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Paco Lopez 4000 wins Woodbine Turf Showcase Woodward Stakes Day Pennsylvania Derby Day Mohawk Million Night |
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 Eclipse with Mr.Wildman & His Sons by George Stubbs Buy from Amazon.com |
Date: 01/25/2024
The 53rd annual Eclipse Awards were presented Thursday night at The Breakers Palm Beach honoring the champions of North American racing in 2023. Of the 250 eligible voters represented by the NTRA, consisting of member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, the NTWAB, and Daily Racing Form, 219 (88%) took part in the voting. Finalists were determined in each category by voters' top three selections, using a 10-5-1 point basis. Eclipse Award winners are determined solely by first place votes.
 Cody's Wish winning the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) |
 Arcangelo winner of the Belmont Stakes (G1) |
Godolphin had the biggest victory of any Eclipse Award winner, taking 202 votes in the Breeder category over two others with 3 votes each and six more with 1 vote each. They also took the Owner title with 191 votes over Klaravich's 7 and Juddmonte's 5. Their runners won 86 times including 12 in Grade 1 company, including Horse of the Year Cody's Wish, Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Pretty Mischievous, and Master of the Seas. Banahan said, "It's a long road to get to an Eclipse Award but to be able to do it four years in a row as owner and three years in a row as breeder is an unbelievable accomplishment. It's a lot of hard work from the whole team, from foaling the mares to getting them raised as yearlings. There's a lot of hurdles to get over and we're just so grateful to be in that position to reap those rewards on the racetrack."
Surprisingly there were no unanimous selections this year but Champion Older Female Idiomatic was the closest there with 211 votes over just 4 for Goodnight Olive. Idiomatic won 8 of her 9 starts this year, finishing with Grade 1 wins in the Personal Ensign, Spinster, and Breeders' Cup Distaff for trainer Brad Cox. Garrett O'Rourke of owner-breeder Juddmonte Farm said, "Every single step along the way was such a pleasant surprise. Obviously, I would say the beauty of her campaign and what she had done from the longevity of it was that we didn't really have expectations beyond the next race at any point in time."
 Elite Power winning the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) |
Goodnight Olive repeated as Champion Female Sprinter by a 140-72 margin over Echo Zulu. She went 3 for 5 in 2023, with wins in the Madison (G1), Bed o'Roses (G2), and Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) for trainer Chad Brown. Bill Mott won the Trainer title for the fourth time, having trained champions Cody's Wish, Elite Power, and Just F Y I (Two-Year-Old Filly). His runners won 103 races (24 graded) in 649 starts, earning over $17 million in purses. Irad Ortiz Jr. won his fifth Eclipse in six years as Outstanding Jockey, with 366 wins and purse earnings of over $39 million.
Stuart S. Janney II received the Eclipse Award of Merit for outstanding career service to the Thoroughbred industry. Born into a Maryland racing family, famous as the owners and breeders of Ruffian, he went on his own in 1990, campaigning homebreds such as Coronado's Quest, Air Support, Celestial City, Data Link, Hymn Book, and Ironicus. He has also served as chairman of TOBA and on the boards of NYRA, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Equibase, and BloodHorse. Janney said, "This sport, and its future, have always been my top priority, and I am appreciative of the support of so many who have joined us on the journey to improve Thoroughbred racing and breeding for generations to come." Tom Hammond received the Special Eclipse Award for Career Excellence, as one of the sport's top broadcasters most prominently with NBC for the Breeders' Cup and Triple Crown. He started with NBC covering college basketball in he late 1970's before being chosen for the inaugural Breeders' Cup, and is already in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. Hammond said, "As I look back on my over 50-year career, I see the many opportunities that the Thoroughbred world has provided to me. No question that I consider the Career Excellence Award to be one of the most meaningful of my life."
All the winners for 2023 are listed below with the actual vote totals. A link to a full profile is given for each winner. You can look up past year's winners here. You can see how the awards are decided here.
Horse of the Year: Cody's Wish
Voting: Cody’s Wish, 134; White Abarrio, 37; Idiomatic, 21; Up to the Mark, 9; Arcangelo, 6; Auguste Rodin (IRE), 6; Elite Power, 5; Practical Move, 1.
