Privman: Let the Horse of the Year Debate Begin

[Thunder Gulch]

I honestly can't believe the HOY debate is beginning, I thought it ended Saturday.

Best race by each was the classic and Blame beats Zenyatta. No matter the margin, the photo says he hit the wire first. ADVANTAGE BLAME

Race #2. Blame's Whitney win over QR, Musket, et al or Zenyatta's Vanity win over St. Trinians (who was hurt if you want to use the Battle Plan argument later). The Whitney was the best field of the year before the classic. ADVANTAGE BLAME

Race #3 Blame's Foster win over Battle Plan or Zenyatta's -what? Apple Blossom? The Foster wasn't a deep field, but Zenyatta's races after the aforementioned were so poor in quality it's hard to determine which field of allowance horses was better. The Foster is one of the most prestigious G1 races for older horses in America. ADVANTAGE BLAME

Races #4,5 Who knows at this point? Neither beat much or you could say Blame's JC Gold Cup loss gives the edge to Zenyatta. ADVANTAGE ZENYATTA for not losing.

In a nutshell, Blame won the two best races of the year and his only loss was in an open G1. Zenyatta's lone loss is better than Blame's, but his two great wins make it easy to see who deserves recognition.