2010 Eclipse Award Finalists Announced

Earlier today, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters announced the finalists for the 2010 Eclipse Awards. The awards will be handed out at the 40th annual Eclipse Awards dinner ceremony on Monday, January 17th, in Miami Beach, Florida.

Blame, Goldikova and Zenyatta have all been named finalists for the Horse of the Year award, but many believe that the debate is between Zenyatta, who finished 2010 with five Grade I victories, and Blame, who defeated Zenyatta by a nose in the Breeders' Cup Classic and added another two wins at the Grade I level in 2010. After racing most of the year in Europe, Goldikova became the first horse to capture three Breeders' Cup victories, as she won the Grade I Breeders' Cup Mile at Churchill Downs on Saturday, November 5th.

Woodbine will be represented at the Eclipse Awards this year as Apprentice Jockey Omar Moreno has been named a finalist for the Outstanding Apprentice Jockey award. Moreno finished 2010 with 126 victories from 965 starts (win percentage of 13.1%) and finished fifth in the final Woodbine jockey standings, just one win behind Luis Contreras for fourth.

Here is the list of Eclipse Award finalists for 2010 in all categories:

Horse of the Year: Blame, Goldikova, Zenyatta

Two-Year Old Male: Boys at Tosconova, To Honor and Serve, Uncle Mo

Two-Year Old Filly: Awesome Feather, R Heat Lightning, Turbulent Descent

Three-Year Old Male: Eskendereya, Lookin At Lucky, Paddy O'Prado

Three-Year Old Filly: Blind Luck, Evening Jewel, Havre de Grace

Older Male: Blame, Quality Road, Richard's Kid

Older Female: Life at Ten, Unrivaled Belle, Zenyatta

Male Sprinter: Big Drama, Majesticperfection, Smiling Tiger

Female Sprinter: Champagne d'Oro, Dubai Majesty, Rightly So

Male Turf Horse: Dangerous Midge, Gio Ponti, Winchester

Female Turf Horse: Goldikova, Proviso, Tuscan Evening

Steeplechase Horse: Arcadius, Percussionist, Slip Away

Owner: Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider, Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Moss, WinStar Farm

Breeder: Adena Springs, Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider, Brereton C. Jones

Trainer: Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, John Shirreffs

Jockey: Ramon Dominguez, Garrett Gomez, John Velazquez

Apprentice Jockey: Forest Boyce, Omar Moreno, Angel Serpa

Canada's own version of the Eclipse Awards, the Sovereign Awards, will be handed out the night before the opening of Woodbine's 2011 meet. The 36th annual Sovereign Awards ceremony will take place on Friday, April 1st, at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto.

Posted in: US Tracks,Woodbine