I first had the honor of voting for Eclipse Awards in 1976. My choice for Horse to the Year was Forego. One of the greatest geldings of all time, Forego was elected Horse of the Year in 1974, 1975 and again in 1976. Forego’s victory in the 1976 Marlboro Cup at Belmont Park […]
Read more
The Eclipse Awards were created in 1971 to recognize outstanding achievements in North America by Thoroughbreds and individuals. The three organizations responsible for determining Eclipse Award recipients are the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. To help celebrate 50 years of the Eclipse Awards, the […]
Read more
The 2019 Eclipse Award finalists were revealed earlier this month. The winners in each category will be announced at Gulfstream Park on Thursday at the 49th annual Eclipse Awards dinner presented by The Stronach Group, Daily Racing Form and Breeders’ Cup. The first year that I made Eclipse Award predictions in this column was for […]
Read more
Established in 1971, the Eclipse Awards are presented annually to recognize outstanding achievements in North America by Thoroughbreds and individuals. Eclipse Awards are voted on by members of the Daily Racing Form, National Thoroughbred Racing Association and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. Eclipse Awards also are bestowed to members of the media for outstanding coverage […]
Read more
Last Sunday’s Grade III Springboard Mile, which was taken by Shoplifted, wrapped up the 2019 portion of the Road to the Kentucky Derby points races. The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a series of 35 races from Sept. 14 this year through April 11 next year. These races award a sliding scale of points […]
Read more
City of Light’s dominating Pegasus World Cup Invitational score Saturday puts him alongside previous race winners in what ultimately could become an equine pantheon. As the third winner of the fledgling event ‘Light joins previous Pegasus champs Arrogate and Gun Runner, both considered the best active dirt horses in the world when they won the […]
Read more
Trainer Bob Baffert has done something in the sport of Thoroughbred racing that has not received anywhere close to the attention it deserves. In fact, it has not received much attention at all. If something similar had happened in the NFL, NBA or MLB, it would be a very big deal. But in horse racing, […]
Read more
Below is how I am planning to fill out my official Eclipse Award ballot for 2018, with the caveat that my decisions will not become absolutely final until the entire year is over. That is why I will not be submitting my ballot until after racing this Monday (Dec. 31) is completed. TWO-YEAR-OLD MALE: […]
Read more
In less than a month, many in the racing industry will congregate at Gulfstream Park in balmy South Florida for the third running of the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational. That rich race and a new $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational will be decided on the track and turf course, respectively. The […]
Read more
The 2017 Eclipse Award finalists were revealed earlier this month. The winners in each category will be announced at the 47th annual Eclipse Awards dinner at Gulfstream Park on Thursday, Jan. 25. The first year that I made Eclipse Award predictions in this column was for the racing that was conducted in 2011. Through the […]
Read more
We are almost halfway through 2017. With that in mind, if there were such a thing as Eclipse Awards for the first half of the year, these would be my votes, excluding the 2-year-old, human and steeplechase categories: MID-YEAR THREE-YEAR-OLD MALE: 1. Always Dreaming, 2. Tapwrit, 3. Classic Empire. I think Mastery was best 3-year-old […]
Read more
The 2016 Eclipse Award finalists recently were revealed. The winners in each category will be announced this Saturday at the 46th annual Eclipse Awards dinner in Florida at Gulfstream Park. The first year I made Eclipse Award predictions in this column was for racing in 2011. My Eclipse Award predictions have been correct 91.7% of […]
Read more
I just voted for the second time in 2016. Once in November—for the office of President of the United States and for assorted governmental positions and referendums. This time, I helped to determine winners of Eclipse Awards, to be presented Jan. 21 at Gulfstream Park. In November I considered myself reasonably informed about candidates, platforms […]
Read more
Below is how I plan to fill out my official Eclipse Award ballot for 2016, with the caveat that my decisions will not be absolutely final until the entire year is over. That is why I will not be submitting my ballot before until after racing this Saturday (Dec. 31) is completed. TWO-YEAR-OLD MALE: 1. […]
Read more