Big Hug wins second straight Alberta Horse of the Year honor

Big Hug did more than repeat as Alberta Horse of the Year. She gave Alberta racing a recognizable standard-bearer, a mare whose back-to-back top honors now frame the province’s current scene as one built on continuity, depth, and a horse fans can follow from season to season.

The Alberta Thoroughbred industry celebrated its 2025 award winners on May 1 at the Night of Champions in Edmonton, where more than 150 owners, breeders, trainers, and fans gathered at the Royal Hotel, Edmonton Airport. Presented by Sublime Stables and TCX Premium Equine Supplements, the evening also doubled as a launch point for the 2026 live Thoroughbred racing season at Century Mile Racetrack and Casino, tying the year-end honors directly to the sport’s next chapter.

Big Hug’s place at the center of the celebration was no surprise. Along with her second straight Alberta Horse of the Year title, she was also named champion older mare, underscoring just how thoroughly she owned her division. Her most convincing argument came in the Alberta Fall Classic Distaff Handicap at Century Mile on Sept. 13, 2025, when she won by 12 1/2 lengths in 1:43.88 for 1 1/16 miles on dirt. That kind of margin is more than a winning line on a race chart; it is the sort of performance that turns a regional standout into a season-defining force.

Her résumé reaches back further, too. Horse-card data shows Big Hug won the CTHS Sales Two-Year-Old Division Stakes at Century Mile on Oct. 8, 2022, then added the Chariot Chaser Handicap on June 2, 2023. Those results sketch the arc of a mare that has remained relevant over several seasons, a valuable trait in a smaller racing market where familiar names help sustain interest and give the local circuit its most bankable storylines.

The awards night also highlighted the broader health of Alberta breeding and racing. Champions were recognized across sprinting, older horse, 2-year-old, 3-year-old, claiming, and breeder categories, evidence of a program with enough variety to produce more than one headline horse. Jentry van Baal, the marketing manager at Century Mile Racetrack and Casino, served as master of ceremonies, and the room in Edmonton reflected a provincial sport eager to open another meet with momentum already in place.

Big Hug’s repeat title matters because it gives Alberta racing a horse that can anchor the narrative beyond one afternoon or one meet. In a business built on turnover, she has become a constant, and that kind of star power is exactly what keeps a regional circuit visible, credible, and worth returning to next year.