My Eclipse Ballot

[Indian Charlie]

Byk, no top 3 for Shared Belief??

I felt he was the biggest standout of their divisions, except for maybe the turf.

[RockHardTen1985]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Byk, no top 3 for Shared Belief??

I felt he was the biggest standout of their divisions, except for maybe the turf.

I think he would be hard pressed to beat any of the top 3 from NY on dirt at 8f-9f right now. Even the Lukas horse who won the Hopeful I think is at least as good as him. Why would that Hollywood Grade 1 mean more then The Hopeful or Champagne

[iamthelurker]

Castellano will be the first rider to lead the nation in wins and earnings since Chris McCarron did it in 1980. It would be a travesty to see him lose an eclipse award to Stevens. Comeback considered... Castellano's accomplishments this year far surpass Stevens.

[RockHardTen1985]

Originally Posted by iamthelurker

Castellano will be the first rider to lead the nation in wins and earnings since Chris McCarron did it in 1980. It would be a travesty to see him lose an eclipse award to Stevens. Comeback considered... Castellano's accomplishments this year far surpass Stevens.

I believe Rosairo was having the better year until being injured during a crucial point of the year.

[iamthelurker]

I'll say it again.... the first rider to lead the nation in wins and earnings in 23 years. That's the unique accomplishment here.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by iamthelurker

I'll say it again.... the first rider to lead the nation in wins and earnings in 23 years. That's the unique accomplishment here.

You just said McCarron did it 23 years ago... so it's not unique. What Stevens has done is an unprecedented feat of athletic prowess. The only parallel I can think of immediately is Gordie Howe taking regular shifts in the NHL at 50+.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Kasept

You just said McCarron did it 23 years ago... so it's not unique. What Stevens has done is an unprecedented feat of athletic prowess. The only parallel I can think of immediately is Gordie Howe taking regular shifts in the NHL at 50+.

i think stevens is deserving. every year, you'll obviously have a jock with the most wins, and a jock with most money won. so, the reward for most money won, is a good bit of money.

[blackthroatedwind]

Originally Posted by iamthelurker

I'll say it again.... the first rider to lead the nation in wins and earnings in 23 years. That's the unique accomplishment here.

Ya know, college boy, that it isn't unique if it's happened before. Plus, 33 years not 23.

Did you really graduate?

[iamthelurker]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Ya know, college boy, that it isn't unique if it's happened before. Plus, 33 years not 23.

Did you really graduate?

Love you too. Surprised you would agree it should go to Stevens. You are right though a typo and some poor word usage are all the more reason to question whether I actually got my degree. If I had said Castellano's rare accomplishment would you still of jumped at the chance to point out my age? I'm supposed to run away and hide now right? That's no fun.

I am not saying what Stevens has done this year should go without praise but there are more deserving candidates for the award. The year Mike Smith had at 48 years old was just as good if not better than Stevens.

All starts

Smith - 422 84 64 45 $13,797,517 $32,696 20%
Stevens - 383 69 59 58 $11,910,748 $31,099 18%

Stakes

Smith - 155 34 24 18 $11,309,528 $72,965 22%
Stevens - 132 24 19 15 $9,513,509 $72,072 18%

Graded Stakes

Smith - 116 28 16 12 $10,718,963 $92,405 24%
Stevens - 93 18 10 9 $8,856,303 $95,229 19%

Each won a Triple Crown race. Smith won three breeders cup albeit of lesser prestige than Stevens Distaff and Classic. Gary is not the only old guy still getting it done.

The sheer volume of Castellano's accomplishments this year in my mind surpasses a great story and comeback from an older rider. The fact a rider can lead the nation in wins based out of the toughest place to win races in the US is remarkable.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by iamthelurker

Castellano will be the first rider to lead the nation in wins and earnings since Chris McCarron did it in 1980. It would be a travesty to see him lose an eclipse award to Stevens. Comeback considered... Castellano's accomplishments this year far surpass Stevens.

It's more esoteric for me than the numbers. 'Accomplishments' don't have to be measured linearly. Dale Romans didn't have raw numbers to win Trainer in 2012 but was overwhelmingly deserving.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Byk, no top 3 for Shared Belief??

I felt he was the biggest standout of their divisions, except for maybe the turf.

This -- along with Sweet Reason in the Fillies -- was a case of 4 pegs in 3 holes. Had him 2nd in first pass and then really looked at the 3 wins. Golden Gate MDN, beat nothing in Prevue and Futurity field is going to end up being highly mediocre, at best, in retrospect. I wasn't going to let the figs be the determinant. Havana likely wins Juvy with a decent post and is acclamation champ at that point. Honor Code couldn't be left off and New Year's Day deserved nod as Juvy winner. Very difficult and to some extent my decision was influenced by the fact Shared Belief did his work only on synthetic.