The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced today that Authentic's stirring triumph in the 146th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve has been voted the 2020 FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year based on the results of 3,403 votes cast via Twitter and an online poll.
The winning moment occurred on September 5, 2020 at 7:05 p.m. ET on a day that saw the Run for the Roses contested without fans at Churchill Downs due to the coronavirus pandemic. Under handling from Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, Authentic defeated heavily favored Tiz the Law in the Kentucky Derby to give Spendthrift Farm its first win in the race under the helm of B. Wayne Hughes. The Kentucky Derby triumph also gave Velazquez his 200th career Grade 1 victory and trainer Bob Baffert a record-tying sixth win in the classic.
Adding to the magnitude of the moment was the fact that Authentic's triumph ignited a celebration from the more than 5,000 owners of My RaceHorse, one of several partners in the ownership of the son of Into Mischief along with Madaket Stables and Starlight Racing.
Represented on Twitter by the hashtag #AuthenticDerby, the winning moment earned 1,363 votes.
The FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year will be recognized and memorialized at the 50th Annual Eclipse Awards presented by Spendthrift Farm which will air live on TVG and Racetrack Television Network (RTN) on January 28 at 8 p.m. The ceremony will also be streamed on the following outlets: NTRA.com; America's Best Racing Facebook page and Twitter feed; XBTV Facebook page; DRF.com; Bloodhorse.com; ThoroughbredDailyNews.com; Equibase.com; Breeders' Cup Facebook page and YouTube channel; MyRacehorse Facebook page and YouTube channel; and TOBA.org.
Moment of the Year voters chose from 11 occurrences in 2020 illustrating a range of human emotions as well as outstanding displays of equine athleticism. Authentic's exploits actually accounted for the top two voting choices as his triumph in the Nov. 7 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic in track-record time, represented by the hashtag #AuthenticClassic, finished second in the balloting with 1,010 votes.
Finishing third in the voting was Greg Harbut and Ray Daniels becoming the first Black owners in 13 years to have a Kentucky Derby starter when Necker Island finished ninth in the Run for the Roses. Signified by the hashtag #RepresentationMatters, that moment garnered 508 votes.
The first-ever “NTRA Moment of the Year” was the touching scene between Charismatic and jockey Chris Antley following the 1999 Belmont Stakes. The next year's winner was the stretch run of the 2000 Breeders' Cup Classic, which saw Tiznow hold on for a dramatic victory against Giant's Causeway.
Tiznow won again the following year as fans selected his stirring repeat victory in the Classic over Sakhee. In 2002, fans cited the passing of the last living Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew. In 2003, the popular Kentucky Derby win by Funny Cide was selected. Birdstone's upset win in the Belmont Stakes over Smarty Jones took down top honors for 2004. In 2005, fans selected Afleet Alex's spectacular victory in the 2005 Preakness Stakes.
Voters in 2006 chose Barbaro's gallant struggle to recover from his Preakness injury while at the New Bolton Center. The 2007 Moment of the Year was a historic victory by the filly Rags to Riches over Curlin in the Belmont Stakes. In 2008, it was Zenyatta's win in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic. Zenyatta “repeated” in 2009 as fans selected her triumph in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
In 2010, fans selected Blame's narrow Breeders' Cup Classic victory over Zenyatta. Drosselmeyer's hard-fought win over Game on Dude in the Breeders' Cup Classic was the public's choice for 2011. For 2012, the recovery of Paynter from near-deadly battles with laminitis and colitis captured the hearts of voters like no other story. In 2013, fans recognized Mucho Macho Man's nose victory in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic for his popular connections. The 2014 award went to California Chrome's dominant win in Kentucky Derby 140. In 2015 there was a landslide vote in favor of American Pharoah's historic Triple Crown-clinching Belmont Stakes win. In 2016, California Chrome was again part of the winning moment – a dramatic Dubai World Cup victory that came as Victor Espinoza's saddle slipped out from underneath him.
In 2017, the tragic fire at San Luis Rey and the industry's response led the way among the votes cast while Justify's sweep of the Classics to become just the 13th Triple Crown winner was the clear pick the following year. In 2019, Maximum Security's historic disqualification in the 145th Kentucky Derby — the first winner in Derby history to be demoted for a racing infraction — earned the distinction.
The Eclipse Awards are sponsored by Spendthrift Farm, Roberts Communications, Four Roses Bourbon, Daily Racing Form, Breeders' Cup, FanDuel Group, The Stronach Group, TVG, Dean Dorton, Stonestreet Farm, Keeneland, Racetrack Television Network, Jackson Family Wines, Florida HBPA, Runhappy, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, Hallway Feeds and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.
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