Swiss Skydiver wins the Preakness. Courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire photo
A total of 16 of the last 26 Preakness Stakes winners have been named champion 3-year-old male at the annual Eclipse Awards, the most recent being Triple Crown winner Justify in 2018. The 2020 Preakness Stakes winner Swiss Skydiver was honored with the Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old female that year, too.
The 13 other most recent Preakness Stakes winners to be named 3-year-old champion are: Real Quiet (1998); Charismatic (1999); Point Given (2001); War Emblem (2002); Funny Cide (2003); Smarty Jones (2004); Afleet Alex (2005); Bernardini (2006); Curlin (2007); Big Brown (2008); Lookin At Lucky (2010); I’ll Have Another (2012); California Chrome (2014); and American Pharoah (2015).
The filly Rachel Alexandra (2009), who became the first filly since Nellie Morse (1924) to win the Preakness Stakes, was named both Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly honors in the year she won the Preakness. She also defeated the boys when she won that year’s Haskell Invitational (G1) and Woodward Stakes (G1). She was 18th Preakness winner to earn Horse of the Year.
Preakness/Eclipse Champions since 1937
From 1936-1970 American champions were named by the Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA) and The Daily Racing Form (DRF). In 1971 The Daily Racing Form, the National Turf Writers’ Association (NTWA)and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations formed the Eclipse Awards. No champions were named prior to 1936.)
1937 War Admiral
1939 Challedon
1940 Bimelech
1941 Whirlaway
1942 Alsab
1943 Count Fleet
1946 Assault
1948 Citation
1949 Capot
1950 Hill Prince
1953 Native Dancer
1955 Nashua
1957 Bold Ruler
1958 Tim Tam
1961 Carry Back
1964 Northern Dancer
1965 Tom Rolfe
1967 Damascus
1970 Personality
1971 Canonero II
1973 Secretariat
1974 Little Current
1977 Seattle Slew
1978 Affirmed
1979 Spectacular Bid
1981 Pleasant Colony
1986 Snow Chief
1987 Alysheba
1988 Risen Star
1989 Sunday Silence
1991 Hansel
1993 Prairie Bayou
1997 Silver Charm
1998 Real Quiet
1999 Charismatic
2001 Point Given
2002 War Emblem
2003 Funny Cide
2004 Smarty Jones
2005 Afleet Alex
2006 Bernardini
2007 Curlin
2008 Big Brown
2009 Rachel Alexandra (*filly Eclipse Award winner)
2010 Lookin at Lucky
2012 I’ll Have Another
2014 California Chrome
2015 American Pharoah
2018 Justify
2020 Swiss Skydiver (*filly Eclipse Award winner)
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.
