eclipse award of merit | Horse Racing Free Tips

Turf Writers President Makes Eclipse Disagreements Public

Turf writer Tom Law, the president of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association, appeared on Steve Byk's radio show Thursday to discuss the disagreements the group had with its fellow Eclipse presenters, Daily Racing Form and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, over this year's awards. Law said that the NTWAB's disagreements centered around two issues: industry organizations being added to those up for consideration for media Eclipse Awards, and the awarding of this year's Eclipse Award of Merit to Stuart Janney.

Woodbine Entertainment went on to win an Eclipse Award in the category of Feature Television programming for their production of “Secretariat: the Last Race,” and America's Best Racing, a multimedia marketing program run by The Jockey Club, received an Honorable Mention in the multimedia category for their video with Mage's owner, Ramiro Restrepo, at this year's Kentucky Derby.

Law, who represents the Turf Writers on the six-person Eclipse Award steering committee, said that in the past, the lack of unanimous approval had been enough to negate a rules change like the one to the media Eclipse Awards this year, or the awarding of a Special Eclipse Award or Eclipse Award of Merit.

“Obviously, as we all know, everything went through,” said Law of the rules change and the awarding of the Eclipse Award of Merit. “They presented the award and I asked them if we could not be included in the press release because we didn't really feel like our organization was behind it. We had basically full agreement by our board about this and about how it was handled, about how we were either ignored, or our concerns were ignored.”

The NTRA disputed Law's claims. In a statement emailed to the TDN on Thursday, NTRA President and Tom Rooney said, “With regards to the rules change, the Steering Committee continually converses to keep the rules reflective of the ever dynamic and changing landscape. Allowing industry outlets to submit media nominations, with the approval of the Steering Committee, is reflective of the changing media landscape and was agreed to by the committee. Additionally, the process for selecting any Eclipse Award of Merit and Special Award is decided on in coordination with the Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters in the same way that it has been for the past 25 years. This year was no different.”

Byk, also an NTWAB board member, agreed with Law.

“Both of these topics essentially dictated the spirit of cooperation and collective approach that has essentially ruled this system over the last 50 years,” he said. “It was clearly abandoned here. And the Eclipse Award of Merit, in fact, three of the last four years, or three out of the last five years, I think, wasn't awarded. It's something that you mentioned at Steering Committee, it gets floated and everybody has to agree. Everybody did not agree, and I was very proud of the collective, frankly, of the Turf Writers and Broadcasters when we had these discussions that we forcefully said, `This is a divisive decision and inappropriate at this juncture, but it was basically forced upon us and the forum.'”

Law, who won an Eclipse Award in 2022 for his story “Big Tally” in the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, told Byk, also an NTWAB board member, “I'm not even a year removed from winning one myself, so I understand what it means to win one. I don't take any of this lightly, and it was a serious business to me, and it still is. And after 12 years as President of the Turf Writers, I take it seriously and it means a lot, and I feel like I'm representing a large majority of our members with these statements that I'm making to you now. And, certainly, with the support of my board, which is very diverse and has a great representation of all the trade publications and geographic locations, as well, in print and broadcasting.”

The Turf Writers hadn't gone public with their disagreement until they had had the opportunity to discuss the issue with their members, which happened in a Zoom call Wednesday.
Law said that the Turf Writers had put an individual forward several years ago, and despite a 5-1 vote to award the Eclipse of Merit to that person, the one `nay' vote overruled that. “I didn't agree, but I played the game,” said Law. “Didn't complain about it. Didn't cry about it. But as I mentioned to our members yesterday, someone asked `what do they think will happen going forward?' I said, `Well, I mean, we've just emboldened them now. If you think that this won't happen again, you're mistaken.'

Archives of Byk's show are available here.

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Tears and Appreciation for Team Cody Carry the Evening at Eclipse Awards

Cody's Wish (Curlin) was crowned both 2023 Horse of the Year and Older Dirt Male champion at Thursday night's 53rd annual Eclipse Awards ceremony, and when Kelly Dorman, the father of the late Cody Dorman, accepted the evening's highest honor on behalf of owner/breeder Godolphin, the crowd at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida met his brief pause to shed a few bittersweet tears with a standing ovation that gave him time to collect his thoughts and let the gravity of the moment sink in.

On the track, Cody's Wish thrilled his fans with a successful defense of his title in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. But his story resonated far beyond the finish line thanks to the bond that began in 2018 when then-12-year-old Cody Dorman, who was born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, first met the then-unnamed yearling while touring Godolphin as part of a Make-A-Wish outing.

As Cody's Wish rose through the graded stakes ranks, the story of the inspirational teenager he was named after captivated a nation of racing enthusiasts. But the years-long emotional ride ended too soon, when Cody Dorman died Nov. 5 at age 17 on his way back home to Kentucky after witnessing Cody's Wish end his career triumphantly at Santa Anita in the Breeders' Cup just one day earlier.

