Horse of the Year | Horse Racing Free Tips

Eclipse Finalists To Be Announced on FDTV Jan. 6

The finalists for the 2023 Eclipse Awards will be announced live on FanDuel TV Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, at noon ET, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) and Daily Racing Form (DRF) announced Thursday. Eclipse Award ballots were due by Jan. 3.

The awards, which honor excellence in Thoroughbred racing, are voted upon by the NTRA, represented by member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, NTWAB and DRF, and are produced by the NTRA. The announcement of the Eclipse Awards finalists on FanDuel TV is sponsored by John Deere, Keeneland and The Jockey Club.

The 53rd Annual Eclipse Awards Presented by FanDuel, John Deere, Keeneland and The Jockey Club will be televised live on FanDuel TV Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, from The Breakers Palm Beach. The evening begins with the Keeneland Red Carpet show at 6:30 p.m. followed by the awards at 7:30 p.m. Britney Eurton, Acacia Courtney Clement and Nick Luck will co-host the ceremony and Caton Bredar will once again serve as announcer.

The evening will be capped by the announcement of 2023 Horse of the Year, the finalists for which will first be revealed during the ceremony.

The post Eclipse Finalists To Be Announced on FDTV Jan. 6 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

I Got It Wrong, Cody’s Wish Is Horse Of The Year

What I wrote in Monday's TDN, that Idiomatic (Curlin) should be Horse of the Year, well, never mind.

It took the tragic news of the passing of Cody Dorman for me to wake up and realize that while Idiomatic had a terrific year, voting for her for Horse of the Year would mean not voting for Cody's Wish (Curlin), and what a mistake that would be.

Everything I had to say about the on-track credentials of the two remains the same. Both won a Breeders' Cup race, both won three Grade I's during the year. But I argued that Idiomatic's overall body of work gave her the edge over Cody's Wish and everyone else. She won eight of nine races and was on top of her game from January through Breeders' Cup day. In an era where most trainers and owners are happy to get four or five races from their horses during a year, what she accomplished was remarkable.

I still maintain that she had a better year than Cody's Wish. Just slightly so, anyway. What I failed to realize is that sometimes what happens on the racetrack is not all that matters, that it's ok to vote with your heart.

Cody's Wish had a Horse-of-the-Year campaign. Coming into the Breeders' Cup, he had won the GI Churchill Downs S, the GI Metropolitan H., the GII Vosburgh S. The only defeat came in the GI Whitney S., where, trying nine furlongs for the first time in his career, he was out of his element. I didn't think he would win Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. He just not as good around two turns as he is around one and I thought that, this year, that would prove to be his undoing. But he won the race again. In 2022, it was by a neck. This year it was by a nose. He was in race that is not in his comfort zone, but he won it anyway. He won it on class.

But the story is so much bigger than the Dirt Mile. Cody's Wish and Cody Dorman, who passed away Sunday at age 17 on his way back to Kentucky from Santa Anita, will forever be linked. We first met Dorman last year when the media latched onto his story. Born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, he first met Cody's Wish as a then-unnamed yearling while touring Godolphin as part of a Make-A-Wish outing.

We don't really understand how it happens, but we know that it does. Sometimes something magical happens when horses and humans befriend one another. The weanling acted as if he knew Dorman would was having a hard time of it and could use a friend. Gentle as a puppy, he nuzzled Dorman and then put his head in his lap.

Two years later, Dorman was not doing well. It got to the point where his parents feared he was losing the will to live. The antidote? Another visit to the farm to see the horse the Godolphin team had now named Cody's Wish. The two picked right up where they left off. From there, Dorman became Cody's Wish's biggest fan. He traveled to many of his races and was there for both Breeders' Cup wins. Tears rolled down his cheeks when his namesake won. His parents have said that his love affair with the horse led to a marked improvement in his outlook on life.

Horse racing has been beaten down by so many negative stories of late, mainly ones that involve horses dying on the track, and it needed something to pick its collective head up. And here comes Cody's Wish and Cody Dorman, a story that was so inspirational, so uplifting that everyone, even the most cynical among us, was moved, often to tears.

“This heartfelt story has touched the hearts of many in and outside of the Thoroughbred industry,” Dan Pride, chief operating officer of Godolphin, said in a statement. “And while Cody's passing has saddened us, we find comfort in knowing that Cody found many joyous moments during this journey with his best friend, Cody's Wish. Our hearts are with the Dorman family.”

