2001 American Horse of the Year
March 27 - Point Given
This could have been one of the greatest horses of all time if only . . . if only . . . could have been a great stallion too but again . . . if only . . . oh, what could have been.
Point Given was an absolute giant of a chestnut, one of the most physically imposing thoroughbreds of his era and one of the very best as well. He was foaled in 1998, a son of 1995 Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch out of the mare Turko's Turn. He raced for The Thoroughbred Corporation of Prince Ahmed bin Salman and was trained by Bob Baffert. With his huge frame and powerful stride, he stood out from the rest of his crop from a young age.
Going into the 2001 Kentucky Derby, Point Given was the favorite and looked like a future Triple Crown winner. But the long Churchill Downs stretch did not suit him that day, and he finished a disappointing fifth behind Monarchos. Bob Baffert and the colt's connections never lost faith. Two weeks later at Pimlico, Point Given roared back with Gary Stevens in the saddle and powered home to win the Preakness Stakes. Then at Belmont Park he stretched his huge stride over a mile and a half and rolled to a dominating win in the Belmont Stakes.
The big chestnut was just getting started. That summer he captured the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park by a wide margin, and then he traveled to Saratoga and won the Travers Stakes, completing a clean sweep of the major three year old summer prizes. He had won the four most important races for his crop after the Kentucky Derby, and most racing fans agreed he was the best horse in America regardless of what had happened on the first Saturday in May.
A tendon injury cut his career short after the Travers Stakes, but the honors poured in anyway. Point Given was named the 2001 Eclipse Award Champion 3-Year-Old Male and Horse of the Year. He retired to stud at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky, where he sired several stakes winners despite battling some fertility issues. Point Given is remembered as a true giant of his era, a horse whose size, talent, and summer dominance left a lasting mark on the sport.
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