Eclipse Awards

Elite Power (Curlin) and Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) repeated as Eclipse champion sprinters during Thursday's ceremony in Florida. Juddmonte's Elite Power traveled to Saudi Arabia to begin 2023 with a win in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint. Returned stateside, he won the GII True North S. and GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. before having an eight-race win streak interrupted with a runner-up effort in the GI Forego S. at Saratoga in August. He returned to the winner's circle and earned his second straight win in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint just...

Breeders' Cup-winning 2-year-olds Fierceness (City of Light) and Just F Y I (Justify) have been named Eclipse champion 2-year-old colt and filly, respectively. Repole Stable's homebred Fierceness was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following his 11 1/4-length debut victory at Saratoga Aug. 25. Following a dull effort in the GI Champagne S., the bay colt was let go at 16-1 in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but he sealed the championship with an easy 6 1/4-length win. Fierceness became the second straight juvenile champion for Mike Repole, who accepted an...

The winners in 10 equine and seven human categories will be revealed beginning around 7:30 Thursday evening at the 53rd Annual Eclipse Awards at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. A who's who of the American Thoroughbred industry will be dressed to the nines as the newest group of champions is announced. Of the equine divisions--as is frequently the case--the majority feature little suspense, while there exists a fair bit of intrigue and arguments to be made for multiple horses in the older dirt male division, the female sprint division,...

The Eclipse Awards Ceremony, to be held Thursday at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida, will be broadcast live on FanDuel TV and Racetrack Television Network (RTN). The Keeneland red-carpet show will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, with the ceremony following at 7:30 p.m. ET. In addition to FanDuel TV and RTN, the ceremony will be streamed live on multiple outlets including: NTRA.com, americasbestracing.net, bloodhorse.com, DRF.com, equibase.com, ThoroughbredDailyNews.com, and NTRA's YouTube channel. The ceremony will be co-hosted by Britney Eurton, Acacia Courtney Clement, and Nick Luck. Caton Bredar will be...

Repole Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light), who is expected to be named champion of his generation at Thursday's Eclipse Awards ceremonies, worked five furlongs in :59.48 Saturday morning at Palm Beach Downs, the fastest of 12 moves at the distance. It was the sixth timed workout for Fierceness since taking the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Nov. 3. The homebred is expected to make his sophomore debut in the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park Feb. 3. "Fierceness has trained super. He's such a terrific workhorse. He...

Horse of the Year candidate and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner White Abarrio (Race Day) will kick off his 5-year-old campaign in the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Feb. 24. A subsequent start in the $12-million G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan Mar. 30 could be in the cards as well. The Rick Dutrow, Jr.-trained C2 Racing Stable LLC and La Milagrosa Stable, LLC colorbearer has breezed three times at Santa Anita since Christmas Eve, including a five-furlong move in 1:00.40 (9/58) Jan. 8. "He's gonna go over...

Michael Blowen had no money, no farm, no horses and no backers. But he did have an idea. He wanted to open a farm that would be a sanctuary for some of the sport's biggest names who were either gelded or no longer being used as sires or broodmares. Somehow moving mountains, he pulled it off and his Old Friends Farm became home to hundreds of Thoroughbreds and a popular tourist attraction. But now he has decided to retire, 20 years after he opened Old Friends, and turn the reins...

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) has launched #LoveofTheHorse, a social media promotion in conjunction with the 53rd annual Eclipse Awards. The promotion encourages fans and enthusiasts to share photos of themselves that demonstrate their connection and love of the equine. Participants are encouraged to use the hashtags #LoveOfTheHorse and #EclipseAwards and tag NTRA on Facebook, X and Instagram. The NTRA will share many of the contributions and a few will be featured during the Eclipse Award ceremonies Thursday, Jan. 25 from The Breakers Palm Beach, hosted by Britney Eurton,...

The finalists for the 2023 Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence in Thoroughbred racing, were announced by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), The Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) Saturday.. Winners in 17 horse and human categories will be handed out on FanDuel TV and other outlets, during the 53rd annual Eclipse Awards, presented by FanDuel Racing, John Deere, Keeneland, The Jockey Club and the NTRA, on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The evening will culminate with the announcement of the 2023 Horse of...

The Thoroughbred Daily News was among six 2023 Media Eclipse Award winners Friday when the awards were announced by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. The 2023 Media Eclipse Award winners are as follows: Multimedia - TDN Writers' Room Podcast - "Wade and Carson Jost," Sept. 20, 2023; Thoroughbred Daily News Gulf War veteran Wade Jost and his son, Carson, joined TDN Writers' Room podcast hosts Bill Finley, Randy Moss, and Zoe Cadman on Sept. 23 for an in-depth and emotional...

The finalists for the 2023 Eclipse Awards will be announced live on FanDuel TV Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, at noon ET, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) and Daily Racing Form (DRF) announced Thursday. Eclipse Award ballots were due by Jan. 3. The awards, which honor excellence in Thoroughbred racing, are voted upon by the NTRA, represented by member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, NTWAB and DRF, and are produced by the NTRA. The announcement of the Eclipse Awards finalists on...

As 2023 draws to a close, the TDN is asking industry members to name their favorite moment of the year. Send yours to [email protected] It was an exciting year at the Horse Park in 2023 at the Hall of Champions. It was a bit sad during the summer that we lost two great Thoroughbreds in Hall of Famer Point Given and dual Classic-winning Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide, but we were recently able to add two Breeders' Cup winners in Roy H--a two-time Breeders' Cup Sprint winner and two-time Eclipse...