Must nominate Baffert (well, maybe next year)
Among the Top 100 trainers listed by earnings, sitting at No. 5 is Bob Baffert. Right, he’s NOT in the Hall of Fame, and he’s eligible. Got to nominate him.

But wait. What about Jerry Hollendorfer? Would there even be a Northern California circuit without him? Now look all the way down to No. 29. Are you kidding me? Carl Nafzger? He doesn’t have Baffert’s numbers, but he doesn’t have Baffert’s owners, either.

(I know I’m in the minority, but I must vote my Eclipse conscience: Curlin for Horse of Year; Nafzger for Trainer of the Year. Why? Because at the end of the day, Nafzger accomplished more working with a little less. And I‘m a huge Street Sense fan.)

Already mentioned Baird. But racing’s third winningest trainer, King Leatherbury, is eligible, as is Richard Hazelton, fifth on the all-time winners list. Will they, too, be victims of geography?

A glance at the Top 100 money earning jockeys shows Edgar Prado right behind Solis at No. 7, and he’s eligible. And did you know that Garrett Gomez, the new all-time single-season stakes king, is eligible, too.

At No. 35, nine slots behind Gomez, is Chris Antley. Does anyone deny his Hall of Fame talent? Or will a tragic off-track life and death be his legacy? Which begs the question, what about the eligible Patrick Valenzuela?

Don’t know if anyone’s thought of this, but if 500 home runs is one benchmark for entering the MLB Hall of Fame, so should members of the 6,000-win club, especially since only 15 jockeys have done it. Yet, David Gall (7,396), Larry Snyder, Carl Gambardella and, most recently, Mario Pino, are not Hall of Famers despite their qualifications.

It is with a measure of excitement and trepidation for my future workload, that I add these names (one per category limit) to the 2008 list of Hall of Fame nominees: Trainer: Carl Nafzger (Baffert next year, I promise). Jockey: Edgar Prado. Contemporary Male: Maybe Tiznow, maybe not. (Consecutive Classics loom large, an 8-for-15 career mark doesn’t). Female: Enough already.

The deadline is December 4. Probably will take that long to decide.

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