The 52nd annual Eclipse Awards were presented on Jan. 26, with the coveted champion 3-year-old male trophy going to Epicenter. Until his final race, the Steve Asmussen trainee didn't finish worse than second for Winchell Thoroughbreds in 2022, collecting victories in the Grade 1 Travers, G2 Jim Dandy, G2 Louisiana Derby and G2 Risen Star.
The evening was a big one for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who picked up his eighth Eclipse Award for leading trainer, and also trained champion 3-year-old female Nest, champion 2-year-old male Forte, and older dirt female Malathaat.
Irad Ortiz Jr. collected his fourth career Eclipse Award as champion jockey while the top apprentice title went to Jose Antonio Gomez. For Ortiz, the honor ties him with Pat Day and Javier Castellano for the third-most jockey Eclipse titles. His mounts earned $37,075,772 from performances that included wins in the Belmont Stakes, Breeders' Cup Sprint, Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.
Godolphin cleaned up in both the Outstanding Owner and Outstanding Breeder categories. As owner, Godolphin colors were carried by Breeders' Cup winners Cody's Wish, Rebel's Romance, Modern Games, and Mischief Magic. The stable was represented by 14 homebred graded stakes winners in 2022, who put the spotlight on stallions Street Sense and Dubawi.
The complete list of 2022 Eclipse Award winners, with the exception of the Horse of the Year, along with win vote totals by category, appear below:
(Horse ages in parentheses where applicable; Country codes indicate a foreign breeding designation)
—Two-Year-Old Male: Forte
—Two-Year-Old Filly: Wonder Wheel
—Three-Year-Old Male: Epicenter
—Three-Year-Old Filly: Nest
—Older Dirt Male: Flightline (4)
—Older Dirt Female: Malathaat (4)
—Male Sprinter: Elite Power (4)
—Female Sprinter: Goodnight Olive (4)
—Male Turf Horse: Modern Games (IRE) (3)
—Female Turf Horse: Regal Glory (6)
—Steeplechase Horse: Hewick (IRE) (7)
—Owner: Godolphin LLC
—Breeder: Godolphin LLC
—Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
—Apprentice Jockey: Jose Antonio Gomez
—Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Voting Overview
In voting that concluded on Jan. 3, 2023, Eclipse Awards voters cast their ballots to rank the top three horses and individuals in each Championship division on a 10-5-1 point system.
This voting established the top three finalists in each division, whose names were released on Jan. 7, 2023.
The tallies below represent only first-place votes from members of the consolidated voting entities, NTRA, Daily Racing Form, and National Turf Writers And Broadcasters.
Voter participation rate: 246/258= 95.3%
Two-Year-Old Male
Forte, 243; Cave Rock, 2; Victoria Road (IRE), 1.
Two-Year-Old Filly
Wonder Wheel, 240; Hoosier Philly, 3; Meditate (IRE), 2; Julia Shining, 1.
Three-Year-Old Male
Epicenter, 155; Taiba, 66; Modern Games (IRE), 18; Cyberknife, 4; Rich Strike, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Three-Year-Old Filly
Nest, 238; Tuesday (IRE), 4; Echo Zulu, 2; Secret Oath, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Older Dirt Male
Flightline, 240; Country Grammer, 1; Jackie's Warrior, 1; Life Is Good, 1; Olympiad, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Older Dirt Female
Malathaat, 241; Clairiere, 2; Goodnight Olive, 2; Letruska, 1.
Male Sprinter
Elite Power, 108; Cody's Wish, 70; Jackie's Warrior, 62; Jack Christopher, 4; Flightline, 1; Golden Pal, 1.
Female Sprinter
Goodnight Olive, 228; Caravel, 12; Echo Zulu, 2; Matareya, 2; Kimari, 1; Wicked Halo, 1.
Male Turf Horse
Modern Games (IRE), 189; Rebel's Romance (IRE), 50; Nations Pride (IRE), 2; Casa Creed, 1; Classic Causeway, 1; Golden Pal, 1; Gufo, 1; Shirl's Speight, 1.
Female Turf Horse
Regal Glory, 96; In Italian (GB), 51; War Like Goddess, 47; Tuesday (IRE), 40; Caravel, 6; Bleecker Street, 3; Gina Romantica, 1; Spendarella, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Steeplechase Horse
Hewick (IRE), 113; Snap Decision, 88; Down Royal, 15; Howyabud (IRE), 1. Voter Abstentions, 29.
Owner
Godolphin LLC, 195; Peter Brant, 20; Hronis Racing LLC, Sienna Farm LLC, Summer Wind Equine LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing LLC, 11; Klaravich Stables Inc., 6; Repole Stable, 5; End Zone Athletics, 2; Charles Fipke, 1; Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, 1; Winchell Thoroughbreds, 1; Voter Abstentions, 4.
Breeder
Godolphin LLC, 182; Summer Wind Equine LLC, 30; Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC, 16; Calumet Farm, 11; Ashview Farm & Colts Neck Stables, 4; Voter Abstentions, 3.
Trainer
Todd Pletcher, 108, Chad Brown, 95; John Sadler, 16; Steve Asmussen, 12; William Mott, 6; Brad Cox, 4; Mark Casse, 1; Phil D'Amato, 1; Voter Abstentions, 3.
Jockey
Irad Ortiz Jr., 218; Flavien Prat, 24; Jose Ortiz, 1; Joel Rosario, 1, Luis Saez, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Apprentice Jockey
Jose Antonio Gomez, 112; Vicente Del-Cid, 91; Jeiron Barbosa, 18; Kylee Jordan, 4; Marshall Mendez, 1; Madeline Rowland, 1; Voter Abstentions, 19.
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