Women of the Year : Ten Fillies who Achieved Horse Racing's Highest Honor

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Summary: Superb profiles of the ten fillies named Horse of the Year.
Review: Horse of the Year, the most prestigious of the Eclipse Awards, is an honor that traditionally goes to male horses. There is no rule that says this has to be so, but year after year it is nearly always won by a colt. Only ten fillies and mares in the history of American racing have managed to come away with the title. Those ten outstanding females are profiled here in yet another excellent book put out by the staff of "The Blood Horse."

Official voting for Horse of the Year honors was not begun until 1936, after the eras of the first four fillies included in the book. Miss Woodford, Imp, Beldame, and Regret are, nevertheless, said to have earned the equivalent of the title based upon the general consensus of the racing world at the times they ran. They are included in what is considered a "legitimate, although unofficial, list of champions dating back . . . to 1870," compiled by then-editor of "The Blood Horse" Kent Hollingsworth in 1970 (pg. 8).

Miss Woodford, the first filly to earn the Horse of the Year title, was also the first and so far only female to be accorded the honor twice, in both 1883 and 1884. Her career earnings of $118,270 also made her the first horse of either gender to earn more than $100,000 in America. Of 48 lifetime starts, she won 37, placed second seven times, and third twice. By the end of her career she had earned the equivalent of seven Eclipse Awards - "one division title for each of the five years she raced and two Horse of the Year honors" (pg. 28), proving her a truly phenomenal athlete even by today's standards.

Imp, nicknamed the "Coal Black Lady," next earned the title in 1899. A homely-looking mare, and the daughter of parents who each raced only once, Imp herself started in an astonishing 171 races, placing in the top three in 126 of them. She was also the first mare to win the $10,000 Suburban Handicap. Imp was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1965, more than five decades after her death in 1909.

Beldame, for whom the grade I Beldame Handicap is named, captured the Horse of the Year title in 1904. Bred and owned by August Belmont II, who also bred the great Man O'War, she was the second female to win the Suburban Handicap, and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1956.

Regret was named Horse of the Year for 1915. She was raced only lightly - her heaviest season was in 1917 with four starts, but she attained champion status in three out of the four seasons she ran, winning nine out of eleven starts. Even more impressive, Regret was the first of only three fillies to win the Kentucky Derby (Genuine Risk would win it in 1980, and Winning Colors in 1988). Her two losses were to male horses. She was never beaten by another filly.

Twilight Tear was the first filly to be officially voted Horse of the Year, named in 1944. Her career accomplishments include winning the Pimlico Special against the colt Devil Diver, in which she matched Seabiscuit's stakes record of 1:56 3/5, and also besting stablemate and Kentucky Derby winner Pensive.

Busher earned the title the very next year, in 1945. She won 15 of her 21 career starts, placed second three times, and third once. Busher won both the Arlington and Washington Park Handicaps against colts, conceding weight to all opponents. Her win in the Washington Park also brought the defeat of 1947 Horse of the Year Armed.

Moccasin earned Horse of the Year honors in 1965. The 16 hand, 1 3/4 inch filly broke her maiden by eight lengths and entered every subsequent race of her career as the odds-on favorite. She won eight of eight starts in 1965, and is the first and only female to win the Horse of the Year title at age two.

All Along, named in 1983, was the first European to be voted American Horse of the Year. In 1982 she won the Arc de Triomphe in her native France, only 1/10 second off the record time. The author states: "By the end of 1983, All Along had become the most popular French female to grace the shores of America since Brigitte Bardot" (pg. 131). She was also the leading money-winning filly of her time, earning over $3 million.

Lady's Secret, nicknamed the "Iron Lady," earned the title in 1986. She racked up 22 career stakes wins, won the Fall Triple in New York in two consecutive years, and distinguished herself as the first female Whitney Handicap winner since Gallorette in 1948. She was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1992.

Azeri rounds out the group, her 2002 Horse of the Year title making her the most recently named filly. She is the only one of the ten who never ran against males, but she nevertheless proved herself by winning a string of eleven graded stakes races in a row, including a five-length victory in the Breeder's Cup Distaff. She is the first horse to win the Apple Blossom Handicap three years in a row, and is also the richest American female racer of all time (the book lists her second to Spain, but she now has the lead with over $4 million).

Each profile was contributed by a different author, but each is well-written and the book as a whole remains solid and engaging. Also included is information on ancestors' and offspring's accomplishments, pedigrees, and numerous great photos. At the end is a full list of past performances for each horse, excepting Azeri who was still in training at the time of publication. "Women of the Year" is a quick and easy but fascinating read, and I'd highly recommend it to any Thoroughbred racing fan.