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2025 Eclipse Award Winners

Date: 01/22/2026

The 55th annual Eclipse Awards were presented Thursday night at The Breakers Palm Beach honoring the champions of North American racing in 2025. Of the 240 eligible voters represented by the NTRA, consisting of member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, the NTWAB, and Daily Racing Form, 220 (92%) 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.

horse racing
Sovereignty winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1)
Sovereignty was almost unanimously voted Champion Three-Year-Old Male (due to 1 abstention) and then took home Horse of the Year honours at the end of the night, with 201 votes. He won 5 of his 6 starts in 2025, including the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont (G1), and Travers (G1), with his lone defeat being a second place finish in the Florida Derby (G1). Trainer Bill Mott said, "We've had some nice horses, but he's clearly the best 3-year-old I've ever trained, or had my hands on, I would say. Of course, there's been some other good horses, but they probably didn't develop until they were (ages) 4 or 5, but he was very good."

horse racing
Forever Young winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1)
Sovereignty's trainer Bill Mott picked up his fifth Eclipse Award as Champion Trainer, tied with fellow Hall of Famers Bobby Frankel and Chad Brown, and three behind Todd Pletcher's record 8. In 2025 his 662 starters netted 106 wins, 85 seconds, and 97 thirds, with purse earnings of over $17 million. Along with Sovereignty he also trained Scylla, winner of the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). He said at the time, "That was the icing on the cake for her career, her going-away present to us. She really put in a spectacular race, and we had a kind of gut feeling that we might see that. She went out to California and trained super out there and had a brilliant work and repeated that work on race day."

There were two other horses who picked up votes for Horse of the Year. Forever Young was second in Horse of the Year voting, and was voted Champion Older Horse, despite only starting once in the U.S. in 2025, however that was in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), making him the first Japanese runner to take the main event at the Championships, and the second to win an Eclipse. Before his Del Mar romp he won the Saudi Cup (G1) and was third in the Dubai World Cup (G1). A distant third in Horse of the Year voting was Ted Noffey, who voted Champion Two-Year-Old Male, with only 2 votes to others. He went a perfect 4 for 4 including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).
horse racing
Shisospicy winning the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1)

The closest voting came in the Trainer category where Mott's 85 votes topped Brad Cox's 50, Chad Brown's 40, and Todd Pletcher's 21. Among the equine categories, the closest vote was for Female Sprinter, where Shisospicy picked up just 113 votes over Splendora's 68 and Kopion's 34. She defeated males in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) to cap off her championship season, where she went 5 for 7 including the Mamzelle (G3) and Music City (G2). Trainer Jose D'Angelo said, "I believe she earned the award because she was so good all year long. he ran at seven different tracks. She ran at Oaklawn, Gulfstream, Keeneland, Churchill, Kentucky Downs. She traveled to England and went to Del Mar in California for the Breeders' Cup. She was consistent all year long and did some amazing things like beating the boys and older horses in the Turf Sprint. She's been a very special filly for me."

horse racing
Ted Noffey winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1)
In the Jockey category, Flavien Prat took the vote for the second year in a row, by a 152-52 margin over Irad Ortiz Jr. He won 309 of 1,256 starts (13 in Grade 1 company, 46 graded overall) and became the second rider in history to top $40 million in purse earnings in one year; Irad Ortiz Jr. was the first, also in 2025. Prat said, "You put so much work into it and you don't even think about what could happen next," Prat said. "You just move on to the next year and just try to get better and have a good season. It's rewarding (to win 2 in a row). I'm very satisfied. I had the chance to be riding good horses all season long. I thought it was a good season for sure. I don't want to be disappointed because it's been a very good season, if not the best season I ever had." Canadian jockey Pietro Moran took the Apprentice Jockey award, with 128 votes over Yedsit Hazlewood's 55. He won 140 of 863 rides with earnings of over $6 million, and was second at Woodbine in wins behind veteran Rafael Hernandez. The son of Irish-born jockey David Moran also won the King's Plate, one of the youngest riders to do so.

Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin once again took home the most trophies on the night, getting trophies for Outstanding Owner, Outstanding Breeder, Male Turf Horse for Notable Speech, and both Three-Year-Old Male and Horse of the Year for Sovereignty. This is the fifth year in a row Godolphin took home both Owner and Breeder awards, and the sixth for just the Owner award. Godolphin USA bloodstock director Michael Banahan said, "The collective of the owner and the breeder awards, they're the most meaningful ones out there because it's not resting on one superstar horse. It shows across the board that our stable is healthy. We're getting the right horses with the right trainers and competing in the right races to be successful. That's something that our whole organization, all our staff, can take a lot of pride in because everyone is involved."

