The 40th annual Eclipse Awards, celebrating excellence in Thoroughbred racing for 2010, will be handed out on Monday January 17 at a dinner ceremony at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach in Miami Beach, Florida. Winners in all 17 horse and human categories will be announced on stage, but the eyes of the racing world will be waiting for the final announcement of the night, when the golden trophy for Horse of the Year will be handed over to the owners of Blame, Goldikova, or Zenyatta, the three finalists for the coveted award. Finalists were announced on January 6 by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters, the three voting blocs who decide the winners by secret ballot.
The 4-year-old Blame, owned and bred by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, held off Zenyatta by a head in the Breeders' Cup Classic on November 6 at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Blame, who won four races in five starts in 2010, is also a finalist for champion Older Male. Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider are also finalists in both the Champion Owner and Champion Breeder categories.
As a 5-year-old, Goldikova captured her unprecedented third consecutive Breeders’ Cup Mile last fall in a season in which she won five group or grade I races. Goldikova is also a finalist in the Female Turf category. Owned by Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, Goldikova has already won the 2010 Cartier Racing Award as the European Horse of the Year.
Zenyatta, runner up for Horse of the Year in 2008 and 2009, was undefeated in 19 career races prior to the Classic. A winner of five Grade 1 races in 2010, she is also a finalist in the Older Female category, an award she has won the past two years. The future Hall of Famer has been denied Horse of the Year twice, finishing behind Curlin in 2008 and Rachel Alexandra in 2009. Zenyatta’s owners, Jerry and Ann Moss, are finalists for Champion Owner, and Zenyatta’s trainer, John Shirreffs, is a finalist for Champion Trainer. As well, "Team Zenyatta", consisting of her owners and trainer along with jockey Mike Smith, racing manager Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs, exercise rider Steve Willard, groom Mario Espinoza, hotwalker Carmen Zamona and assistant trainer Michelle Jensen, will be given a Special Eclipse Award, which honors extraordinary service, individual achievements in, or contributions to the sport of Thoroughbred racing.
The Eclipse Media Awards for writing, photography, television, etc. have already been announced. You can view the winners here.
There are 251 eligible voters, from the Daily Racing Form, National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and ballots were submitted electronically by January 4. Voters submit their top 3 in each category and, for the purpose of listing finalists, these are scored points in a 10-5-1 system, but only first place votes are counted when determining award winners. A record 238 out of the 251 eligible voters (94.8%) cast ballots, and voting was audited by the Louisville accounting firm Strothman & Company.
Below are the finalists in alphabetical order. You can view lifetime past performances for all the horses and stats for the other categories here from Daily Racing Form.
Horse of the Year: Blame, Goldikova (IRE), Zenyatta
Two-Year-Old Male: Boys at Tosconova, To Honor and Serve, Uncle Mo
Two-Year-Old Filly: Awesome Feather, R Heat Lightning, Turbulent Descent
Three-Year-Old Male: Eskendereya, Lookin At Lucky, Paddy O’Prado
Three-Year-Old Filly: Blind Luck, Evening Jewel, Havre de Grace
Older Male: Blame, Quality Road, Richard’s Kid
Older Female: Life at Ten, Unrivaled Belle, Zenyatta
Male Sprinter: Big Drama, Majesticperfection, Smiling Tiger
Female Sprinter: Champagne d’Oro, Dubai Majesty, Rightly So
Male Turf Horse: Dangerous Midge, Gio Ponti, Winchester
Female Turf Horse: Goldikova (IRE), Proviso (GB), Tuscan Evening
Steeplechase Horse: Arcadius, Percussionist, Slip Away
Owner: Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Moss, WinStar Farm
Breeder: Adena Springs, Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider, Brereton C. Jones
Trainer: Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, John Shirreffs
Jockey: Ramon Dominguez, Garrett Gomez, John Velazquez
Apprentice Jockey: Forest Boyce, Omar Moreno, Angel Serpa
Previous Eclipse Award Winners
