Is it too early to begin evaluating Horse of the Year prospects and rating their chances? Not at all.

As the second half of the season prepares to kick into high gear, the serious running for the sport’s greatest individual honor is about to begin. Three-year-old Sovereignty, winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, can add another graded stake to his already-gaudy record by winning the $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun this Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

August is highlighted by four Grade 1 races that may wind up being important steppingstones to Horse of the Year honors. There is the $1 million Whitney Stakes (Aug. 2), the $1.25 million DraftKings Travers Stakes (Aug. 23) and the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (Aug. 31), all at Saratoga; and the $1 million FanDuel Pacific Classic Stakes (Aug. 30) at Del Mar.

The Whitney, Gold Cup and Pacific Classic all carry an automatic fees-paid berth to the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 1 at Del Mar as part of the popular Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series.

No matter what those races bring, it is very likely that the eventual Horse of the Year will not be determined until the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The Classic, $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff, and perhaps even the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile could all come into play.

Here is one Eclipse Award voter’s perspective on six leading Horse of the Year candidates, listed in order of preference:

Mindframe: The 4-year-old son of Constitution missed the second half of a promising sophomore season with bone bruising. He is making up for lost time this year by taking all three of his starts at different distances: the Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes Presented by Domestic Product, the seven-furlong Churchill Downs Stakes Presented by Ford and the 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster Stakes. He fended off Sierra Leone’s late kick by one length in the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs for his second consecutive Grade 1 decision. With stablemate Fierceness targeting the Whitney, trainer Todd Pletcher may have Mindframe wait for the Jockey Club Gold Cup in order to keep them apart.

Fierceness set a record in Alysheba Stakes win. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Fierceness: The 2024 Classic runner-up returned from a six-month layoff with a scintillating effort, smashing the Churchill Downs track record in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes Presented by Sentient Jet by stopping the teletimer in 1:40.66. The 4-year-old son of City of Light has to rebound from a Hill ‘N’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Saratoga that had his pilot, John Velazquez, conceding that Raging Torrent (who was retired last weekend) was the “better horse” that day. Fierceness will take a 3-for-4 mark at Saratoga into the Whitney, but that blemish is a big one.

Sierra Leone: Yes, the defending Classic champion made a perplexing 4-year-old debut when he wound up third in the New Orleans Classic Stakes Presented by Relyne GI by Hagyard. He came back from that to run a solid second in the Stephen Foster, with Oaklawn Handicap winner First Mission, Kentucky Derby victor Mystik Dan and Dubai World Cup Presented by Emirates Airline champ Hit Show finishing behind him in that order. Sierra Leone is 0-for-3 at Saratoga and will need to break through in the Whitney.

Thorpedo Anna: The reigning Horse of the Year, the first filly to accomplish that since Havre de Grace in 2011, stubbed her toe in a big way when she endured a rough trip and wound up last of seven in the May 2 Fasig-Tipton La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs. Other than that, she has gotten the job done in the Azeri Stakes and Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park and, most recently, with an emphatic three-length score in the June 28 Fasig-Tipton Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill. Only the second 3-year-old filly to garner Horse of the Year honors after Rachel Alexandra in 2009, she cannot afford another misstep and will have to dominate the Distaff if there is to be a shot at repeating.

Dual classic winner winner Sovereignty (Skip Dickstein/BloodHorse)

Sovereignty: The “what-if” question will always follow the Godolphin homebred. What if Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott had allowed Sovereignty to run in the Preakness Stakes? His impressive Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes wins suggest he might have been Triple Crown material. Then again, perhaps Sovereignty does not run a big Belmont if he had gone in the Preakness. That debate aside, this stellar 3-year-old is well-positioned for a Horse of the Year bid and will be unstoppable if he should sweep the Jim Dandy Stakes, Travers Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Journalism: What a cool horse! His flair for the dramatic, extricating himself from a world of trouble in the Preakness Stakes and making such a valiant charge in the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes, has to make this West Coast star a fan favorite. Still, the runner of all three Triple Crown races was second best to Sovereignty in the Derby and Belmont. It is unclear whether he will return to the East Coast to challenge him in the Travers at Sovereignty’s home base.