Racing historian and journalist Ed Bowen was posthumously awarded the Eclipse Award of Merit, while retired NYRA starter Bob Duncan and California track announcer Trevor Denman were given Special Eclipse Awards for Career Excellence.

All the winners for 2025 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 racing
Horse of the Year: Sovereignty

Voting: Sovereignty, 201; Forever Young (JPN), 17; Ted Noffey, 2.

horse racing
Two-Year-Old Male: Ted Noffey

Voting: Ted Noffey, 218; Further Ado, 1; Gstaad (GB), 1.

horse racing
Two-Year-Old Filly: Super Corredora

Voting: Super Corredora, 146; Cy Fair, 49; Explora, 10; Tommy Jo, 4; Mythical, 3; Bella Ballerina, 2; Percy’s Bar, 2; Zany, 2; Balantina (IRE), 1; Voter Abstention, 1.

horse racing
Champion Three-Year-Old Male: Sovereignty

Voting: Sovereignty, 219; Voter Abstention, 1.

horse racing
Champion Three-Year-Old Filly: Nitrogen

Voting: Nitrogen, 183; Shisospicy, 24; Gezora (FR), 5; Fionn, 2; La Cara, 2; Clicquot, 1; Good Cheer, 1; Kilwin, 1; Lush Lips (GB), 1.

horse racing
Older Male: Forever Young

Voting: Forever Young, 127; Sierra Leone, 50; Nysos, 24; Mindframe, 9; Fierceness, 6; Book’em Danno, 1; Touchuponastar, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.

horse racing
Older Female: Thorpedo Anna

Voting: Thorpedo Anna, 171; Scylla, 33; Splendora, 9; Cavalieri, 2; Hope Road, 1; Kopion, 1; Seismic Beauty, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.

horse racing
Male Sprinter: Book’em Danno

Voting: Book’em Danno, 115; Bentornato, 82; Nysos, 14; Patch Adams, 5; Mindframe, 1; Troubleshooting, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.

horse racing
Female Sprinter: Shisospicy

Voting: Shisospicy, 113; Splendora, 68; Kopion, 34; Ag Bullet, 1; Hope Road, 1; Positano Sunset, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.

horse racing
Male Turf Horse: Notable Speech

Voting: Notable Speech (GB), 115; Rebel’s Romance (IRE), 59; Ethical Diamond, 23; Deterministic, 17; Zulu Kingdom (IRE), 2; Carl Spackler (IRE), 1; Formidable Man, 1; Troubleshooting, 1; World Beater, 1.

horse racing
Female Turf Horse: She Feels Pretty

Voting: She Feels Pretty, 151; Gezora (FR), 36; Shisopicy, 22, Lush Lips (GB), 4; Nitrogen, 4; Ag Bullet, 2; Excellent Truth (IRE), 1.

Steeplechase: Cool Jet

Voting: Cool Jet (IRE), 119; Zanahiyr (IRE), 51; Swore, 14; Proven Innocent, 8; Abaan, 6; Fil Dor (FR), 1; Historic Heart (IRE), 1; Voter Abstentions, 20.

horse racing
Owner: Godolphin LLC

Voting: Godolphin, 206; Spendthrift Farm LLC, 7; Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, 2; Bruno Schickedanz, 2; Susumu Fujita, 1; Klaravich Stables, Inc., 1; Voter Abstention, 1.

horse racing
Breeder: Godolphin

Voting: Godolphin, 212; WinStar Farm, LLC, 2; Aaron and Marie Jones, 1; Calumet Farm, 1; Don Alberto Corporation, 1; Northern Racing, 1; Tanma Corporation, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.

horse racing
Trainer: Bill Mott

Voting: Bill Mott, 85; Brad Cox, 50; Chad Brown, 40; Todd Pletcher, 21; Bob Baffert, 13; Steve Asmussen, 3; Jamie Ness, 2; Mark Casse, 1; Christophe Clement, 1; Michael Maker, 1; Brendan Walsh, 1; Henry Walters, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.

horse racing
Jockey: Flavien Prat

Voting: Flavien Prat, 152; Irad Ortiz Jr., 52; John Velazquez, 6; Junior Alvarado, 5; Jose Ortiz, 3; Kendrick Carmouche, 1; Tyler Gaffalione, 1.

horse racingApprentice Jockey: Pietro Moran

Voting: Pietro Moran, 128; Yedsit Hazlewood, 55; Christopher Elliott, 26; Voter Abstentions, 11.

The Media Eclipse Awards were announced January 8. 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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