Two-Year-Old Male: Fierceness
Voting: Fierceness, 205; Big Evs (IRE), 4; Muth, 3; Locked, 2; Prince of Monaco, 2; Nutella Fella, 1; The Wine Steward, 1; Timberlake, 1.
Two-Year-Old Filly: Just F.Y.I
Voting: Just F Y I, 202; Hard to Justify, 9; Candied, 3; Tamara, 2; Brightwork, 1; Jody’s Pride, 1; She Feels Pretty, 1.
Champion Three-Year-Old Male: Arcangelo
Voting: Arcangelo, 193; Auguste Rodin (IRE), 21; Arabian Knight, 2; Mage, 1; National Treasure, 1; Two Phil’s, 1.
Champion Three-Year-Old Filly: Pretty Mischievous
Voting: Pretty Mischievous, 182; Randomized, 24; Mawj (IRE), 9; Ceiling Crusher, 2; Faiza, 2.
Older Male: Cody's Wish
Voting: Cody’s Wish, 148; White Abarrio, 65; Elite Power, 5, Defunded, 1.
Older Female: Idiomatic
Voting: Idiomatic, 211; Goodnight Olive, 4; Echo Zulu, 3; Adare Manor, 1.
Male Sprinter: Elite Power
Voting: Elite Power, 183; Cody’s Wish, 35; Speed Boat Beach, 1.
Female Sprinter: Goodnight Olive
Voting: Goodnight Olive, 140; Echo Zulu, 72; Maple Leaf Mel, 3; Caravel, 2; Kirstenbosch, 1; Pretty Mischievous, 1.
Male Turf Horse: Up to the Mark
Voting: Up to the Mark, 141; Auguste Rodin (IRE), 60; Master of The Seas (IRE), 12; Casa Creed, 1; Exaulted, 1; Integration, 1; Nobals, 1; Program Trading, (GB) 1; Red Knight, 1.
Female Turf Horse: Inspiral
Inspiral (GB), 112; In Italian (GB), 50; Mawj (IRE), 43; Anisette (GB), 4; War Like Goddess, 3; Caravel, 2; Closing Remarks, 1; Didia (ARG), 1; Fev Rover, (IRE), 1; Moira, 1; Surge Capacity, 1.
Steeplechase: Merry Maker
Voting: Merry Maker (IRE), 69; Snap Decision, 50; Awakened, 25; Noah and The Arc (IRE), 24; Belfast Banter (IRE), 19; Scaramanga (IRE), 6; Voter Abstentions, 26.
Owner: Godolphin LLC
Voting: Godolphin, LLC, 191; Klaravich Stables, Inc., 7; Juddmonte, 5; Gary Barber, 2; Repole Stable, 2; Coleswood Farm, Inc., 1; Harris Farm, Inc., 1; George Krikorian, 1; Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables LLC, 1; Bruno Schickedanz, 1; Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC, 1; Voter Abstentions, 6.
Breeder: Godolphin
Voting: Godolphin, 202; Calumet Farm, 3; Brereton C. Jones, 3; Richard Barton Enterprises, 1; George Krikorian, 1; Repole Stable, 1; Spendthrift Farm LLC, 1; Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, LLC, 1; Taylor Made Farm, 1; Voter Abstentions, 5.
Trainer: Bill Mott
Voting: Bill Mott, 132; Brad Cox, 60; Steve Asmussen, 8; Chad Brown, 7; Jena Antonucci, 4; Todd Pletcher, 3; Bob Baffert, 1; Mark Casse, 1; Linda Rice, 1. Voter Abstentions, 2.
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Voting: Irad Ortiz Jr., 187; Javier Castellano,17; Flavien Prat, 7; Junior Alvarado, 4; Juan Hernandez, 1; Luis Saez, 1; Mike Smith, 1. Voter Abstention, 1.
Apprentice Jockey: Axel Concepcion
Voting: Axel Concepcion, 166; Sofia Vives, 16; Jaime Torres, 14; Luis R. Rivera Jr., 7; Walter A. Rodriguez, 2; Voter Abstentions, 14.
The Media Eclipse Awards were announced January 6. The articles can be read and photo viewed here.
How the Awards are Decided
The old three-bloc voting system was replaced in 2003 with a one vote per person system, where every voter's selection is weighted equally. Voters rank 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.
More about the Eclipse Awards:
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