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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Cody’s Wish Story Named Moment of the Year

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), and Daily Racing Form announced that the story of Cody's Wish has been voted the 2022 FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year based on the results of more than 1,000 votes cast via Twitter and an online poll. The uplifting story that swept across America had the ultimate ending when the equine Cody's Wish won the GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland Nov. 5.

The FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year will be recognized during the 52nd Annual Eclipse Awards at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida Jan. The ceremony will be broadcast live on FanDuel TV and Racetrack Television Network (RTN), and will be streamed live on multiple outlets including:  NTRA.com, americasbestracing.net, bloodhorse.com, equibase.com, and NTRA's Youtube channel.

 

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World Pool Moment of the Year Finalists Announced

A quartet of finalists have been announced for the World Pool Moment of the Year. The four finalists are:

  • Reg Todd, who led up Dark Shift to win the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot on June 15.
  • Ricky Hall led Baaeed when he recorded his 10th consecutive win in the Juddmonte International at York on Aug. 17.
  • Annabel Willis led up Alpinista when she recorded her seventh consecutive win in the Aug. 18 G1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks at York.
  • Satrejeet Jhingree led up Highfield Princess who landed her second Group 1 in the Nunthorpe S. at York Aug. 19.

The winning member of racing staff will be selected by a public vote which is open until noon Thursday, Oct. 13. All four finalists will attend QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse with friends and family and be part of a presentation in the paddock at 12:45 p.m. The winner will receive £34,000 to be shared with all members of racing staff in their yard.

The four finalists have been narrowed down from a selection of 16 from each World Pool day across the 2022 season. The 16 World Pool “Moment of the Day” winners were selected by an industry representative and each received £1,000 and a bottle of champagne.

Members of the public in the U.K. can vote for their selection of World Pool Moment of the Year via Racing TV and Ascot Racecourse.

Racing fans in Hong Kong will be voting via the Hong Kong Jockey Club website.

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Over £97 Million Bet Into World Pool In First Three Days Of Goodwood Festival

Wagering into the World Pool topped £97 million over the first three days of the Qatar Goodwood Festival. The gross turnover for World Pool bets increased by almost 66% when compared to 2021's figures of £59 million. World Pool, which is a collaboration of global totes, enables racing fans from all over the globe to bet into a single pool.

There were three World Pool “Moment of the Day” awards handed out, as well as £1,000 and a bottle of champagne to the racing staff who looked after the winning horse. The winners are as follows:

 

  • Tuesday, July 26: Willie Dwan, groom of Lord Riddiford (Ire) (Zebedee {GB}) who had his third win at the Qatar Goodwood Festival in the Class 2 Nicholson Gin H.
  • Wednesday, July 27: Jane Stanforth, groom of Oscula (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}), who won the G3 Whispering Angel Oak Tree S., having had six runs in 54 days.
  • Thursday, July 28: Hollie Thomas, groom of Royal Scotsman (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) who broke the 2-year-old track record when winning the G2 Richmond S.

The overall winner of the 16 “Moment of the Day” awards, will be announced as the “Moment of the Year” on QIPCO British Champions Day, with the winning yard receiving £34,000.

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said, “The stunning growth of World Pool continued with fantastic results at the Qatar Goodwood Festival. What is most pleasing to see is the resonance of the World Pool brand across all customer segments and geographies over the three days. It is clear that customers are seeing the true value of World Pool liquidity and stakeholders are seeing the true value of the funding mechanism which results in higher returns to the industry. We appreciate the efforts by Goodwood, UK Tote, our global partners and of course the participants to make it such a successful event.”

Adam Waterworth, Managing Director at Goodwood Racecourse, said: “We are delighted to see the significant growth in World Pool at the Qatar Goodwood Festival. As our most high-profile racing meeting of the year, it has always been our aim to ensure as many people as possible around the world can watch and bet on the excellent racing. As well as being a positive development for racing fans, World Pool is one of the most important initiatives in British racing from which Goodwood benefits, allowing us to reinvest in our prize money and racecourse experience.”

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