We cheered every time Cody's Wish won, and not because we had a bet on him but because we knew what this horse was doing for a young man born with a syndrome that had to have made his life immensely difficult. We cheered because we knew this story made everyone feel better about a sport that was going through trying times.

So, should that matter when it comes to voting for Horse of the Year? Absolutely. There's no reason why we shouldn't look beyond the x's and o's of what happened on the racetrack and look at the bigger picture, take into account what made us smile, what moved us, what made for a good story.

When Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) was named Horse of the Year in 2010 over Blame (Arch) I was on the losing end of that argument, voting for Blame. They had met once and Blame had beaten her in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Why didn't that mean he should have been named Horse of the Year and not Zenyatta? Looking back, I now get it. Zenyatta had had one of the most remarkable careers we have seen this century and one defeat shouldn't have erased everything else she accomplished and what a feel-good story she had been. Those who voted for her realized this was bigger than just the one race.

Though different, Cody's Wish and his story is much bigger than Zenyatta. We will see other great race horses, ones as good as Zenyatta. But we will never again see a story as special as the one that was the bond between a very good race horse and the young man who thrived in his presence.

That matters. It matters a lot. Cody's Wish is your Horse of the Year.

The post I Got It Wrong, Cody’s Wish Is Horse Of The Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The Week in Review: The Case for Idiomatic as Horse of the Year

More often than not, when the horses hit the finish line for the last Breeders' Cup race of the day, we know who the Horse of the Year is. Usually, someone has done enough to separate themselves from the pack: Flightline (Tapit), Knicks Go (Paynter), Authentic (Into Mischief). Or no one stepped up to unseat the leading contender going in.

We have nothing of the kind this year. There were plenty of standout performances on Breeders' Cup Day, but that's part of the problem. The leading contenders are so evenly matched on paper that this has turned into one of the most wide-open races for the title in memory.

There are five horses that deserve consideration for Horse of the Year: White Abarrio (Race Day); Cody's Wish (Curlin); Arcangelo (Arrogate); Up to the Mark (Not This Time); Idiomatic (Curlin).

Here are their credentials:

White Abarrio: He won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic and the last three winners of that race have been named Horse of the Year. He has two Grade I wins and they came in two huge spots, the Classic and the GI Whitney S. The knock on him is that's really all there is to his resume. He has just three wins on the year and the third was in an allowance race at Gulfstream.

Cody's Wish: He had another stellar year, topped by his repeat win in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. He was 4-for-5 on the year with three Grade I wins and another in a Grade II. Was a feel-good story, which probably should count for something. His lone setback on the year came when he tried nine furlongs in the Whitney and was whipped by White Abarrio, losing by 10 lengths.

Arcangelo: The colt and his trainer, the well-spoken and charismatic Jena Antonucci, gave the sport a lift when it really needed one, winning the GI Belmont S. He came right back to win the GI Travers S. and needed one more win, in the Classic, to lock up Horse of the Year. That didn't happen when he had to be withdrawn from the race with a foot issue. Missing the Classic puts him at a disadvantage because so many Breeders' Cup winners have strong credentials. Also the winner of the GIII Peter Pan. S., he has three stakes wins and two Grade I wins on the year.

Up To The Mark: Had he won the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, he would have wrapped up Horse of the Year. But he didn't, losing by three-quarters of a length. He was unlucky to lose. On the winner, Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), jockey Ryan Moore turned in one of the best rides in Breeders' Cup history, saving every inch of ground and daring to go through what was a tight opening on the rail. Even in defeat, Up to the Mark deserves credit for his performance in the Turf. He was beaten by a horse who had won three of the biggest races in Europe in the G1 Irish Champion S., the G1 Irish Derby and the G1 Epsom Derby. Up to the Mark was 5-for-7 on the year and won three stakes, all of them Grade I's.

Idiomatic: Capped off a stellar year by defeating a strong field with a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. It probably wasn't even her best race as she had to grind every step of the way in the stretch to win in a blanket finish in which four horses were separated by little more than a length at the wire. She got a 96 Beyer, her lowest figure since she was second in the May 6 GI Ruffian S. at Belmont. She was 8-for-9 on the year, won three Grade I's, a Grade II and a Grade III. The Distaff was her fifth straight win. The only knock is that she spent the first part of her year running in allowance races and in the Latonia S. at Turfway Park.

And the winner is?

