2011 Breeders' Cup Results: Havre De Grace Loses Race and Horse of the Year

As the Breeders’ Cup Classic came down to post time, Havre de Grace had overtaken Uncle Mo as the favorite (albeit by a slim margin, 4-to-1 instead of 5-to-1). By the end of the race, most of the field had overtaken Havre de Grace.

The highly-regarded filly didn’t make a serious run at the money, as a slow start that left her seventh in the early going proved too much to overcome.

 A 14-to-1 underdog Drosselmeyer captured the victory, catching Game On Dude from behind in the final yards.

Havre de Grace entered the race as a favorite for the Eclipse Award (best veteran female horse), but she also had an outside shot at taking overall Horse of the Year honors. Her record for the year is highlighted by a decisive win over colts in the Woodward Stakes.

Like fan-favorite filly Zenyatta, Havre de Grace did not win the Classic, but unlike Zenyatta, she won’t win Horse of the Year either.

Zenyatta was already a favorite for the award before her heartbreaking loss to Blame in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. A narrow defeat, though, did as much to confirm Zenyatta’s greatness as to hurt it.

Havre de Grace, in contrast, had more of an uphill battle to a potential Horse of the Year win anyway. More damningly, she didn’t even make a very good showing in the Classic, giving voters no reason to sympathize with her.

A loss against an all-male field is unlikely to hurt Havre de Grace in the Eclipse voting, but it’s hard to imagine her taking home the big prize after such a weak run in the Classic.