Hall of Fame Ballot Predictions

With Baseball announcing their Hall of Fame inductees today, I thought it would be a good time to see who will be on this year's Ballot for horse racing's Hall of Fame which is located in Saratoga Springs, NY.

According to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame's website, for the Contemporary Male and Female, a horse needed to be retired between 5 and 25 years. Anything over 25 years goes to the Historical Committee for them to vote on. For today, we will be focusing on horses who have been retired since 2006 or earlier until 1986. These are just my predictions to see who will be on the Ballot, when the ballot comes out, that's when I'll make my picks.

Sky Beauty- There are eight Triple Tiara winners, six of them are in the Hall of Fame right now. Sky Beauty is one of two of them that's not. After losing the 3yo Championship to Hollywood Wildcat, she returned at 4 with another soild year winning the Go For Wand, Ruffian, Hempstead (now the Ogden Phipps) and Vagrancy (a race she would win again as a 5 year old). Along with her wins as a 4yo, she captured the Triple Tiara at 3 (the last to do so) and won the Matron at 2.

Afleet Alex- When you think of 2005 racing Saint Liam is probley the first thing to pop into your head. Rightly so, the late sire of one of my favorite fillies currently in training had a wonderful year culimating in Horse of the Year honors. There was another horse though that was making more headlines then he was. Afleet Alex probley should have been the 12th Triple Crown winner, however a poor ride in the Derby plus a dead rail kept Alex out of the winners circle that day. However, he and his jockey Jeremy Rose where able to redeem themselves in the Preakness. However it wasn't without drama, as they went to the final turn Scrappy T bored in almost causing Alex and Jeremy to fall. However Alex was able to rebound and win the race. That would deny Giacomo a chance at the Triple Crown after winning the Derby at 50-1. Alex would go on to win the Belmont before his season (and career) where cut short. Along with his 2 Triple Crown race wins, Afleet Alex also won the Arkansas Derby at 3 and Hopeful at 2. He was named Champion 3yo after finishing runner up year before for Champion 2yo.

Ashado- 2004 was the year of the Smarty Party as Smarty Jones was going for that elusive crown. On the female side, Ashado was one of the best. Not only did she win the Kentucky Oaks oposite Smarty, but she also won the Coaching Club of America Oaks, and Breeders Cup Distaff on her way to 3yo Championship honors. As a four year old she capured 3 G1's including the Beledame which set her up to break Azeri's earnings record at the Distaff which she failed to do by finishing in third (that record has since been passed by Zenyatta). However, it was more then enough to get her Older Female honors.

Open Mind- Like Sky Beauty she won the Triple Tiara becoming the seventh to do so and like SB she is not in the Hall of Fame. That's where the simlarities end though, as Open Mind was a 2 time champion at both 2 and 3. Along with winning the Triple Tiara, she also won the BC Juvenile Fillies, and Kentucky Oaks. She also took the Pimlico Oaks (now called Black Eyed Susan).

These are just predictions, that doesn't mean that they will actually happen. Only time will tell about if any of these horses will make the ballot.

Breeders' Cup Vault: 1989 Distaff

One was from Argentina, the other was from Kentucky. Both where trained in Southern California and both where G1 winners when the finally met up. Bayakoa and Gorgeous where two of the best fillies in the Country. In 1989 in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, they would finally meet. Bayakoa had come into the race off winning the Spinster, while Gorgeous who was a year and half younger then the Argentinain born Bayakoa had won the Hollywood Oaks before taking a few months off. However the field included the 1988 Derby winner and Distaff runner-up Winning Colors, 1988 Oaks winner Goodbye Halo, and 1988 BC Juvenile Fillies, as well as 1989 Triple Tiara winner Open Mind. It would be a tough race to win, but both horses showed the heart to win.

As the gates opened, Bayakoa was near the front of the pack with Gorgeous in the back off of the main pack. Midway on the backstretch Bayakoa goes for the lead and Gorgeous starts to make her move. At the top of the stretch Bayakoa is in the lead with Gorgeous making one final run at her with a bold move, but she ran out of time as Bayakoa had enough in the tank to win the 1989 Breeders' Cup Distaff. Gorgeous was second and Open Mind was third. While Bayakoa was able to win 1989 Older Female, Open Mind had done enough to win 3yo Filly honors even though Gorgeous had finished in front of her in the Distaff.

Here is the 1989 Distaff with a little bit of an interview with Gorgeous' trainer Neil Drysdale:



Gorgeous will get a bit of revenge on Bayakoa the next year as she won the Apple Blossom, overever Bayakoa would have the last laugh as she defeated Gorgeous again in the Spinster. That would be the last race for the daughter of Slew O Gold. She would go on to be the granddam of G1 winner Swift Temper. Gorgeous passed away in 2002 in Kentucky.

Bayakoa ran in the BC Distaff in 1990, successfully defending her crown. Unfortanlly the race was mared by the breakdown and subuquent euthanztion of another 3yo Champion, Go For Wand. Bayakoa ran three more three more times, finishing up track in each of those races. As a broodmare, the daughter of Consultants Bid had four foals and is the granddam of G1 winner Affluent. Bayakoa passed away of laminatis in 1997.

Tomorrow: A mother-son BC winning duo! I'm talking about Hollywood Wildcat and her son War Chant.