Harness: Thoughts on potential Dan Patch winners

Often there is no right answer, there is simply opinion.

Those are the only words of wisdom I have after making my final selections for the 2018 Dan Patch awards. Only 177 people are afforded this honor and I take the decision-making process very seriously.

All voters must select 12 divisional champions, a Trotter of the Year, a Pacer of the Year and a Horse of the Year. Many of the decisions were simple while others had me seesawing back and forth before settling on a final answer.

As I believe all voters should disclose their votes, here is how I saw each race.

The no-brainer winners

2-Year-Old Colt Trotter – Gimpanzee went undefeated in nine starts and wins in a landslide.

2-Year-Old Filly Trotter – Woodside Charm never lost in seven starts and was certainly the most dominating 2-year-old of any gait in 2018.

3-Year-Old Filly Trotter – Atlanta beat the boys in the Hambletonian and earned over $1 million this year against a solid division.

Aged Horse/Gelding Trotter – Homicide Hunter became the fastest trotter in history with a 1:48 4/5 win and narrowly earned the most in his division.

3-Year-Old Filly Pacer – Kissin In The Sand dominated her division and went some of the biggest miles of any horse in 2018.

Aged Horse/Gelding Pacer – McWicked put together the second richest single-season earnings for an older performer in history with $1,575,364.

Aged Mare Pacer – Shartin won an amazing 19 races while becoming the first pacing mare in history to eclipse $1 million in single-season earnings.

Brief thought required

Aged Trotting Mare – Ariana G and Emoticon Hanover were the main contenders. While Emoticon won more stakes in this division, Ariana G won three stakes versus male competition. That along with a sizable earnings advantage gave her the edge.

2-Year-Old Colt Pacer – You could make a case for Captain Crunch or Stag Party. They finished with identical wins and were separated by only $100,000 in earnings. I went with Captain Crunch because he won two major stakes versus one for Stag Party.

2-Year-Old Filly Pacer – Warrawee Ubeaut led in earnings and paced the fastest mile by a 2-year-old in history. That earned her my vote. That said, Zero Tolerance never missed the board while scoring an equal number of wins and Prescient Beauty had some nice moments as well.

Still on the fence

My selections are in but I really did struggle over the winners for the top 3-year-old colt pacer and trotter. Voting in both categories should prove tight.

3-Year-Old Colt Trotter – Three horses – Six Pack, Crystal Fashion and Met’s Hall – earned over a million in this division. Of the trio Six Pack rises to the top on number of victories and posting a 1:49 1/5 winning mile. But then we have Tactical Landing, winner of the Breeders Crown and TVG final versus older foes. On first thought Tactical Landing was my selection and I even wrote his name on the form, but the more I looked at the statistics and past performances, I began to change my mind. Six Pack wins on earnings, wins and time. Does that make him the better horse? I’m really not sure. I’d call it a toss-up between the two horses when looking at the season as a whole, and because of that I’m going with the statistically superior horse.

3-Year-Old Colt Pacer – For the most part, everyone in this division took turns winning major stakes races. Jimmy Freight was the most consistent, but he lacks a true Classic win. Perhaps Lather Up had the most pure speed, but he just couldn’t keep his act together the entire year. Stay Hungry went on a nice roll through August and September but needed a big Breeders Crown effort and it wasn’t meant to be. That leaves us with the only two in the division to win multiple stakes races. Dorsoduro Hanover took the Adios and Breeders Crown while Courtly Choice won the Meadowlands Pace and Little Brown Jug. We’ll call that a draw. Dorsoduro led in earnings by a sizable margin, but Courtly Choice paced more than two seconds faster (1:47 1/5 vs. 1:49 4/5) and posted at least a handful of winning miles that eclipse Dorsoduro Hanover’s best. Let’s call earnings against time a draw. That leaves us with record and intangibles. Courtly Choice won 10 of 16 starts and Dorsoduro Hanover 10 of 21 starts. Edge to Courtly Choice. Finally, they met up in two stakes finals and Courtly Choice won both. He earned my vote.

Trotter of the Year

I’m nearly certain that Atlanta will win this award on the power of her Hambletonian win versus the boys. She was super that day and had some other good moments through the year. If she would’ve won the Breeders Crown, she would’ve earned my vote in this category. I just can’t get past the fact that I came away disappointed at times after watching her. As brilliant as she was, to me a champion wins the Breeders Crown with a two-length lead in the stretch. Maybe I’m being too hard on her. Ultimately I went to the horse that wowed me nearly every time I watched her race and never lost. Woodside Charm earned comparisons to some of the greatest freshman trotting fillies in history by not only winning and setting records, but also by doing it without breaking a sweat. She was the best trotter I watched in 2018.

Pacer/Horse of the Year

Taking nothing away from the spectacular year from McWicked, but Shartin made history. She had perhaps the best season by an older pacing mare in the history of the sport. To put it in perspective, of the 21 older pacers in history to break the $1 million barrier in earnings, only four had more than her 19 wins – Staying Together, Cam Fella, Matt’s Scooter and On The Road Again. Three of those four are in the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in Goshen and the one who isn’t, Staying Together, is in the Canadian Hall of Fame. That’s good company. All of the above said, I think McWicked will win. And he’s deserving, so I have no issue with it.

It was another great year of racing. We saw some remarkable performances, some wicked speed, and have plenty to look forward to with the returning 2-year-olds and many of the 3-year-old and older stars returning for another go-around. It certainly makes you wish it was May already and stakes season was underway.