Less than two months remain until the 2025/26 Tasmanian Horse of the Year & Hall of Fame Inductions in Hobart on Friday night, 18 September.

Horse of the Year ballots were recently sent to the inboxes of the voting panel, who’ll have a tough task working through a particularly strong year of performances from Tasmanian horses.

Below is a list of the main contenders for the three Horse of the Year categories in alphabetical order (Note: this list is not exhaustive, and voters can submit a vote for all eligible horses).

Two-Year-Old of the Year

• Aristopolos
• Buzzoffski
• Momentslikethese
• Sovereign Dash
• Valley Star

The race for the standout two-year-old perhaps closed as the season progressed, with the Leanne Gaffney-trained pair Buzzoffski and Valley Star dominating in recent months. With six wins from as many starts, including victories in the Listed Elwick Stakes and Gold Sovereign, Aristopolos will be the hot favourite for this category and a good example of the value for money that can be obtained from the Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling Sale.

Three-Year-Old of the Year

• Crack the Shutters
• Daytona Diva
• Mazzini
• Sanniya
• Swift Force
• Taroona
• Zany Girl

A simply brilliant crop of three-year-olds has the field for this award run deep with quality. Crack the Shutters defeated both Sanniya and Mazzini in the 3YO Cup at the start of the summer, before the Barry Campbell-trained pair atoned with multiple feature victories as the festival progressed. Sanniya ultimately ended her season by emulating last season’s standout three-year-old, Geegees Mistruth, beating the older horses in the Group 3 Mystic Journey and Vamos Stakes. Swift Force announced herself a little later than some others in this category, adding a Victorian metropolitan win to her tally at Caulfield in May. This group will give Tasmanian racing fans a lot to follow for many seasons to come.

Ladbrokes Horse of the Year

• Aristopolos
• Asva
• Blonde Star
• Cartoon Graveyard
• Durazzo
• Geegees Mistruth
• Mazzini
• Sanniya
• Swift Force
• Zulu Angel

With local horses dominating the Ladbrokes Tasmanian Summer Racing Festival and landing mainland victories, this category is as deep as ever. All three main thoroughbred cups stayed in the state, with Asva winning both Devonport and Launceston, and Blonde Star winning in Hobart. The aforementioned three-year-olds are right out of the top drawer, while last year’s Horse of the Year, Geegees Mistruth, remains eligible for the award despite not racing in Tasmania during the season. She earned a famous Group 1 victory in the Robert Sangster in April.

This year’s event will revert to a sit-down three-course meal and will be held at Wrest Point Casino in Hobart from 19:00 on Friday, 18 September.

Tickets are available for purchase, but those unable to attend can stream the event on Tasracing Live.