Amanda Duckworth 9y

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Horse Racing

If you had told me at the beginning of 2014 that Horse of the Year might come down to a turf race at the end of the season, I would have thought two words: Wise Dan.

However, although the brilliant turf miler has been the Horse of the Year for the past two years, he seems unlikely to repeat this year due to an abbreviated season as the result of illness and injury.

No, the horse in question isn't Wise Dan. Rather, it is not a turf horse at all. Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes hero California Chrome is scheduled to line up in the Nov. 29 Hollywood Derby, a Grade 1 turf race. Earlier in the week, trainer Art Sherman was pleased with the colt's first timed work out over the grass, which was done to decide if he should be entered.

The Horse of the Year debate is usually settled long before Thanksgiving rolls around. Or, if there is a debate to be had, it is between two horses. This year, that couldn't be further from the truth, and it is one of the reasons fans will get to see California Chrome race again this season.

Much of the confusion stems from the up-and-down performances from this year's 3-year-olds.

alifornia Chrome took an early lead for end of the season honors with his Triple Crown exploits, but he has lost his last three races in a row and hasn't finished first in a race since mid-May.


California Chrome took an early lead for end of the season honors with his Triple Crown exploits, but he has lost his last three races in a row and hasn't finished first in a race since mid-May. Bayern has beaten California Chrome in their last two races, but he was a controversial winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic. Then you have Shared Belief, who took the worst of it in the Classic, and with it may have lost his chance at an Eclipse Award this season.

Arguments can be made for all three, but what has happened is it has split the vote between the three of them, leading to an unlikely leader of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's final Top Thoroughbred Poll.

After the confusion of the Breeders' Cup, standing alone at the top was Main Sequence, a 5-year-old gelding who runs on the turf. He has four Grade 1 races to his name this year, which is more than anyone else, and he is undefeated. His last victory of the season came against a talented international field in the Breeders' Cup Turf, and he hasn't taken a misstep all year.

However, in addition to being a turf horse, a common knock against Main Sequence is that he only ran those four times. While true, the precedent already exists for that courtesy of Ghostzapper, who claimed the title in 2004. I am not comparing the two runners on talent, but I am saying voters in the recent past have been willing to give the award to horses that do not make an abundance of starts.

So now, California Chrome will try to add another Grade 1 to his resume in an unlikely place. I admire and respect horses who can win on multiple surfaces, but in America the challenge is usually turf-to-dirt, not the other way around. That said, in 2008, the mighty Curlin attempted it. He ran second in the Grade 1 Man O' War Stakes behind Breeders' Cup Turf victor Red Rocks. He lost nothing in defeat and went back to racing on the dirt. He was also named Horse of the Year for the second time.

That is why I think California Chrome's attempt makes sense, even though the Clark Handicap, a Grade 1 dirt race this weekend at Churchill Downs, seems more logical. In fact, last year Will Take Charge used the Clark to nail down champion 3-year-old after finishing third in the Classic.

The reasons to run California Chrome at Del Mar instead of Churchill stem beyond merely geographical convenience. A Grade 1 victory is a Grade 1 victory, but not all Grade 1 losses are counted the same.

If California Chrome wins the Hollywood Derby, he will also have four Grade 1s to his credit this year and wins over multiple surfaces. If he loses, no one will hold it against him. After all, as far as we know, it isn't his preferred surface.

If he ran in the Clark Handicap and lost, however, it would only hurt him. There is less risk and greater reward in running on the turf, and it is going to be interesting to watch it unfold.

America is firmly a dirt racing country, and yet a dirt horse is going to attempt the turf in an effort to dethrone a turf horse from potentially being named Horse of the Year. You have to love the irony.

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