Letter to the Editor: Rinaldo Del Gallo III

Mr. Finley's Op-Ed (TDN, Nov. 7, 2016) posited a question, “So who is Horse of the Year? The best horse or the horse who accomplished the most?” I think Mr. Finley answered the question correctly. “It's for the horse that was the most exceptional throughout the racing season.”

This is not necessarily a given, since there are many people debating who is the better horse in arguments over who should be Horse of the Year–this necessarily implies the standard for Horse of the Year should be who is the best or fastest horse as opposed to comparing the actual body of work, and I disagree with this standard. But I also believe Mr. Finley did not come to the full, logical conclusion using the “body of work over the year standard”–not only should Arrogate not be horse of the year as Mr. Finley correctly concluded, he should not even be the 3-year-old champion.

For the sake of argument, let's assume that Arrogate is actually the better racehorse, but California Chrome has the greater body of work. The standard for an Eclipse Award should still be the body of work over the year. The close Breeders' Cup Classic admittedly makes the question easier, but even if California Chrome came in fourth and 10 lengths behind, I would still believe that he should be Horse of the Year.

Using this “body of work” standard, Exaggerator should be crowned 3 year-old champion. In 2016, Exaggerator won three big Grade I races–the Santa Anita Derby, the Preakness, and the Haskell. While the fact that his three Grade I victories were in the slop may be of concern to a handicapper, it should be of no consequence when it comes to end-of-year honors. He won fair and square. Exaggerator is the only 3 year old with three Grade I's, and all were at route distances. One of these was in a Triple Crown race, the other in a summer classic, and the other in a major Kentucky Derby prep race.

And in the Kentucky Derby, a race many believe to be the most important of the year, Exaggerator came in second, only beaten by 1 1/2 lengths. Exaggerator also had a nice second-place effort in the GII San Vicente S. He also ran a competent third in the GII San Felipe S.

By way of contrast, Arrogate had admittedly imperious and historic victories in the Breeders' Cup Classic and the Travers, but that is the end of his stakes racing history–the other three victories came in allowance and maiden company. Arrogate even lost a maiden race this year, his first race. I might even concede that the Breeders' Cup Classic should be weighted more heavily than other Grade Is. But a Breeders' Cup victory should not be of primary importance–it is the performance of the year as a whole that is the proper standard. Exaggerator's three Grade I's in big races, a close second in the Kentucky Derby, a respectable second and third in two Grade II races is a greater body of work than Arrogate's two Grade Is, two allowance race victories and a maiden victory.

It is to be conceded, Exaggerator also lost in the Belmont, the Travers, and Pennsylvania Derby. What should we do with this? If we are to credit near misses, maybe we should penalize major fails. But I do not think the big losses should count against Exaggerator when Arrogate was not even racing, unless we want to punish horses for racing and rewarding horses for not racing.

While Arrogate may very well arguably be the best Classic-distance dirt horse on the planet at this moment (not a given but undoubtedly a very strong case can be made), he was undoubtedly a very late bloomer and simply did not accumulate the race record to be crowned 3 year-old champion. He also skipped the GII Pennsylvania Derby and the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup despite being in perfect health to rest up for the Classic.

If the 3 year-old championship is to go to the best 3-year old at any one point in the year, it should be Arrogate. If it should go to the horse that had the most accomplishments during the year (as I believe it should), it should be Exaggerator.

Arrogate still has other chances to pick up a significant Grade I victory this year such as by running in the Clark or the Cigar Mile. Should he do so, he will be a horse that can boast three Grade Is and offer a stronger case.