While the Breeders Crown does not officially decide Horse of the Year or divisional honors, since the inception of the series in 1984 only nine Horse of the Year winners failed to win a Crown and five of those were ineligible or retired prior to the race. Confederate is the unanimous frontrunner for the title this year, though whether he needs a victory this weekend to secure that title is certainly debatable. Confederate is just one of many horses vying for one of the most prized trophies in Standardbred racing as Harrah’s Hoosier Park presents 12 Breeders Crown championship races on Friday (Oct. 27) and Saturday (Oct. 28) with a 6:00 PM (EDT) start time each night. The pair of cards feature 15 races each and a plethora of wagering opportunities headlined by $40,000 Guaranteed Pick 4s in races 10 (Fri.) and 12 (Sat.). A sea of first-place finishes dominate the past performance lines for Confederate. Since his head defeat in the North America Cup at Woodbine Mohawk Park on June 17, the Brett Pelling trainee has reeled off nine straight victories, all in Grand Circuit or Sire Stakes company. Confederate’s credentials includes 11 wins in 12 starts, the fastest mile of 2023 (1:46 1/5 – also the fastest mile ever by a 3-year-old), and a season-leading $1,244,929 in earnings. Does all that lock him into Horse of the Year? ► Get Insider picks and analysis for all 12 Breeders Crown races ► DRF Bets: 5% Rebate on all Harrah's Hoosier Park races Friday & Saturday ► Get FREE Harness Eye past performances for both Breeders Crown cards ► Watch Derick Giwner & Matt Rose discuss Friday's $40K GTD Pick 4 ► Watch Derick Giwner & Jay Bergman discuss vulnerable Crown favorites ► Read Derick Giwner's full card analysis for Saturday at Harrah's Hoosier Park ► Bet Harrah's Hoosier Park now “I think he gets it no matter what,” said Tetrick when asked whether Confederate needed a Breeders Crown victory to win Horse of the Year. “Who else would you give it to? They don’t usually give it to 2-year-olds, though T C I and Geocentric are having a great year.” Confederate comes into the $600,000 Breeders Crown 3-year-old Colt Pace (Race 13 – Saturday) off a 1:49 4/5 elimination win by just a length, his smallest margin of victory since the July 8 Meadowlands Pace eliminations. Tetrick was uber-patient in the race and his charge was perhaps a bit more fired up than he would’ve liked when it was time to move on the final turn. “He did get a little rough on me on the last turn but that is really the tightest turns he’s been on in his career; those turns are really tight,” said Tetrick, who admitted to being nervous for a split second. “He did make me swallow my tongue for a second, but he overcame it. “He hasn’t had the best couple of weeks and Brett [Pelling] hasn’t been training him,” said Tetrick, referring to a knee laceration suffered by Confederate in early October which required staples. “This is a harder track and it is not as kind to a horse as The Red Mile. He’s had a long year. For him to do what he did [in his elimination] was pretty amazing.” Listed at 3-5 on the morning-line, Confederate’s task on Saturday is to continue to defeat many of the foes he has successfully set aside all year. It is worth mentioning that he faces a new shooter in elimination winner Coach Stefanos (post five), a perhaps revived El Rey (post three) after the trainer change to Andrew Harris and the only horse to beat him in 2023 It’s My Show (post nine). “I haven’t seen too many horses pacing home in 24 and change. [Coach Stefanos] was vicious. He knows the track. You have to know that track because otherwise horses get beat there, but I’m going in confident I have the best horse and I just need a clean trip,” said Tetrick, who talked about Confederate’s place among the best he’s driven. “He’s right at the top. He’s as fast as any horse I’ve driven and he’s been good all year, besides the one blemish [North America Cup], and you can put that on me for being one horse too far back.” While Confederate leads the pack by a healthy margin, there is something special about being undefeated. The only candidate in the Horse of the Year picture without a blemish on their résumé is Geocentric and she’ll put her immaculate 9-for-9 record on the line in the $700,000 Breeders Crown 2-year-old Filly Pace (Race 12 – Friday). Almost all of Geocentric’s wins have been by open lengths but she did have a scare back in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final when she won by only a neck. In her elimination Tetrick had Geocentric on a four-plus length lead in the stretch and won by less than two lengths. “I think it was the most impressive mile of the night [on Oct. 20]. She came home in 26 flat and went faster than the 3-year-old fillies. She did all the work and was awesome,” said Tetrick of the Brian Brown trainee’s elimination effort. “I didn’t work her at all in that race. She was cooled down by the time I got back to the winner’s circle.” A concern for Tetrick has to be the level of competition Geocentric will face in Friday’s Crown event. Canadian champion Pass Line (post four) has won six straight and in post eight sits My Girl EJ, the filly who was a fast-closing second in the Breeders Crown elimination and just missed to Geocentric in the PA Sire Stakes. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter  “It is a very tough group. Burke’s filly was very good in Canada and his other one just missed behind me in the Sire Stakes final. Burke has four in there,” said Tetrick. “Do I think I have the best horse? Yes. She hasn’t gotten beat yet and she keeps getting stronger and stronger. I haven’t found her bottom yet. I raced her hard at Pocono [Sire Stakes final], but that was the only time I pulled the [ear] plugs. She’s been well in hand every other start.” Tetrick, who will drive two others – Soiree Hanover (Race 10 – Friday) and Special Way (Race 9 – Saturday) that figure to be on the low end of the odds spectrum of the 12 Breeders Crown races, is battling for personal year-end honors of his own. He sits second in earnings just $650K or so behind Yannick Gingras and certainly gets a boost being the man behind the lines of Confederate. That said, many are touting Scott Zeron for Driver of the Year since he has won the North America Cup, Hambletonian and the Little Brown Jug, three of the richest races in the sport. “I think Scottie has that wrapped up unless I go out and win four or five Crowns this weekend,” said Tetrick. Interestingly, one of the other obvious candidates for Horse of the Year is another rookie in T C I. He seeks to become just the fifth – only the second since 1980 – 2-year-old to capture the title. JK She’salady was the latest winner and first-ever rookie filly pacer to get the honor back in 2014. Trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing, Hatfield Stables, Knox Services and Weaver Bruscemi, T C I is a victory in the $700,000 Breeders Crown 2-year-old Colt Trot (Race 13) from becoming the richest freshman in history. Redskin set the mark at $1,407,263 in 1986 and eclipsed Nihilator’s $1,361,367 from 1984. T C I, who owns a near-flawless 11-10-1-0 stat line in 2023, would move to $1,431,370 with a win on Friday. “He’s a lot better than even I thought. Every time I train him or race him, I think this is really a special horse,” said Burke. “If he can win [the final], one, he’s beaten a great horse in Karl and a real nice field, and, two, I think it makes him the best 2-year-old of all time. That’s saying a lot, but he’s gone and done everything that’s been asked of him.” Burke mentioned Karl and he will certainly test T C I in the Crown final. The Nancy Takter trainee lost to T C I by just a nose in their only meeting at The Red Mile on October 6 and Karl just blitzed his competition by four-and-a-half lengths in his elimination. “He was really super [Thursday],” said Takter about the elimination effort. “He’s a very nice colt. He’s very professional. [Driver] Yannick [Gingras] said he drove perfectly for him so we are looking forward to [Friday].” Karl starts from post one on Friday while T C I starts from the five-hole with David Miller in the bike.   While perhaps on the outside trying to get into the room, Takter has Horse of the year outsider Tactical Approach among the finalists in the $600,000 Breeders Crown 3-year-old Colt Trot. Already a winner in the Hambletonian and Kentucky Futurity, the son of Tacical Landing has already sewn up divisional honors and sits fourth in earnings for the year behind Confederate, T C I and It’s My Show. The aforementioned Scott Zeron drives Tactical Approach in Saturday’s 11th race from post 10 in the second-tier. Sylvia Hanover has captured the hearts of many fans of the sport with her ability to keep finding more in the stretch and she’ll look to get into the Horse of the Year picture with a win in the $600,000 Breeders Crown 3-year-old Filly Pace. In the tenth race on Saturday she’ll hook up with rival Twin B Joe Fresh (post seven) and Crown elimination winners Strong Poison (post one) and Zanatta (post four). “It was a similar trip to what she typically goes, it’s just the fractions weren’t on her side,” said trainer Shawn Steacy about Sylvia Hanover’s elimination mile. “I think she put in as good an effort as she ever does, just mathematically it wasn’t the spot to be turning for home. We just collect ourselves and come back next week, but I think we’re coming into it good.” Regular driver Bob McClure will steer Sylvia Hanover from post five. With all due respect to Confederate, Geocentric and others, there is an argument to be made that Tattoo Artist is the sharpest horse in North America. The 6-year-old will ride a seven-race winning streak for trainer Dr. Ian Moore into the $600,000 Breeders Crown Open Pace (Race 15) after an easy win by open lengths in 1:50 last Saturday. ► DRF Bets: 5% Rebate on all Harrah's Hoosier Park races Friday & Saturday “He was very good,” said driver Louis Roy. “I didn’t let him pace very much until we had the open stretch. I didn’t know if Backstreet Shadow had a lot of horse on my back. I didn’t want to get mine tired for no reason. When I let him pace the last eighth [of a mile] he was just flying.” If Tattoo Artist (post three) were to “win-out” this year, could he bring himself into the Horse of the Year conversation? Perhaps not, but should Tattoo Artist (post three) defeat main challenger Bythemissal (post two) and some other top talent, he will move his career bankroll to $2,999,448. That’s Impressive! We are ultimately months from truly finding out the winner of the Dan Patch Horse of the Year award, but what occurs this weekend at Harrah’s Hoosier Park will go a long way to shaping the minds of voters in this “what have you done for me lately” world.