I wanted to go there yesterday before I left Florida, but they were closed on New Year's Day. Very disappointing...
See you at Aqueduct--
I too have taken noticed of Tampa Bay Downs. With the signals being withheld through the TrackNet dispute in the Mid-Atlantic I've found myself dabbling in Tampa more than ever.
If TB keeps making the right moves and keeps lowering the takeout for next year, I may wind up playing it on a daily basis.
And congrats to Teresa for bagging honors from PowerCap. I assume your name will be engraved on a replica of The Stanley Cup and sent to The Smithsonian for public viewing.
Don't be so sorry about missing the blogger award Mr. Knight Sky. If there was an award for best nighttime photography from a Garden State horseracing blogger you would have been right there my friend.
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