Led by Horse of the Year finalists
BLAME,
GOLDIKOVA (Ire) (Anabaa) and
ZENYATTA,
the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form,
and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWB) on Thursday announced the
finalists for the 2010 Eclipse Awards, which recognize excellence in
Thoroughbred racing.
Record participation of 238 out of 251 voters (94.8 percent) representing the
NTRA, the NTWAB and Daily Racing Form took part in this year’s 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. The voting was audited by the Louisville, Kentucky,
accounting firm Strothman & Company.
Blame, winner of the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1); Goldikova, the French
mare who made history when capturing a third straight running of the Breeders’
Cup Mile (G1); and Zenyatta, the Breeders’ Cup Classic runner-up, are the three
finalists for the coveted Horse of the Year title.
Blame, owned and bred by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, held off the
fast-closing Zenyatta by a head in the Classic on November 6 at Churchill Downs
in Louisville. Blame is also a finalist for champion older male, having won four
races in five starts during his four-year-old season, including the Whitney
Invitational H. (G1) and Stephen Foster H. (G1). Claiborne Farm and Adele
Dilschneider are also finalists in both the champion owner and champion breeder
categories.
As a five-year-old, Goldikova captured her unprecedented third consecutive
Breeders’ Cup Mile last fall during a season in which she won five Group/Grade 1
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 as a
six-year-old, she is also a finalist in the older female category, an award she
has won the past two years. Zenyatta’s owners, Jerry and Ann Moss, are finalists
for champion owner, and Zenyatta’s trainer, John Shirreffs, is a finalist for
champion trainer.
Winners in all 17 horse and human categories will be announced at the 40th
annual Eclipse Awards dinner ceremony, which will take place January 17 at the
Fontainebleau Miami Beach in Miami Beach, Florida.
The Eclipse Awards finalists (in alphabetical order) are:
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Blame, Goldikova, Zenyatta | |
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BOYS AT TOSCONOVA, TO HONOR AND SERVE, UNCLE MO |
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AWESOME FEATHER, R HEAT LIGHTNING, TURBULENT DESCENT |
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ESKENDEREYA, LOOKIN AT LUCKY, PADDY O’PRADO |
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BLIND LUCK, EVENING JEWEL, HAVRE DE GRACE |
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Blame,
QUALITY ROAD, RICHARD’S KID |
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LIFE AT TEN, UNRIVALED BELLE, Zenyatta |
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BIG DRAMA, MAJESTICPERFECTION, SMILING TIGER |
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CHAMPAGE D’ORO, DUBAI MAJESTY, RIGHTLY SO |
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DANGEROUS MIDGE, GIO PONTI, WINCHESTER |
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Goldikova,
PROVISO (GB), TUSCAN EVENING |
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ARCADIUS, PERCUSSIONIST, SLIP AWAY |
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Claiborne Farm and Adele B.
Dilschneider, Jerome and Ann Moss, WinStar Farm |
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Adena Springs, Claiborne
Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider, Brereton C. Jones |
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Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher,
John Shirreffs |
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Ramon Dominguez, Garrett
Gomez, John Velazquez |
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Forest Boyce, Omar Moreno,
Angel Serpa |
The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and
foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18
starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races,
including three Epsom Derbies.
For hotel accommodations and Eclipse Awards ceremony reservations, contact
Michele Ravencraft at the NTRA’s Lexington office, 1-800-792-6872, or e-mail
mravencraft@ntra.com.