It's been said over and over again that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to deciding Eclipse Award champions, nor should there be. Voters are asked only to be fair and use a little common sense. More often than not, the system works just fine.

But, in recent years, voters have continued down an odd, if not disturbing path. Call it the Europeanization of the Eclipse Awards. The most blatant example yet occurred this year when High Chaparral was awarded the championship in the male turf division and Rock of Gibraltar received 45 votes in the same category. High Chaparral started just once in the U.S., winning the Breeders' Cup Turf, while Rock of Gibraltar did not win a single race in this country.

It wasn't the first time that a European based horse earned a championship. There have been several who have parlayed a lone win in the U.S., always in the Breeders' Cup, into an Eclipse Award. But what made High Chaparral's victory different was that it came at the expense of a very good horse, who would have been a worthy champion.

With Anticipation won three Grade I races (the Sword Dancer, Man o'War and the United Nations) in 2002 and was a strong second behind High Chaparral in the Breeders' Cup Turf. That doesn't mention the fact that he was a highly popular horse because of his age (7) and his color (near white). Not that that should necessarily mean anything to Eclipse voters, but it doesn't hurt, either. He should have been named champion.

Predictably, the race between High Chaparral and With Anticipation wasn't that close. The European swept all three voting blocs while receiving 103 total votes to 58.5 cast for With Anticipation. Only the National Turf Writers Association bloc had it close. The turf writers cast 49 votes for High Chaparral, compared to 45.5 for With Anticipation.

Obviously, the voters took into account High Chaparral's record in Europe, where he was 4-for-5 and won two Group I races. Eliminate his European form from his record and his credentials were not even as good as those of Volponi, who won the Breeders' Cup Classic. At least Volponi also won the Grade III Poker last year on U.S. soil. Yet, he was not named older male champion. The more talented Left Bank was.

At least High Chaparral won a race over here. How could anyone possibly vote for Rock of Gibraltar? Everyone knows that he turned in a brilliant effort in the Mile and was compromised by a bone-headed ride by Michael Kinane, but it's almost as if voters forgot the very basic, very significant fact that he did not win this race or any other in North America. Were these voters so falsely romanticized by European racing and his five wins in 2002 there that they overlooked his Mile defeat? Sorry, but that's ridiculous.

Why stop there? With apologies to Bobby Frankel, the Irish-based Aidan O'Brien is the most successful trainer in the world today, and he won a Breeders' Cup race, with High Chaparral. Yet he did not receive one vote for Eclipse Award trainer. Why not? A vote for O'Brien makes every bit as much sense as a vote for High Chaparral.

Until there is a rule that says European form cannot be taken into consideration in the Eclipse Awards, there will be no stopping voters from going for horse like High Chaparral or Rock of Gibraltar. It just that it's not appropriate. These are American awards for horses who performed with excellence in American racing. They do not represent worldwide achievement.

We have become overly enthusiastic Europhiles, while glossing over the accomplishments of our own horses. That's too bad. With Anticipation deserved better.

The way the Eclipse Awards are chosen is not perfect, but the moaning and groaning that takes place every year about how the voting needs to be overhauled is way over the top. Then again, why is there always a voter out there who thinks he or she has to be comedian?

There were a lot of foolish votes cast this year. There always are. Someone voted for Bruce Kravets as trainer of the year; Terry Houghton got a vote for outstanding jockey; someone voted for "Charles Nichols" for owner of the year. Could they have meant Charles Nuckols, the breeder of War Emblem?

But the worst vote of the year goes to the clown who voted for one David Hussey as trainer of the year, which gave him just two fewer votes than Bob Baffert received. I don't know who David Hussey is, but I can tell you that he was 4-for-62 in 2002 and his stable earned $60,584.

Not funny.