The morning after Gun Runner had won the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar, trainer Steve Asmussen stood just a few yards from his stall, watching him with equal parts pride and admiration. Gun Runner in 2017 had raced or trained at Fair Grounds, Oaklawn Park, Meydan, Churchill Downs, Saratoga, Santa Anita, and Del Mar, had traveled halfway around the world and back, yet as the year progressed he got better and better, culminating with the best performance of his career when it counted most. “From January to today, he just shows up,” Asmussen remarked. Gun Runner was supposed to start his year in the inaugural Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in January, but an equine herpesvirus outbreak at Fair Grounds contributed to him missing that race. The focal point didn’t change. “The Pegasus was a great opportunity, but it’s not why he was in training this year,” Asmussen said. “The Classic was.” The Classic became even more important after late March, when Gun Runner finished second to Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup on a night when few horses in history could have denied Arrogate, such was the dominance of his performance. At that time, Arrogate had rattled off four straight wins – in the Travers, Breeders’ Cup Classic, Pegasus, and Dubai World Cup – that were as brilliant a quartet as had been seen in decades. Arrogate was rightly ranked as the best horse in the world. Yet after returning from Dubai, Gun Runner never lost again, and Arrogate never won again. In their only match after Dubai, in the Breeders’ Cup Classic – with Horse of the Year on the line – it was Gun Runner who showed that he was indeed the best horse of 2017. Gun Runner had been denied a spot in the Pegasus, and could not hold off Arrogate in Dubai, but his consistency and fortitude proved unmatched this year. No matter where he went, or what was thrown at him, Gun Runner pressed forward. In the end, this small colt stood tallest. That type of perseverance was the overriding theme for racing in 2017. There were the sublime moments on the track like those of Gun Runner, but also tragedies, seemingly unimaginable, that those in the sport are still fighting through. Five weeks after Gun Runner’s Classic victory, a horrific fire at San Luis Rey Downs – just 45 minutes from Del Mar – claimed the lives of more than 40 horses and resulted in terrible injuries for a number of horsemen. But in the aftermath, the tragedy showed the generosity of the racing community, as people from around the country rallied with outsized support, similar to what happened earlier in the year when hurricanes struck Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Puerto Rico. Racing lost its First Lady, Secretariat’s owner Penny Chenery, two Hall of Fame trainers in LeRoy Jolley and Jack Van Berg, Oaklawn Park owner Charles Cella, and one of its most popular horses in Ben’s Cat, who died from colic only weeks after his retirement from racing. But the examples they showed in their lives – to exemplify the spirit of racing, to always strive for excellence – are what keep racing fans engaged. And there were plenty of moments that shined in 2017. Gun Runner set a track record in the Razorback at Oaklawn, and after returning from Dubai put on dazzling shows in the Stephen Foster, Whitney, and Woodward before the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He is not an imposing specimen, but he has a high cruising speed that runs his opponents into the ground. “I think letting him be who he is has put him on this stage and made him undoubtedly the Horse of the Year,” Asmussen said after the Classic. “We quit worrying about who he was in with or where they were going to be. Let them adjust around him. “I think he’s better today than he’s ever been.” Arrogate left the scene with three straight losses, all at Del Mar, but his races in 2017 in the Pegasus – in which he set a Gulfstream track record – and Dubai World Cup were as good as it gets. He would take longer to get revved up than Gun Runner, but at his best seemingly had a bottomless reserve of energy, and a stride length that trainer Bob Baffert said was superior to any horse he’d ever trained. “He’s just – he’s a superior racehorse,” Baffert said after the Pegasus. Gun Runner and Arrogate were atop a good group of older horses. Collected won his first four starts of the year, including the Pacific Classic against Arrogate, and then was a gallant second to Gun Runner in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Mor Spirit was a runaway winner of the Met Mile, a performance that looked all the better when runner-up Sharp Azteca came back in the fall with a brilliant effort in the Cigar Mile. But Gun Runner was the rare horse in 2017 who had a lengthy, consistent, uninterrupted campaign. Too many top-class runners had fleeting moments of brilliance, but later went to the sidelines, were retired, or never reproduced their best form. No division better exemplified that than 3-year-old males, in which the three Triple Crown race winners – Always Dreaming, Cloud Computing, and Tapwrit – combined to win exactly zero races the second half of the year. Mastery romped in the San Felipe to remain unbeaten and look like the solid Derby favorite, a position he vacated moments later when he was pulled up with what turned out to be a career-ending injury. Classic Empire, the champion 2-year-old male of 2016, had a tumultuous spring, often refusing to work, and then issues both mental and physical prevented him from running again after the Preakness. As a result, the late-developing West Coast made a bold claim for the divisional title with victories in the Travers and Pennsylvania Derby, plus a respectable third-place finish behind Gun Runner and Collected in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Songbird, the two-time champion filly, won two more Grade 1 races but then was retired after losing at Saratoga to eventual Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Forever Unbridled. Lady Aurelia continued trainer Wesley Ward’s annual assault on Royal Ascot, as she scored a rousing victory against males in the King’s Stand Stakes, but she raced only twice more and beat just two rivals as the heavy favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Drefong, the reigning male sprint champ, looked like the best sprinter in the world in the Forego, but he also dropped his rider in the Bing Crosby when he tried to bolt through the gap, and disappointed as the favorite in his career finale when trying to defend his title in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. While the Triple Crown this year proved largely unsatisfying, it did provide notable achievements for the sport’s most successful jockey and trainer in 2017. Jose Ortiz, who won more prize money than any other other rider, got his first Triple Crown race win aboard Tapwrit in the Belmont. Chad Brown, the nation’s leader in purse earnings among trainers yet again this year, won his first Triple Crown race with Cloud Computing in the Preakness. Later in the year, Ortiz and Brown joined forces to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with Good Magic, which might be a preview of coming attractions for the 2018 Triple Crown season. Brown also won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with Rushing Fall. He guided Lady Eli to another successful season on the track, with two more Grade 1 wins two years removed from her near-fatal bout with laminitis. Entering the final two days of the year, Brown led all trainers with 16 Grade 1 wins, including the Arlington Million and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic with Beach Patrol, and the Madison and Humana Distaff with the sprint mare Paulassilverlining. The trend of racing becoming a big-event sport, with the major events growing exponentially while the daily product treads water, continued. The Royal Ascot coverage on NBCSN, hosted by Nick Luck, proved a popular addition to the expanded presentations on that network and augured well for the future of international coverage in this country. The Breeders’ Cup was held at Del Mar for the first time and received rave reviews from all who attended, especially trainer Peter Miller, who sent out his first two Breeders’ Cup winners at his home track. Similarly, the inaugural Equestricon trade show was well received during a Saratoga meeting that set an all-sources handle record. Business also was strong at the Keeneland September yearling sale, where prices for the best on offer hit the stratosphere. Sellers of quality yearlings weren’t the only ones who saw a financial windfall. In a decision that will help horseplayers across the board, the Internal Revenue Service – after extensive lobbying from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association – adjusted its withholding rules to better and more fairly acknowledge the base bets of winning wagers, a development that should keep far more money in circulation on a daily basis. The best of the sport also was celebrated with the Hall of Fame inductions of jockeys Javier Castellano, Victor Espinoza, the late Garrett Gomez, and the mare Goldikova. Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps, Matt Winn, and John Gaines all were inducted to the Hall as Pillars of the Turf, and the Hall’s steeplechase committee selected the great trainer Tom Voss and the horse Good Night Shirt to be enshrined. Not everyone put their best foot forward, though. Sometimes, they put it in their mouths. Perry Martin, the majority owner of California Chrome, saw his 15 minutes of fame end with a boorish acceptance speech for the 2016 Horse of the Year in which he was played off the stage as jeers rained down. Trainer Jorge Navarro was caught on tape as party to a victory celebration in which he and his owners alluded to using “juice.” As a result, his entries were denied temporarily in multiple jurisdictions. This was a particularly solemn year, as a number of prominent people and horses died. In addition to Cella, Chenery, Jolley, and Van Berg, others who passed in 2017 included trainers Rene Araya, Manny Azpurua, Glenn Di Santo, Bobby Donato, Carlos Figueroa, Harry Holcomb, Armando Lage, Sally Lundy, Jim Penney, Clyde Rice, Richie Scherer, Kent Stirling, Doug Utley, Tim Van Berg, David Whiteley, and Lynn Whiting; jockeys Mario Chavez, Tony Dlugopolski, James Long, Nelson Menard, Jesus Munoz, Diane Nelson, and Jane Proctor; owners and breeders Elisabeth Alexander, David Cassidy, Sy Cohen, Robert Courtney Sr., Stanley Ersoff, Hal Price Headley Jr., Vernon Heath, Binnie Houghton, Bertram Klein, Leonard Lavin, Beverly Lewis, Marvin Little, Marshall Robinson, Bay Schiffer, Paul Schosberg, Hargus Sexton, and Al Stall Sr.; executives Brad McKinzie, Sheldon Robbins, and John Van De Kamp; officials Bernard Daney, Dave Hicks, and Lisa Underwood; journalists Tim Capps, Jay Cronley, Mike Jarboe, Bill Mooney, John Piesen, and Edwin Pope; broadcasters Dick Enberg and Sam McKee; director Bill Webb; photographer Pat Lang; clocker Jules Watson; exercise rider Darren Fortune; pony boy John Cosentino; veterinarian Dr. William McGee; jockey agents Ivan Puhich and Joe Verrone; and track chaplain Salty Roberts. In addition to Ben’s Cat and the horses from the San Luis Rey Downs fire, including stakes winner California Diamond, other horses who died included Horses of the Year Charismatic and Holy Bull; Eclipse Award winners Inside Information and Royal Delta; Triple Crown race winners Hansel and Louis Quatorze; Breeders’ Cup winners Better Talk Now and Lure; 2017 racehorses Blu Moon Ace, Calgary Cat, Fanciful Angel, Fusaichi Red, Irap, Reach the World, Saints Fan, Ten City, and The Pickett Factor; stallions Benchmark, City Zip, Danehill Dancer, Decarchy, Devil His Due, Effinex, El Padrino, Giant Oak, Lucky Pulpit, Roman Ruler, Stormin Fever, Unusual Heat, and Whywhywhy; the mares Baby Zip and Memories of Silver; retired stakes winners Ashkal Way, Bonapaw, Come On Flip, and Diamond Stripes; and local legends Leaping Plum and Okie Ride. It also was somehow ironic and fitting that in the year in which Chenery passed, so too did the multiple Grade 1 stakes winner Tinners Way – the last foal of Secretariat – who was 27. Here it is more than four decades since his Triple Crown run in 1973, yet Secretariat’s influence is still profound. Gun Runner – emblematic of the perseverance needed in racing this year – traces to Secretariat through his dam, Quiet Giant. Such was racing’s circle of life in 2017.