With horse racing’s stars of 2024 either retired or in training for next year, it seems like a jolly ol’ time for an early peek at the Eclipse Award likely favorites and leading contenders.
The list of finalists will be announced Jan. 5; the division champions, Horse of the Year and all the Eclipse winners will be revealed Jan. 23 in Palm Beach, Florida.
The results of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races at Del Mar on Nov. 1-2 make some choices no-brainers and many others a tossup.
Let’s see where things stand:
No-Brainers
Horse of the Year: Thorpedo Anna is a cinch to become the first female to win racing’s top honor since Havre de Grace in 2011. The 3-year-old filly was 6-for-6 in her division, including five Grade 1 victories topped by an easy win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Nov. 2. Trained by Kenny McPeek, her only loss came against the boys, narrowly beaten by Fierceness. Contender: Sierra Leone, winner of the BC Classic, second in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and third in the Belmont Stakes (G1). The 3-year-colt ran third (behind Thorpedo Anna) in the Travers.
Thorpedo Anna. NYRA Photo.
Three-year-old filly: Thorpedo Anna, and the vote could be unanimous. We’ll just list her six wins in six starts against fillies: Fantasy (G2); Kentucky Oaks (G1), Acorn (G1), Golden Rod (G2), Cotillion (G1), BC Distaff (G1).
Two-year-old filly: Immersive, with her impressive 4 ½-length victory in the BC Juvenile FIllies (G1) is as close to a lock as Thorpedo Anna. The filly posted a 4-for-4 record, with three Grade 1 wins, the Spinaway and the Darley Alcibiades the other two.
Two-year-old male: Citizen Bull (3-for-4) would give Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a seventh Eclipse Award, all but clinched with the colt’s front-running, 1 1/2-length win in the BC Juvenile. He defeated the likes of other top 2-yer-olds East Avenue, Chancer McPatrick, and stablemate Gaming. Contender: Chancer McPatrick. Despite running sixth in the BC Juvenile, the colt went 3-for-4 with Grade 1 wins in the Hopeful and the Champagne.
A Two-Horse Race
3-year-old male: Sierra Leone versus Fierceness. In the end, Sierra Leone’s win in the BC Classic (Fierceness was 1 ½ lengths back in second), should give the Chad Brown-trained colt the edge, but … each has a pair of Grade 1 wins – Florida Derby and Travers for Fierceness, Blue Grass and BC Classic for Sierra Leone – and each has a Grade 2 win – the Jim Dandy for Fierceness, the Risen Star for Sierra Leone. One big difference: Sierra Leone was beaten a nose by Mystik Dan in the Derby, while Fierceness ran 15th.
Tough Calls
National Treasure
Older dirt male: Usually an easy choice (Cody’s Wish, Flightline, Knicks Go, Improbable the past four years), this time it’s a toughie. National Treasure has a pair of Grade 1 wins – the Pegasus World Cup back in January and the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) in June. He was sixth in the Whitney (G1) and a close second in the California Crown (G1). His resume seems to give him an edge. Contenders: Subsanador won the California Crown and the Philip H. Islein (G3) in his four starts; Newgate won the Santa Anita Handicap (G1), ran a close third in the California Chrome and was fourth in the BC Classic.
Older dirt female: Idiomatic missed the Breeders’ Cup with an injury but produced three wins in five starts – including two Grade 1s – in a bid to repeat as champion. Contenders: Raging Sea, second in the Distaff, won the Beldame (G1) and upset Idiomatic in the Personal Ensign (G1); Adare Manor, who also missed the BC with injury, won two Grade 1s — the Apple Blossom and Clement Hirsch – and the Santa Margarita (G2).
Turf male: Perhaps the most popular contender is Carl Spackler, with Breeders’ Cup race winners Rebel’s Romance (Turf) and More Than Looks (Mile) longshots due short resumes.
Carl Spackler, sixth in the Mile, won the Fourstardave (G1) and the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1) as well as the Kelso Stakes (G3). Contender: Johannes won four graded stakes, including the Shoemaker Mile (G1), and ran second in the Mile.
Turf female: A light campaign by Moira (2-for-4) could work against her, but she won the BC Filly & Mare Turf (G1) and the Beverly D. (G2) and ran second in the Diana (G1) and the E.P. Taylor (G1). Contender: Didia has a pair of graded stakes wins — the New York (G1) and the Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf (G2) — in six starts.
Male sprinter: Our chosen one is The Chosen Vron, a winner in five of six starts, including the Bing Crosby (G1). The lone loss was by a neck to Raging Torrent in the Pat O’Brien (G2) after building a 5-0 record. He was a vet scratch from the BC Sprint. Contenders: Mullikin went 4-0 to start the year, then ran third in the BC Sprint (G1) and second in the Cigar Mile (G2); Straight No Chaser ran three times in 2024, winning twice, the BC Sprint among them.
Female sprinter: Not a ton of candidates here so BC Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) winner Soul of an Angel could end up the top vote-getter. The 5-year-old mare won four of 10 races in 2024, her other graded stakes win coming in the one-mile Princess Rooney (G3). However, most of her races were at longer distances. Contender: Ballerina (G1) winner Society, second in the BC Filly & Mare Sprint.
Picking Human Eclipse Winners an Easier Task
Flavien Prat. Benoit Photo.
Jockey: Flavien Prat, with a record 80 stakes wins, 55 of them graded stakes, including 16 Grade 1s, is the favorite to win his first Eclipse. He’s also the nation’s leading money-earner ($36.7 million through Dec. 12), ahead of five-time Eclipse winner Irad Ortiz, Jr. He added an exclamation point to his year with two BC wins – Immersive (BC Juvenile Fillies) and Sierra Leone (BC Classic).
Trainer: Chad Brown, a four-time Eclipse winner, has 47 grades stakes wins, including 15 Grade 1s (with 12 different horses) and leads the nation in purse money won with $30.6 million as of Dec. 10. Contender: Kenny McPeek is the first trainer in 72 years (and third ever) to win the Derby (Mystik Dan) and Oaks (Thorpedo Anna) in the same year.
Owner: Godolphin is set for its fifth Eclipse in a row. Sheikh Mohammed’s global operation won two Breeders’ Cup races last month with Immersive (Juvenile Fillies) and Rebel’s Romance (Turf), and totals 32 graded stakes wins, including 15 Grade 1s as of Dec. 10.
The Voters
The Eclipse Awards are voted on by three groups – the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, the Daily Racing Form, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
