The Case for Favorite Trick as Horse-of-the-Year
(This is the text of an article originally written in late 1997)

He lacks the physical stature of Easy Goer. He hasn’t the sheer brilliance of Seattle Slew. And his pedigree is hardly cut from the same royal cloth as Secretariat’s. Despite these "inadequacies", Favorite Trick, a truly special Thoroughbred, has accomplished more than any two-year-old colt in the forty-five years since Native Dancer won all nine of his races en route to the 1952 championship. Favorite Trick won eight times in eight starts during 1997, completing his campaign with a dazzling, record-setting performance in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), leaving the best colts in training far behind. His achievements are awesome by any standard:

1. Undefeated in eight starts, including seven straight stakes.
2. Earned $1,231,998.
3. Won Grade I stakes in New York and California.
4. Won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) by the largest margin, and in the fastest time in the history of the race.
5. Won five graded stakes overall.
6. Co-leader in total number of 1997 North American graded stakes wins through Breeders’ Cup XIV.
7. Won at 4 ½, 5, 5 ½, 6, 6 ½, 7, and twice at 8 ½ furlongs.
8. Won by an average of 3 ½ lengths per race.
9. Raced sound from April to November.
10. Won at four racetracks, on both coasts and in the mid-West.
11. Won on tracks labeled fast, good, and muddy.
12. Won with as few as eight days between races and after a layoff of forty-nine days.
13. Was challenged only once, in his second start, when he prevailed after a protracted speed duel.
14. Failed to record a Daily Racing Form speed figure of at least 90 in only one start.
15. Attained a Ragozin speed figure in the Breeders’ Futurity (G2) superior to any achieved by Secretariat during his entire two-year-old season.
16. Defeated the winners of the Futurity Stakes (G1), Champagne Stakes (G1), Norfolk Stakes (G2), Cowdin Stakes (G2), Arlington-Washington Futurity (G2), Hollywood Juvenile Championship (G3), Del Mar Futurity (G2), Sapling Stakes (G3), Nashua Stakes (G3), and Kentucky Cup Juvenile (G3), and every one by at least three lengths.
17. Gave weight in winning both the Bashford Manor Stakes (G3) and the Saratoga Special (G2).
18. Won from inside and out, overcoming an acknowledged and pronounced rail bias in the Breeders’ Futurity (G2) at Keeneland.
19. Was favored in seven of his eight starts at odds no higher than 7-5.
20. Was "clear" or "ridden out" in each of his last six starts.
21. Ran a sub-45 half-mile fraction in the Saratoga Special (G2) on a muddy track assigned a variant of 19 by Daily Racing Form.

There is a sports talk personality named Jim Rome who hosts a daily national radio show from Los Angeles called "The Jungle". Mr. Rome is a direct, no-nonsense fellow who promotes a competitive sports concept called "Scoreboard". The philosophy behind the concept is that the "scoreboard" doesn’t lie. There are no excuses, no "what-ifs", and no rationalizations. The "scoreboard" tells it all. An undefeated season at the highest level of competition tells you something as well, and means many things. It means you never have to explain why you were a beaten favorite, or why you couldn’t handle the track, or why you didn’t ship well, or why you had a bad start, or why you were blocked in the stretch. Throughout this campaign, Favorite Trick had no excuses. He didn’t need them. He has "scoreboard" on his side and that’s what counts.

We have the facts as enumerated above, and then there are the intangibles. These are the things that define a horse’s character but are not nearly so obvious to the casual observer. One has to carefully watch the horse in action to understand what we mean. Favorite Trick has distinct and undeniable traits that distinguish him from his contemporaries. At the least, he is a dominant personality type. He controls the psychological dynamics of every race he is in, and he can do this because of his unique combination of temperament, poise, confidence, maturity, athleticism, and tractability. These factors, plus the speed and agility that allow him to respond instantly to every situation, make him virtually immune to pace scenarios. In that regard, he is similar to Sunday Silence. His calm demeanor avoids energy being wasted. This was apparent during the post parade at Breeders’ Cup XIV. While many of the colts were nervously prancing or nibbling on their lead pony’s neck, Favorite Trick was walking quietly, ears pricked, much the way Affirmed did before his races. New experiences or massive crowds never rattle him. When Pat Day mistakenly caused a lead change in mid-stretch and then quickly prompted Favorite Trick to switch back, the colt never lost his concentration or momentum for an instant. This unexpected turn of events in the midst of screaming fans could have had an adverse effect, but it didn’t. Earlier in the race, Favorite Trick did things we wouldn’t normally expect from a two-year-old, or even many older horses. While stalking the fast early pace set by Time Limit and Dawson’s Legacy, and with Grand Slam to his outside threatening to trap him on the rail, Pat Day decided to move through a gap on the inside and go to the front. Favorite Trick responded in a flash with little urging. At that point, a less mature colt might have wanted to go on. But Favorite Trick relaxed and rated kindly on the lead until the top of the stretch where he effortlessly changed leads and explosively drew away from the field. It is unusual for a two-year-old to make two aggressive moves in a race. Add this ability to his outstanding talents in leaving the gate, and you can understand why he has never been victimized by the "trip". Some would ascribe his facile victories to these easy trips. This assertion might be reasonable once or twice, but not for every race. We maintain that Favorite Trick makes his own trips by avoiding trouble and by developing good position. That is the mark of a superior, disciplined athlete, not a lucky one. These examples of Favorite Trick’s behavior in Breeders’ Cup XIV are anecdotal for sure; however, they are typical of his behavior throughout the year, and in race after race. Steve Allday, the attending veterinarian to Favorite Trick and many other top class runners, said it best when describing Favorite Trick as the smartest horse he had ever seen. A rare mix of intelligence, disposition, soundness, durability, and athletic prowess define Favorite Trick’s character and provide the platform from which he dominates his generation.

Some would say that two-year-olds should not be considered for Horse-of-the-Year honors. Yet the precedent of Secretariat and Moccasin stare us in the face. The parallels with Moccasin are uncanny. She, too, was virtually unchallenged while going eight for eight, and her competition for the award included the champion three-year-old, Tom Rolfe, and the world-class older horses, Roman Brother and Kelso. The voters chose to reward perfection. It is difficult to imagine what else Favorite Trick could have done to ensure that he would be named Horse-of-the-Year. Should he have run more often? Assuredly his connections would have been criticized for over-racing him. Should he have won by even wider margins or broken a record in each and every start? Certainly that is not a requirement for the other divisions. Some even argue that Favorite Trick shouldn’t be Horse-of-the-Year because he is unlikely to be a classic contender. I don’t understand how they could know that. That’s why we actually race them on the track – to find out such things. Even if Favorite Trick can’t match his 1997 accomplishments in 1998, "the Year" in Horse of the Year refers to this year, not next. In the end, we have a colt with an unblemished record; a colt, completely genuine, that thoroughly dominated the competition for an entire season, across the country, under all track conditions, at every conceivable distance, and without a hint of unsoundness. Isn’t that the definition of the best horse? We think so.

We would ask the voters to set aside their preconceptions and prejudices, and consider the significance of what Favorite Trick has done. The industry has the opportunity to celebrate an almost unprecedented achievement. It may be forty-five years again, if ever, before another two-year-old colt matches Favorite Trick’s record. We would also ask that voters take the time to closely watch the replays of his races. You won’t see a lot of flash and style. What you will see is the most professional, dominating, and talented two-year-old colt to appear on the American racing scene in many years. We all seek perfection as the ultimate goal. When it’s right in front of us, we shouldn’t turn away.