Horse of the Year: One Winner, No Losers?

Sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's not.

The voting for 2014 Horse of the Year fell into the latter category. The matter of who-beat-who in the sport's most important races was greatly overshadowed by the question of who would or could have won the grade I Breeders' Cup Classic had there not been serious interference at the start and the subsequent decision by the stewards to let the result stand.

The outcome of the voting by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association will be debated for months. There will be one winner and no losers, at least based on the horses' performances during 2014.

It would all be moot had California Chrome won the Belmont Stakes (gr. I)—he finished fourth—and had captured the Triple Crown, or had won the Breeders' Cup Classic, in which he finished third beaten a nose and a neck by Bayern and Toast of New York after a clean trip. But he didn't, and in two of his final three starts of the year lost to Bayern.

California Chrome won two legs of the Triple Crown and in total four grade I races, all against fellow 3-year-olds. He did, however, in the process become the most popular Thoroughbred of 2014, even in defeat.

Bayern did his best work in the final seven months of the year—after finishing 21 lengths behind California Chrome in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I)—with victories from seven furlongs to 1 1/4 miles. He won four of his last five races, with the one loss, in the grade I Travers Stakes, a 20-length defeat.

His Preakness flop could in part be attributed to what is officially noted as a "troubled early trip." That wasn't the case in the Travers; he gave up the lead on the far turn and quickly dropped back to last.

The third candidate for Horse of the Year, Main Sequence, raced only four times, all on turf. But he won four grade I stakes, including the Breeders' Cup Turf; Flintshire, the horse he defeated by a half-length, returned to win the group I Longines Hong Kong Vase in December.

Though Main Sequence never scored by more than a half-length and can't be called a dominant winner, he did dominate the older male turf division. A confirmed closer, Main Sequence overcame troubled starts in three of his four wins, and was able to rally off a fast or slow early pace.

All three candidates are legitimate, and each has their supporters. One was dominant early in the year; one appeared downright brilliant at times; and another had a perfect record on the season.

But who was the best? No matter the outcome of the vote, that question may not be answered.

Author's note: After much thought, I submitted the following Horse of the Year ballot: Bayern, California Chrome, and Main Sequence. I struggled with it then, and struggle with it now. Bayern was one-dimensional in running style in 2014 but he dominated two top 3-year-old races and, in the end, defeated the best 3-year-olds and, admittedly, an uninspiring group of older horses in the wake of injuries or retirements, in the Breeders' Cup Classic, which is supposed to be the defining race of the year. Though one can legitimately argue Bayern—and second-place finisher Toast of New York—seriously compromised the chances of Shared Belief in the Classic, the stewards opted to let the result stand. So, for the record, Bayern won. The voters, however, were left to deal with the fallout. And there is second-guessing of ballots, even today.