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Eclipse w/ Mr.Wildman & His Sons George Stubbs 31 in. x 26 in Buy this print at AllPosters.com |
Date: 01/24/2005
The 2004 Eclipse Awards were handed out on Monday January 24th and Ghostzapper came out the big winner with both Champion Handicap Horse and Horse of the Year. There was much debate between him and Smarty Jones for Horse of the Year since neither raced a full year, but the voters overwhelmingly selected Ghostzapper off his impressive win in the Breeders' Cup. Ghostzapper got 174 votes for Horse of the Year while Smarty Jones only got 95. Ashado and Kitten's Joy each got a single vote and three voters abstained. Smarty Jones did win the 3-year-old male award by a landslide. Voter participation this year was only 83% with 274 out of 329 eligible voters casting their ballots.
Defending champion Azeri repeated as Champion Older Female for the third time with 179 votes over second choice Sightseek's 91 votes. Despite her impressive record, Sweet Catomine was not a unanimous winner as one voter out of the 274 went to Runway Model. In the human categories, Todd Pletcher took home the trainer award while John Velazquez dominated the voting for outstanding jockey.
All the winners for 2004 are listed below with the actual vote totals. A link to a full profile with 2004 past performances is given for each horse. To see all this years finalists with profiles for each, check here. You can look up past year's winners here. You can see how the awards are decided here.
Eclipse Award Ceremony Photos - a selection of photos from the ceremony with many of the winners accepting their awards.
Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male: Ghostzapper
Horse of the Year: Ghostzapper, 174; Smarty Jones, 95; Ashado, 1; Kitten's Joy, 1. Voter Abstentions, 3
Older Male: Ghostzapper, 269; Pleasantly Perfect, 4; Roses in May, 1.
Two-Year-Old Male: Declan's Moon
Vote totals: Declan's Moon, 188; Afleet Alex, 44; Wilko, 22; Rockport Harbor 17; Roman
Ruler 1. Voter Abstentions, 2
Two-Year-Old Filly: Sweet Catomine
Vote totals: Sweet Catomine, 273; Runway Model, 1.
Three-Year-Old Male: Smarty Jones
Vote totals: Smarty Jones, 265; Kitten's Joy, 7; Birdstone, 2.
Three-Year-Old Female: Ashado
Vote totals: Ashado, 257; Ouija Board (GB), 14; Stellar Jayne, 1. Voter Abstentions, 2.
Older Female: Azeri
Vote totals: Azeri, 179; Sightseek, 91; Storm Flag Flying 3; Adoration, 1.
Sprinter: Speightstown
Vote totals: Speightstown, 157; Pico Central (BRZ), 101; Ghostzapper, 15. Voter
Abstentions, 1.
Male Turf Horse: Kitten's Joy
Vote totals: Kitten's Joy, 247; Singletary, 12; Better Talk Now, 9; Soaring Free, 2;
Sulamani, 2; Leroidesanimaux, 1; Nothing to Lose, 1.
Female Turf Horse: Ouija Board
Vote totals: Ouija Board (GB), 235; Ticker Tape (GB), 24; Intercontinental (GB), 6; Light
Jig (GB), 2; Megahertz (GB), 2; Wonder Again, 2; Commercante (FR), 1; Lucifer's Stone, 1.
Steeplechase: Hirapour
Vote totals: Hirapour (IRE), 216; Sur La Tete, 10; McDynamo, 8; Preemptive Strike, 2; Tres
Touche, 2; Cherokee in the Hills, 1. Voter Abstentions, 35.
Owner: Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey
Vote totals: Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, 100; Michael Gill, 79; Someday Farm, 41; Adena
Springs/Stronach Entities, 27; Juddmonte Farms, 12; Gary Tanaka, 2, Eugene and
Laura Melnyk, 2; Sam-Son Farm, 2; Robert Bone,1; Robert and Beverly Lewis, 1;
Louis O'Brien, 1. Voter Abstentions, 6.
Breeder: Adena Springs
Vote totals: Adena Springs, 166; Juddmonte Farms 26; John Franks, 18; Someday Farm, 16;
Aaron and Marie Jones, 13; Farnsworth Farms, 9; Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, 9;
William S. Farish, 3; Arthur Appleton, 1; Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Wygod, 1.
Voter Abstentions, 12.
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Todd Pletcher, 155; Steve Asmussen, 71; Robert Frankel 35; John Servis 12;
Voter Abstentions, 1.
Jockey: John Velazquez
Vote totals: John Velazquez, 241; Edgar Prado, 14; Rafael Bejarano, 6; Jerry Bailey, 4;
Stewart Elliott, 4; Ramon Dominguez, 3; Alex Solis, 1. Voter Abstentions, 1.
Apprentice Jockey: Brian Hernandez
Vote totals: Brian Hernandez, Jr., 164; Pablo Fragoso, 84; Mick Ruis, 5; James Graham, 2;
Eric Camacho, 1; Brandon Whitacre, 1. Voter Abstentions, 17.
How the Awards are Decided
The old three-bloc voting system was replaced last year with a one vote per person system, where every voter's selection is weighted equally. Ranked their top three selections in each of the 16 voting categories and points are awarded on a 10-5-1 basis. The voting point system determines the three finalists in each category, but the winner is determined by first-place votes only. To see all the details of the new voting format from DRF, check here.
More about the Eclipse Awards:
Photos ©2005 Cindy Pierson Dulay except where noted
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