Horse of the Year Debate

Racing's top award comes down to Accelerate and Justify.


With the 2018 Horse of the Year debate focused on two horses, trainer Bob Baffert has made the case for his Triple Crown winner Justify , while John Sadler has outlined the argument for Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Accelerate .

Santa Anita Park publicity spoke with each trainer this week, noting that both camps were respectful of their rival. 

Santa Anita publicity's Ed Golden talked with each trainer this week and this story combines two notes he released.
Mor Spirit
"They are two good choices; that's what's really nice about it," said Sadler, the trainer of Accelerate. "All I can do is make the case for my horse, who achieved many remarkable achievements this year: five grade 1s, four at the classic distance of a mile and a quarter, most of the time carrying high weight (from 122-126 pounds), which is not easy to do.

"He won the ($1 Million TVG) Pacific Classic (G1) by the largest margin (12 1/2 lengths) by which any horse has ever won it. He won good races all year long against whatever horses they put against him. In the Breeders' Cup Classic, he faced the best horses and beat them all (13 rivals by a length while breaking from the extreme outside 14 post position)."

Accelerate arrives at Lane's End near Versailles, Ky. 
Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Accelerate
Baffert made a case for only the second undefeated Triple Crown winner in racing history, joining Seattle Slew in 1977.

"You've got two good horses," Baffert said, "but there's a Breeders' Cup winner every year but not a Triple Crown winner every year, and that's so difficult to accomplish, and I know, because I've been there so many times. It takes a special horse and a superior horse.

"There's no timetable you can employ at will. The Triple Crown dates are set in stone: three races in five weeks, period. You can't pick and choose. Justify was an extraordinary horse, and John had a tremendous year with Accelerate. 

Tapiture
"It was exciting to watch him run, but sometimes it doesn't work out. Arrogate wasn't named Horse of the Year. We had six outs (starts with Justify); (Accelerate) had seven outs. We were undefeated, and it was one of the toughest (Kentucky) Derbys."

Sadler said some voters may factor the strength of competition for each horse.

"Accelerate and Justify had spectacular campaigns, although Accelerate earned slightly faster speed ratings, and his Ragozin numbers were excellent. I think perhaps some voters were waiting to see how the 3-year-olds fared in the Breeders' Cup Classic, so there's a little cloud floating out there in that respect.

"It wasn't Justify's fault he got hurt (and was retired after winning the Belmont Stakes). That said, Accelerate's had a wonderful career, so the voters will decide."

Baffert is plenty familiar with the Triple Crown's elusiveness. Before winning the Triple Crown with American Pharoah  in 2015, he came up short in the Belmont with Derby-Preakness winners Silver Charm, Real Quiet, and War Emblem—not to mention Preakness-Belmont winner Point Given, who finished off the board in the Derby. He said Justify cleared racing's highest hurdle by sweeping the Triple Crown.

"Now they say it doesn't look that tough, but they're all tough," Baffert said. "Justify simply ran those horses into the ground when they were chasing him. That's what happened. A lot of horses get ground up in those classics.

"We're all here for those races. We want to win the Derby, we want to win the Triple Crown. It's all about the classics, and they're hard on the horses. Unfortunately, we couldn't run Justify after the Belmont."