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Sunday, December 30, 2001

By Pohla Smith, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Who's the thoroughbred horse of the year?That's a question that won't be answered officially until the results of voting by representatives of the National Turf Writers Association, Daily Racing Form, racing secretaries and chart callers are announced Feb. 18.

	Gary Stevens guides Point Given to a victory in the Preakness Stakes in May. (Doug Mills/Associated Press)

But as a voter in the NTWA, I had to answer that question before the deadline Friday. After a good deal of thought and several changes of mind, I went with Point Given, the now-retired Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner, over Tiznow, the first horse to win back-to-back Breeders' Cup Classics.

The reason: those two Triple Crown race victories were part of a streak of four consecutive Grade I victories that ended only when he was injured and retired to stud shortly after his victory in the Grade I Travers Stakes Aug. 25. His streak held the attention of hundreds of thousands of casual racing fans who normally watch only Triple Crown races and maybe the Breeders' Cup.

Tiznow backers will argue that his Classic triumph came against the best horses 3-years and up from the United States and Europe, and therefore is more impressive.

Perhaps it is from an athletic viewpoint, but I consider the horse of the year a recognition similar to that of the MVPs of professional baseball, football and the like. Point Given gave racing a much-needed boost.

There are 15 other Eclipse Awards given out for the various divisions of thoroughbred racing and human participants. For me, some of those decisions were even tougher than voting for Horse of the Year. I did not automatically go with the Breeders' Cup race winners.

My choices:

2-year-old colt or gelding: Johannesburg, who shipped from Europe to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. I don't like to pick horses who raced just once in the states, but he was clearly the best of the best in the Breeders' Cup. Prior to that, he was perfect in six races, including three Group 1 wins while racing in England, France, and Ireland. He'll be a Derby favorite if he stays healthy.

2-year-old filly: You. She looked weary finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but she was 3 for 4, including a 6 1/4-length romp in the Grade I Frizette, in her previous races.

3-year-old colt or gelding: Point Given, obviously.

3-year-old filly: Xtra Heat. This $5,000 bargain horse didn't run in the Breeders' Cup Distaff; in fact, she rarely faced the top members of her division. Xtra Heat is just that -- pure speed -- and she was beaten by a half-length by Squirtle Squirt racing in the male-dominated field of the Breeders' Cup Sprint. I also voted for her for sprint champion. She probably won't win either Eclipse, but it won't be for lack of credentials. She raced 13 times this year and went 9-3-1 with earnings just over $1 million. She followed that up Nov. 17 running third against the boys again in the Grade I DeFrancis Memorial.

4-year-old and older male: Tiznow, again, obviously.

The remaining equine divisions are much less glamorous.

My choices: 4-year-old and older mare, Lazy Slusan; male turf horse, With Anticipation; female turf horse, Lailani; and steeplechase, Praise the Prince.

Juddmonte Farms was my choice for outstanding breeder and owner. Juddmonte bred and raced 20 individual stakes-winning horses through Dec. 6.

Bobby Frankel is my trainer of the year. He won graded stakes everywhere he went, and his horses won $14.3 million in 373 starts, again through Dec. 6. That left him second on the money list behind Bob Baffert, who won $15.7 million in 609 starts.

New York-based John Velazquez was my pick for outstanding jockey with 297 wins and $14.795 million in purses. I voted for Jeremy Rose as top apprentice, who won $6.1 million in purses and 282 races on 1,418 mounts. Those statistics also were through Dec. 6.

W.Va. Derby graded

Thoroughbred racing's officialdom has rewarded Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort for working hard to improve competition for the West Virginia Derby.

The American Graded Stakes Committee has given the race for 3-year-olds a Grade III rating for 2002. Graded stakes are the highest level of competition, with the highest of all grades a I.

It is the first thoroughbred race in West Virginia accorded stakes status.

Grading is done on the basis of the competition drawn to the race in previous years, and the increasing value of the race (in 2002 the purse will go from $500,000 to $600,000) has drawn good stakes horses from across the nation.

Thanks to the success of its slot machines, the track has been raising purses for all levels of racing steadily.