“I never would have dreamed five years ago, when all this happened, that I would be standing right here doing this,” Kelly Dorman said. “I wouldn't have dreamed about the wonderful people we've met. But I hope you guys got a TV in front of the stall down at Jonabell right now, because I want to thank Cody's Wish for everything he's done.

“I know everyone here, you guys just blow me away, because I know you put your heart in these horses, day in, day out,” Dorman said. “That's your life. And I know a lot of times those horses put their heart into you–the jockeys, the trainers, the owners, everybody. And man, that horse, he put his heart into us…

“One of the best things to come out of this, other than the grit and determination, was we got to watch Cody's Wish run,” Dorman said. “I think he got that honest when they gave him his name. 'Can't' and 'quit' were two words that we never used, never will. You might think that horse can't talk, but he can. But he won't use those two words either. He always spoke to Cody…

“I want to let you guys know how much it means, the fans that have come up to us and let us know how much the story behind the wonderful horse means, and just so many wonderful people that we've gotten to meet through this, the wonderful connections we've made. It puts a smile on our face, day in and day out.”

NTRA photo

Earlier in the evening, when the story of Cody's Wish won the Moment of the Year award for the second straight season, Dorman recounted an old adage that he said was appropriate in how his son and family have been accepted and welcomed by the racing industry.

“Over time, people will eventually forget what you've done,” Dorman said. “They will eventually forget about the things that you've said. But they'll never forget how you made 'em feel. I know Cody made you guys feel that same way. But this Moment of the Year, it's for you guys too. You guys put so much in our hearts, everybody here in this room, watching on TV, we love all you guys. We appreciate that–thank you.”

Earlier in the ceremony, victories by Arcangelo (Arrogate) in the GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. cemented champion 3-Year-Old Male honors for owner Blue Rose Farm (Jon Ebbert) and trainer Jena Antonucci, the first woman to condition the winner of a Triple Crown race.

The Arcangelo team | NTRA

“The greatest part of this sport is you just need one special horse and a bunch of people who believe in him,” Ebbert summed up.

Although the evening was replete with heartfelt thank-yous from award winners extending gratitude that spanned everyone who planned the Thoroughbred matings all the way down to foal caretakers and daily grooms who do the daily-grind type of work behind the scenes, several recipients couldn't resist a bit of forewarning about the future while commanding the podium.

Owner and breeder Mike Repole took home the hardware for champion 2-Year-Old Male for the second consecutive season, winning with Fierceness (City of Light) after being victorious last year with Forte (Violence). After doling out thanks to his racing and bloodstock teams, Repole overstayed his allotted 60 seconds at the podium by 2 1/2 additional minutes while advocating for disruptive yet positive changes to the industry.

Repole's passion was evident. But by choosing to punctuate his remarks with f-bomb profanities while surrounded by family members and children on the stage as “exit music” got cued up in the background to encourage him to wrap it up, Repole introduced a level of coarseness that didn't mesh with the spirit and tone of the festivities.

Mike Repole | NTRA

“Right now, this sport, we're all on the Titanic, okay?” Repole said. “There's an iceberg there. But we're not hitting the iceberg yet. We need a vision. We need leadership. We need alignment. We need strategy. We need collaboration. [From] the big entities [all the way down to individuals in the sport], we've got to make this better for everybody.

“So I implore you, please, for the next two years–other than me taking more time–be selfless over selfish,” Repole said. “That's number one. [But] this is the most important message of the night: Let's [expletive] compete in the racetrack. Outside the racetrack, let's compete together for what's best for this game. I love this [expletive] game. It's going to be here a long time.”

Stuart Janney III, the chairman of The Jockey Club, was honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit for his lifetime of service to the sport. He was thankful for his broad supporting cast, but he too had words about the tenuous future of the sport.

Like Repole, Janney spoke of cooperation. But his focus emphasized one of The Jockey Club's main initiatives over the past decade, creating and empowering the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA).

“Our industry's got a lot of issues that [we need] to get in front of and solve,” Janney said. “We've now been given the tool kit. We didn't have it before. With HISA, we can go forward, but we need to go forward together…. I hope that we have learned, as an industry, the advantages of being together, and that we really do go forward in a unified fashion…. And where racing's continuation is in question, in some states, we'll work with others to hopefully find viable solutions.”

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Jockey Club Chairman Stuart Janney To Receive Eclipse Award Of Merit

The Jockey Club of America Chairman Stuart S. Janney III will be honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit at the 53rd Annual Eclipse Awards Dinner and Ceremony at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Thursday, Jan. 25, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) said in a Friday release.

“The Eclipse Award of Merit is the Thoroughbred industry's highest honor, bestowed upon an individual who has displayed a lifetime of achievement in service to the sport,” reads the press release from the NTRA. “Janney's decades of involvement and leadership within the sport of Thoroughbred racing has bettered the sport for future generations.”

