The final chapter in another tumultuous year for the sport came to an end Saturday with a logical and satisfying conclusion. California Chrome was crowned as 2014's Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Award dinner, winning by a larger than expected margin and reminding us that the award does indeed cover the 12 months in a year rather than just the two days at the Breeders' Cup.

California Chrome, the Kentucky Derby/Preakness winner, racked up 143 HOY votes, which amounted to a substantially larger figure than the combined totals for the other two finalists, turf star Main Sequence (53) and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Bayern (36).

Given the quandary many voters faced over California Chrome's diminished form after the Preakness, Main Sequence's turf-only campaign and Bayer's weathering of a controversial stewards inquiry in the BC Classic, the abundance of flaws seemed destined to create a tight vote. Yet even if California Chrome won only one of his four races after June 1, he was still the year's brightest star -- apparently by far.

Keep in mind that the year's biggest races are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic. California Chrome won two of them and was third and fourth in the other two. Bayern prevailed in one of them and was ninth in the Preakness. The two most important turf races in this country are the Arlington Million and Breeders' Cup Turf. Main Sequence won the BC Turf and did not race in the Arlington Million.

Both California Chrome and Main Sequence had four Grade 1 wins, and while Main Sequence was undefeated in his four 2014 starts -- all on turf -- California Chrome's quartet of Grade 1 victories featured more versatility with wins on both dirt and turf.

Unlike Main Sequence and Bayern, California Chrome was there in the major races throughout the year -- and even if he was not invincible in the fall, like he was in the winter and early spring, simply winning a pair of Triple Crown races and hitting the board in the BC Classic showed an unusual blend of durability and resiliency. He was only the second horse since 2007 to win a 3-year-old Classic race and finish among the top three in the BC Classic in the same year.

Yet to understand the impact California Chrome had on the sport, an observer had to look beyond his wins and losses. People by the millions fell in love with California Chrome's heartwarming rags-to-riches story. He was the obscure California-bred from a $2,500 sire and a mare who ran for an $8,000 claiming tag who beat bluebloods along the way to his Kentucky Derby and Preakness wins. He is owned by two men who called themselves Dumb-Ass Partners. His trainer is 77-year-old Art Sherman, whose last Grade 1 win before 2014 dates back to 2011.

California Chrome's unlikely saga made him a rock star, whose charisma never weakened, even during the six months when he failed to win a race -- and in a vote along the lines of Horse of the Year that mattered. Unlike a division title, such as top sprinter, where the main candidates usually race head-to-head, the battle for Horse of the Year often involves rivals who never meet on the same racetrack and intangibles that can become the final ingredient that allows one horse to stand out as the year's best.

In 2014 that horse was California Chrome. He wasn't perfect, like Main Sequence, but he was the biggest star and quite deserving of the biggest prize.