With apologies to Cody's Wish, Arcangelo, White Abarrio, my vote goes to Idiomatic. Like Cody's Wish and Up to the Mark, she won three Grade I races. No one won more. Like White Abarrio and Cody's Wish, she is a Breeders' Cup winner. What sets her apart from the rest is her overall body of work. Horse of the Year shouldn't always be about who won the Classic or who had the best performance on Breeders' Cup Day. Voters need to give consideration to who had the best year, from start to finish. In an era where five races on the year from a White Abarrio can be considered a full campaign, what Idiomatic did was remarkable. She ran nine times, won eight races and made starts in all but two months, April and September. Top-level horses just don't do that anymore.

It's not easy for a filly or mare to be named Horse of the Year. No one has done it since Havre de Grace (Saint Liam) in 2011 and it's only been done six times since the inception of the Eclipse Awards in 1971. It only happens when there's no no-brainer candidate among the male horses, which was the case this year.

It's a tough call and I have no problem with any of the five horses I've mentioned being named Horse of the Year, but Idiomatic deserves to be recognized for a year unlike anything we've seen in a long time.

More Eclipse Thoughts

I will have a real problem with anyone who votes for Auguste Rodin over Up to the Mark for the male turf championship. Yes, Auguste Rodin beat Up to the Mark in the Turf and, yes, he won three big Group I's in Europe. But these are the championships of American racing and what he did in Europe doesn't matter. Eclipse voters have always given too much consideration to these one-hit wonders who swoop in from Europe and win a Breeders' Cup race. As is the case with Idiomatic, you have to look at a horse's overall body of work and Up to the Mark was the best turf horse this country has produced since Bricks and Mortar (Giant's Causeway), the 2019 Horse of the Year. He is the turf champion.

The Amazing Irad Ortiz Jr.

Irad Ortiz Jr. won three more Breeders' Cup races, giving him 20 for his career and moving him to second place behind Mike Smith, who has won 27 races. What Ortiz has done in such a short period of time is remarkable, and he is on pace to blow apart all Breeders' Cup records for jockeys.

Ortiz didn't have his first Breeders' Cup mount until 2012 and his first Breeders' Cup winner until 2014. He's just 31 and should have at least 20 more good years in front of him. Smith didn't ride his 20th Breeders' Cup winner until he was 48 and it took him 23 years to get there. Ortiz is going to blow right past him on his way to setting records that may never be broken.

The post The Week in Review: The Case for Idiomatic as Horse of the Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Point Given, 2001 Horse Of The Year, Dies At 25

2001 Horse of the Year and winner of both the GI Preakness S. and the GI Belmont S., Point Given (Thunder Gulch), passed away Sept. 11 at 25 years old. In 2017, the champion Thoroughbred became a resident of the Kentucky Horse Park's Hall of Champions, making him the fifth Horse of the Year to occupy the famous barn.

“Point Given was a special horse, loved by all, and a wonderful ambassador for the Kentucky Horse Park,” said Kentucky Horse Park President Lee Carter. “We are saddened by his passing but grateful for the memories created and our time with the Big Red Train.”

Owned and bred by The Thoroughbred Corporation, and trained by Bob Baffert, Point Given won six Grade I races, including two legs of the 2001 Triple Crown. For his efforts, he received Eclipse Awards as Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Colt.

“Not only was Point Given a dual classic winning Hall of Famer, but he was also an excellent ambassador for horse racing and the state of Kentucky,” said Hall of Champions Supervisor Rob Willis. “He was a big stallion that was fun to be around. Countless visitors enjoyed being in his presence over the years. It was an honor to care for him during his retirement. His presence will be missed.”

Point Given, affectionately known as the “Big Red Train” due to his 17.1-hand height, earned $3,968,500 with nine wins and three second-place finishes from 13 starts. He was the first horse in history to win four $1 million races in a row, all under jockey Gary Stevens, and he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2010.

“I'm saddened to hear of Point Given's passing,” said Gary Stevens. “He was, to me, the greatest horse to not win the Triple Crown. It was an honor to ride such a phenomenal horse. Rest in peace, PG.”

Point Given retired from racing in September 2001 to stand at Three Chimneys Farm in Midway, Ky. In 2013, he was relocated to Calumet Farm in Lexington, Ky., where he stood for five seasons before retiring to the Kentucky Horse Park. He sired over 30 stakes winners, including Canadian Horse of the Year, Sealy Hill.

Like other great Hall of Champions horses, Point Given will be buried at the park's Memorial Walk of Champions alongside past Thoroughbred residents Funny Cide, Go For Gin, Forego, Bold Forbes, John Henry, Alysheba, and Da Hoss. A public memorial service will be held at a future date.

The post Point Given, 2001 Horse Of The Year, Dies At 25 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post