Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Horse of the Year Facts & Figures
December 21, 2004

If Rainbow Blue is Horse of the Year, she'll be just the third pacing female and the 11th female overall to ever be given that honor. Of the pacing females that have been named Horse of the Year, all three of them have been three-year-olds (Fan Hanover in 1981 and Bunny Lake in 2001). No pacing mare has ever been accorded the honor.

If Windsong's Legacy is named Horse of the Year, he will be the seventh three-year-old trotting colt to win that honor. The others were Scott Frost in 1955, Speedy Scot in 1963, Nevele Pride in 1968, Green Speed in 1997, Mack Lobell in 1987, and Malabar Man in 1997. Of the previous six Trotting Triple Crown winners in history, three have been named Horse of the Year and three have not.

The three winners were Scott Frost, Speedy Scot and Nevele Pride. Ayres in 1964, Lindy's Pride in 1969 and Super Bowl in 1972 failed to earn Horse of the Year after winning the Triple Crown. If Windsong's Legacy is Horse of the Year, he will be the fourth Trotting Triple Crown winner accorded that honors.

Of the Horse of the Year winners since 1990, only Beach Towel (1990), CR Kay Suzie (1995) and Bunny Lake (2001) were driven by their trainers.

Among the finalists for top juvenile trotters, both Ken Warkentin and Solveig have human namesakes. Ken Warkentin (orginal name Hambo) is named for the Meadowlands Racetrack announcer of the same name and Solveig (original name Fareway Fantasy) is named for trainer/co-owner Jimmy Takter's mother, Solveig (pronounced Solvay) Takter.

Of the finalists in the various divisions, Windsong's Legacy has the highest overall purse earnings ($1,713,806) and per start ($142,817 on average) for each of his 12 starts. If Windsong's Legacy is named Horse of the Year, he will have captured that honor with fewer starts than any other honoree since Horse of the Year was first given in 1947, with the exception of Continentalvictory in 1996. That filly had nine wins in 12 starts, the same record as Windsong's Legacy in 2004.