Giwner: Horse of the Year showdown in Orlando Sunday

And the winner is . . .

The connections of Hannelore Hanover, Ariana G and Manchego will face some anxious moments on Sunday night (Feb. 25) in Orlando when the United States Harness Writers announce the Dan Patch award winners for Trotter and Horse of the Year. Along with Pacer of the Year, which is expected to be an easy win for Downbytheseaside, the announcement of these three winners will be the highlight of a gala event bringing together much of the industry.

I can clearly see an argument for any of the trio to win Trotter and Horse of the Year. Hannelore Hanover bested the boys on more than one occasion and trotted the second fastest mile in history. Ariana G dominated her class and in my eyes had excuses for rare losses. Manchego was undefeated; enough said.

It is impossible to predict how the voting will ultimately go, but every publicly run poll, whether on a website or social media, has shown Hannelore Hanover to be a runaway winner. I’m inclined to agree that Hannelore Hanover will win. For whatever reason, voters tend to lean in certain directions. Successful older horses tend to outshine 2-year-olds in the eyes of the voters. I think part of that is a voter is likely to watch 5-15 races with that older horse while only 1-3 with a 2-year-old. But that’s just my guesstimate.

For what it is worth, I voted for Ariana G. Call me crazy, but if Ariana G was a colt and produced the identical 14-11-2-1 record that she actually accomplished in 2017 while winning the Breeders Crown, Hambletonian and Stanley Dancer (she won the filly counterparts – Crown, Oaks and Del Miller), wouldn’t she be a runaway winner for Horse of the Year?

From listening to and reading other views on the Horse of the Year topic, I get the feeling that Ariana G is being punished for failing to defeat the boys in any stakes finals. How is that fair? How many elite 3-year-old trotting fillies even attempt to take on the boys? We should applaud the willingness of her connections to take a shot rather than fault her for failing to do something that was above and beyond the norm.

If you take away her three races against the boys, Ariana G would’ve owned a 11-10-1-0 record, with her only loss coming in the second heat of the Kentucky Filly Futurity on a very sloppy clay surface at the Red Mile. I can’t help but think that her Horse of the Year chances would’ve been better if her owners and trainer Jimmy Takter played it “safe.”

But that’s just one man’s opinion. To be fair all around, here are takes in favor of Manchego and Hannelore Hanover written earlier this year by Jay Bergman and Ryan Macedonio.

Regardless of which horse you voted for or are rooting for (sometimes the two aren’t one and the same for me), it should be a great night to attend or simply watch from the comfort of your home. The entire awards ceremony is being streamed live on USHWA’s Facebook page starting at 7 p.m. (be sure to "like" the USHWA page to watch the video) and if you prefer the pre-race activities of the “Red Carpet”, Heather Vitale and Heather Wilder will be roaming the room with Facebook Live during the 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. cocktail to provide a different look at the festivities.

Congratulations to all of the award winners and when it comes to Pacer, Trotter and Horse of the Year, may the best horse win.