I will preface this by saying that Wise Dan is (and has been for the past two years) my favorite horse in training. Last year I could make a case for Dan to get the older male as he won on more than one surface, but since this year he focused solely on turf I personally do not believe he belongs in discussion for that title. He is the top turf male again and he should take the division and Horse of the Year again. This year Game on Dude was considered the top older male from January until his flop in the Cup and I still think he should take the Eclipse.

As much as everyone seems to talk smack about this horse, he only lost ONE race in a year. He has a weakness, yes, but who else in his division even comes close to what he has accomplished over the past three years? As much as Baffert said he did better with more time off, I think the break between the Pacific and Breeders Cup Classics was just a bit too much. He might not have taken the big race, but I think his overall resume this year still warrants the Eclipse for his division.

I will say that most of the ones I picked in retrospect were pretty top notch horses and weren't that big of surprises except maybe Gato Del Sol.

The first Derby that I remember (and remember picking a horse) was 1976.  I've overall had a pretty good track record over the years.

1976 - Honest Pleasure - Finished 2nd
1977 - Seattle Slew - Won
1978 - Alydar - Finished 2nd
1979 - General Assembly (obvious by my Avatar name) - Finished 2nd
1980 - Genuine Risk (Gotta love the pretty filly - I also seemed to have a thing for Firestone owned horses) - Won
1981 - Cure The Blues (Firestone horse AGAIN) - Finished 15th
1982 - Gato Del Sol (was taking Spanish for the first time and couldn't resist) - Won
1983 - Slew O' Gold - Finished 4th (Was one of my favorites of the '80s being by Slew and looking a bit like Buckpasser).
1984 - Swale - Won (I rooted for him from the first time I saw him. I always thought he was a better classic prospect than Devil's Bag.)
1985 - Chief's Crown - Finished 3rd (He was soooo consistent. You had to respect him.)
1986 - Snow Chief - Finished 11th (Really the only clinker in his career)
1987 - Alysheba - (Loved the name and the Alydar connection plus I thought the extra distance would help)
1988 - Risen Star - Finished 3rd (The big Secretariat colt was good enough to have taken all three)
1989 - Easy Goer - Finished 2nd (Was always on his team even though Sunday Silence had his number all but once)
1990 - Summer Squall - Finished 2nd (Loved his mother and thought she was one of the prettiest mares I had ever seen).
1991 - Strike The Gold - Won (Saw his Bluegrass and was absolutely certain he would win.)
1992 - A.P. Indy (I know he didn't start, but I couldn't bring myself to pick something else after he was scratched the morning of.)
1993 - Prairie Bayou - Finished 2nd (Was gutted when he broke down in the Belmont.)
1994 - Strodes Creek - Finished 2nd (Halo as the sire and Wittingham as the trainer.)
1995 - Thunder Gulch - Won (Thought his Bluegrass was too bad to be true. Stuck with him all Spring and didn't jump ship.)
1996 - Editor's Note - Finished 6th (I was vindicated with his Belmont)
1997 - Pulpit - Finished 4th (Awesome field)
1998 - Indian Charlie - Finished 3rd (Not enough seasoning)
1999 - Charismatic - Won (Purely on looks)
2000 - Fusaichi Pegasus - Won (If ever a horse was born to win the Derby and also looked like a Derby winner)
2001 - Point Given - Finished 5th (Needed one more prep and to be placed further back in the field)
2002 - Came Home - Finished 6th ( He reminded me of Chief's Crown)
2003 - Peace Rules - Finished 3rd (was a fan of this hard knocking horse)
2004 - Smarty Jones - Won (Knew that tactical speed would be deadly on that mess of a track.)
2005 - Afleet Alex - Finished 3rd (Was on his bandwagon from the Hopeful on)
2006 - Barbaro - Won (He just looked like a man among boys in the post parade)
2007 - Street Sense - Won (After the Juvie win I was all-in)
2008 - Colonel John - Finished 6th (Had a feeling Big Brown would win, but couldn't pick him on principle)
2009 - Pioneer Of The Nile - Finished 2nd (Champion, Empire Maker as a sire, Baffert as a trainer made it hard not to pick)
2010 - Lookin At Lucky - Finished 6th (Picked him every time he ran)
2011 - Shackeford - Finished 4th (Just liked him)
2012 - Bodemeister - Finished 2nd (Thought he was anything but cheap speed.)
2013 - Orb - Won (I thought the race was going to set up perfectly for him and it did.


Thirteen winners, Nine seconds, and five thirds.... not too bad.