Eclipse Award nominations for 2008
January 9th 2009 04:38
The finalists for the Eclipse Awards have been announced. From this list the winners will be announced on January 26th at a ceremony in Miami Florida.
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honouring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association who select all finalists at the end of the year. Those same voters then vote any of the three finalists in each category. Winners are announced in January of the next year.
The Eclipse Award of Merit is the industry's highest honour. The most prestigious Eclipse Award for horses is the Horse of the Year title.
The equivalent in Australia is the Australian Thoroughbred racing awards; in Canada it is the Sovereign Awards; and in Europe, the Cartier Racing Awards.
The prestigious award of Horse Of The Year in 2008 is expected to be a battle between Curlin and Zenyatta - although Big Brown (a certainty to win Three-Year-Old Male) is considered an outside chance. Nominations for Horse Of The Year will be announced on the night. If beaten, Zenyatta (a certainty to win Older Female) will race on in 2009 and be a good chance of winning Horse Of The Year in 2009.
European horses Conduit and Goldikova proved dominant at the Breeders’ Cup meeting and look good chances in the categories of Male Turf Horse & Female Turf Horse.
The nomination of Eight Belles in the Three-Year-Old Filly category highlights the difficult year that horseracing in the US has been through in 2008. If she were to win the victory would ignite comment from animal welfare groups - and also give those of us in the world-wide racing industry cause to reflect - and improve and reform as necessary.
Kelso won Horse Of The Year a record five times from 1960 - 1964. Curlin would be a consecutive winner if successful in 2008 after winning in 2007. The most recent consecutive winner of the award was Cigar in 1995 & 1996. Curlin was to break Cigar’s record of prizemoney won this year - and now can emulate his record as a dual winner of Horse Of The Year.
Horse Of The Year voting in 2007:
Vote count: Curlin, 249; Rags to Riches, 12; Invasor (ARG) 2; Corinthian, 1; English Channel, 1; Street Sense, 1. Abstentions, 1.
The Eclipse Awards finalists (in alphabetical order) for 2008 are:
Two-Year-Old Male: Midshipman, Old Fashioned, Vineyard Haven
Two-Year-Old Filly: Dream Empress, Maram, Stardom Bound
Three-Year-Old Male: Big Brown, Colonel John, Raven's Pass
Three-Year-Old Filly: Eight Belles, Music Note, Proud Spell
Older Male: Commentator, Curlin, Einstein
Older Female: Cocoa Beach, Ginger Punch, Zenyatta
Male Sprinter: Benny the Bull, Midnight Lute, Street Boss
Female Sprinter: Indian Blessing, Intangaroo, Ventura
Male Turf Horse: Conduit, Einstein, Grand Couturier
Female Turf Horse: Cocoa Beach, Forever Together, Goldikova
Steeplechase Horse: Be Certain, Good Night Shirt, Sovereign Duty
Owner: Godolphin Racing, IEAH Stables, Stronach Stables
Breeder: Adena Springs, Stonerside Stable, WinStar Farm
Trainer: Steve Asmussen, Richard Dutrow, Jr., Bobby Frankel
Jockey: Robby Albarado, Rafael Bejarano, Garrett Gomez
Apprentice Jockey: Inez Karlsson, Pascacio Lopez, Abel Mariano
Eight Belles
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honouring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association who select all finalists at the end of the year. Those same voters then vote any of the three finalists in each category. Winners are announced in January of the next year.
The Eclipse Award of Merit is the industry's highest honour. The most prestigious Eclipse Award for horses is the Horse of the Year title.
The equivalent in Australia is the Australian Thoroughbred racing awards; in Canada it is the Sovereign Awards; and in Europe, the Cartier Racing Awards.
The prestigious award of Horse Of The Year in 2008 is expected to be a battle between Curlin and Zenyatta - although Big Brown (a certainty to win Three-Year-Old Male) is considered an outside chance. Nominations for Horse Of The Year will be announced on the night. If beaten, Zenyatta (a certainty to win Older Female) will race on in 2009 and be a good chance of winning Horse Of The Year in 2009.
European horses Conduit and Goldikova proved dominant at the Breeders’ Cup meeting and look good chances in the categories of Male Turf Horse & Female Turf Horse.
The nomination of Eight Belles in the Three-Year-Old Filly category highlights the difficult year that horseracing in the US has been through in 2008. If she were to win the victory would ignite comment from animal welfare groups - and also give those of us in the world-wide racing industry cause to reflect - and improve and reform as necessary.
Kelso won Horse Of The Year a record five times from 1960 - 1964. Curlin would be a consecutive winner if successful in 2008 after winning in 2007. The most recent consecutive winner of the award was Cigar in 1995 & 1996. Curlin was to break Cigar’s record of prizemoney won this year - and now can emulate his record as a dual winner of Horse Of The Year.
Horse Of The Year voting in 2007:
Vote count: Curlin, 249; Rags to Riches, 12; Invasor (ARG) 2; Corinthian, 1; English Channel, 1; Street Sense, 1. Abstentions, 1.
The Eclipse Awards finalists (in alphabetical order) for 2008 are:
Two-Year-Old Male: Midshipman, Old Fashioned, Vineyard Haven
Two-Year-Old Filly: Dream Empress, Maram, Stardom Bound
Three-Year-Old Male: Big Brown, Colonel John, Raven's Pass
Three-Year-Old Filly: Eight Belles, Music Note, Proud Spell
Older Male: Commentator, Curlin, Einstein
Older Female: Cocoa Beach, Ginger Punch, Zenyatta
Male Sprinter: Benny the Bull, Midnight Lute, Street Boss
Female Sprinter: Indian Blessing, Intangaroo, Ventura
Male Turf Horse: Conduit, Einstein, Grand Couturier
Female Turf Horse: Cocoa Beach, Forever Together, Goldikova
Steeplechase Horse: Be Certain, Good Night Shirt, Sovereign Duty
Owner: Godolphin Racing, IEAH Stables, Stronach Stables
Breeder: Adena Springs, Stonerside Stable, WinStar Farm
Trainer: Steve Asmussen, Richard Dutrow, Jr., Bobby Frankel
Jockey: Robby Albarado, Rafael Bejarano, Garrett Gomez
Apprentice Jockey: Inez Karlsson, Pascacio Lopez, Abel Mariano
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