The Canadian Horse of the Year is a

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in t ...

honour given annually since 1951 by the

Jockey Club of Canada The Jockey Club of Canada was formed in 1973 to oversee thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the club is responsible for the annual Sovereign Awards program and the Canadian Graded Stakes Committee. Founding members: * C ...

. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Part of the

Sovereign Award {{refimprove, date=October 2021 The Sovereign Award is given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada to the outstanding horses and people in Canadian Thoroughbred racing. The most prestigious award for horses is Sovereign Horse of the Y ...

s program since 1975, it is similar to the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

for

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

honours given in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The original eligibility rules stipulated that the winner be a Canadian-bred horse that did its "best running" in Canada. In 1964, the rule was altered for

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

, who was a Canadian-bred but whose most notable wins came in the United States when he won the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

and

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

. Eventually the requirement that the horse be a Canadian-bred was also dropped. The current rules simply require that the horse have raced at least three times in Canada during the given year (two times for two-year-olds).

Records

Most wins: * 2 -

L'Enjoleur L'Enjoleur (1972 – January 26, 2000) was a Canadian Thoroughbred race horse. Bred and owned by prominent Montreal businessman Jean-Louis Lévesque, L'Enjoleur was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Buckpasser, a son of another Hall o ...

(1974, 1975) * 2 -

Overskate {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Overskate , image = , caption = , sire = Nodouble , grandsire = Noholme , dam = Overstate , damsire = Speak John , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1975 , country = Canada , colour = Chestnut , breed ...

(1978, 1979) * 2 - Chief Bearhart (1997, 1998) Most wins by a trainer: * 6 -

Gordon J. McCann Gordon J. "Pete" McCann (1908 – January 18, 2000) was a Canadians, Canadian Thoroughbred horse trainer. He was born in East York, now part of the city of Toronto. Known to his family as Gordon, in racing circles he was nicknamed Pete. Pete ...

(1951, 1952, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1968) Most wins by an owner: * 8 -

Sam-Son Farm Sam-Son Farm is a Thoroughbred horse racing stable with farms located in Milton, Ontario, Canada and Ocala, Florida. Originating in the 60's by Ernie Samuel, it began as a home for competition hunter/jumper horses. One Sam-Son horse, Canadian C ...

(1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004)

Honourees

References

Sovereign Awards at The Jockey Club of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Horse Of The Year Horse racing awards Horse racing in Canada