Horse of the Year

Not since 1971—the introduction of the modern system of Eclipse Award voting—has a horse won three categories of awards—Horse of the Year, Older Male, and Male Turf Horse—two years in a row. Wise Dan did so by winning six of his seven starts on turf, carrying high weight in five races, and winning four Grade I races in 2013 at tracks across North America. He had a consistent season and was never scratched. In Horse of the Year voting he polled ten times the number of votes as his closest runner-up, Mucho Macho Man. The year before, after his 2012 season, Wise Dan became the first horse to win all three categories since John Henry in 1981. One of only six horses in modern history that have won consecutive Horse of the Year honors, Wise Dan joins Secretariat, Forego, Affirmed, Cigar, and Curlin in that accomplishment. Now seven years old, the chestnut gelding is by Wiseman’s ferry out of Lisa Danielle by Wolf Power. He was bred at home by owner Morton Fink in Kentucky and is trained by Charlie LoPresti near Lexington. His post-season rest over, Wise Dan is now gearing up for the 2014 season at Keeneland, his home base. Click for more details in Claire Novak’s article in Bloodhorse. Posted February 17, 2014

Wise Dan has emerged as a favorite contender for Horse of the Year honors after setting a new record for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita last Saturday. The gelding beat a strong field, including the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom whom he bested by one-and-a-half lengths. Trained by Charlie Lopresti, Wise Dan has thirteen career wins in nineteen starts over turf, dirt, and synthetic surfaces. In Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup he bested the old mark of 1:31:89 set by Atticus in 1997 by 0.11 seconds. Read the Associated Press article on SI.com for more details. Posted November 5, 2012