“I am honored to have been chosen for the Eclipse Award of Merit and sincerely thank those who selected me,” said Janney. “This sport, and its future, have always been my top priority, and I am appreciative of the support of so many who have joined us on the journey to improve Thoroughbred racing and breeding for generations to come.”

As an owner and breeder, Janney has campaigned numerous top-class horses, including homebred graded stakes winners Coronado's Quest (Forty Niner), winner of the GI Haskell S. and GI Travers S. in 1998, Air Support (Smart Strike), Celestial City (Uncle Mo), Data Link (War Front), Hymn Book (Arch), Ironicus (Distorted Humor), Norumbega (Tiznow) and On Leave (War Front). Janney, in partnership with the Phipps Stable, was co-owner and co-breeder of 2013 GI Kentucky Derby winner Orb (Malibu Moon) as well as GISW Carriage Trail (Giant's Causeway).

Born into a Maryland racing family, Janney was raised with an appreciation of the sport through his parents and grandparents. The former, Stuart and Barbara Janney, bred and owned the Eclipse Award-winning champion and Hall of Fame inductee Ruffian. In the 1990s, the younger Janney began owning and breeding Thoroughbreds on his own and has continued to do so for more than three decades.

Janney's reach and influence extends well beyond the winner's circle into many of Thoroughbred racing's most important organizations. Janney has been a member of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association since 1992, serving as chairman from 1997 to 2001 and having served multiple terms on the board of trustees. He also served as a board member of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association from 1992 to 1997 and president of the Maryland Million Ltd. from 1994 to 1997. He was appointed by Maryland Governor Parris Glendening in 1999 to chair the Maryland Commission to Study Ways to Improve the Financial Viability of the Racing Industry. Additionally, Janney served on the board of Keeneland from 1998 to 2015. He currently serves on the board of The New York Racing Association, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Equibase Company and BloodHorse LLC.

Stuart Janney | Scoop-Dyga

“Stuart Janney's career has been that of dedication and service to both the horse and the entirety of the Thoroughbred racing industry,” said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. “The Eclipse Award of Merit is in appreciation for all his efforts. Stuart's leadership, commitment, and passion for this industry is unquestionable and I thank him for all his work.”

“I offer my sincerest congratulations to Stuart Janney on being honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit,” said trainer Shug McGaughey, who has worked with Janney for decades. “I've trained horses for Stuart since 1988, and he has been an excellent client for me, always putting the welfare of his horses and the people who work with them first. As The Jockey Club chairman for the past decade, Stuart has my admiration for taking on the tough and often unpopular issues that we, as a sport, must face. I know it hasn't always been easy for him, but time and again I've seen him guided only by his principles: do the right thing for the horse.”

“Finally, I am proud to call Stuart my friend, and I wish he and his family my thanks for entrusting his horses with me for so many years,” said McGaughey.

As chairman of The Jockey Club since 2015, Janney has played a pivotal role in initiatives such as the creation of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance and the passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). Under his leadership, 5 Stones intelligence was engaged to investigate horse racing, resulting in federal prosecutions and significant penalties. Janney previously chaired The Jockey Club's Thoroughbred Safety Committee, making numerous recommendations for industry improvements.

Before his racing involvement, Janney had a career in the federal government, practiced law, and served as a managing director at Alex Brown & Sons. He is chairman emeritus of Bessemer Trust Company and is involved in various organizations, including serving on the board of King Ranch Inc.

Janney, a graduate of the University of North Carolina and the University of Maryland School of Law, is married with two children and resides in Butler, Maryland.

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Earle Mack Continues Aid in Ukraine

Operation Heat Ukraine, a humanitarian effort begun by owner/breeder Earle I. Mack, who is also the former Ambassador to Finland, and former New York Governor George E. Pataki, will undertake a fourth mission to Ukraine. Mack and Pataki have already donated and delivered nearly 1,000 industrial and residential heaters benefitting over one million Ukrainian civilians. Operation Heat Ukraine is a non-profit focused on helping those suffering due to the continued Russian attacks.

“As we reach the one-year mark of the war in Ukraine, it has never been more important to bring awareness to the struggles of innocent civilians,” said Mack. “We hope that, through our support, some of the basic needs of Ukrainian civilians will be met and urge anyone who can help to get involved.”

Long known for his philanthropy, including founding The Man O' War Project which helps military veterans through the use of retired racehorses, Mack was honored with an Eclipse Award of Merit last year. With Operation Heat Ukraine, Mack has been raising awareness in support of Ukraine's civilians and has traveled to Ukraine a number of times to disperse millions of dollars' worth of heaters and generators for homes, hospitals, schools, and refugee centers.

For more information or to donate, visit heatukraine.org.

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