Eleven of the most memorable, significant and reflective events from the last 12 months of Thoroughbred racing are up for the 2020 FanDuel Racing NTRA Moment of the Year, a distinction determined by fan voting and recognized at the Eclipse Awards. Voting is now open on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) website, NTRA.com, and via Twitter, where every retweet or use of the official hashtag for the moments as presented on the @NTRA account will be counted as one vote.
To vote on the NTRA website, go to: https://www.ntra.com/2020-moment-of-the-year/. Votes for the poll must be submitted by Jan. 12 at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
The FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year will be revealed during a virtual ceremony for the 50th Annual Eclipse Awards on Jan. 28, 2021 hosted from historic Spendthrift Farm in Lexington that will be streamed on multiple platforms and televised on TVG.
The eligible 2020 moments were selected to illustrate the wide range of human emotions and achievements, as well as outstanding displays of athleticism. Events that fans can choose from are listed chronologically as follows, along with the designated hashtag that can be used to vote:
#FonnerWillRogers – Fonner Park and Will Rogers Downs shatter respective handle records as they were among the few tracks to continue to operate during the pandemic. With much of racing paused during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fonner Park and Will Rogers had the stage largely to themselves as all of their races were shown on TVG and the two tracks posted record numbers for their meets. (March/April)
#BelmontStrong – The Belmont Stakes is the first major sporting event to come back in the state of New York since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and is captured by New York-bred Tiz the Law. With New York Governor Andrew Cuomo giving the call for Riders Up, Tiz the Law was able to give owners Sackatoga Stable their first win in the Belmont Stakes when he prevailed by 3 ¾ lengths. (June 20)
#AuthenticDerby – With no fans in attendance at Churchill Downs, Authentic defeats 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 Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez his 200th career Grade 1 victory and trainer Bob Baffert a record-tying sixth win in the classic, and was framed by a celebration from the more than 5,000 owners of My RaceHorse, one of several partners in the ownership of the Derby winner. (Sept. 5)
#RepresentationMatters – Against the backdrop of a nationwide reckoning on racial injustice and ongoing protests in Louisville in the wake of the death of Breonna Taylor, Greg Harbut and Ray Daniels become the first Black owners in 13 years to have a Kentucky Derby starter when Necker Island finishes ninth in the Run for the Roses. Harbut and Daniels were featured on both the NBC broadcast and in major outlets such as CNN and they used their platform to champion for greater diversity throughout Thoroughbred racing. (Sept. 5)
#SwissMiss – Swiss Skydiver becomes just the sixth filly to win the Preakness Stakes when she outduels Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. Trained by Kenny McPeek, Swiss Skydiver had previously taken on males in the Blue Grass Stakes, where she finished second, and her Preakness triumph marked her fifth triumph and second G1 victory of 2020. (Oct. 3)
#BreedersCupBrad – Trainer Brad Cox puts a stamp on his outstanding season by winning four Breeders' Cup races during the two-day World Championships at Keeneland, tying the single-event record set by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella. Cox saddled Aunt Pearl to victory in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, Essential Quality to the win in the Juvenile, Knicks Go in the Dirt Mile, and champion Monomoy Girl to her second win in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. (Nov. 6-7)
#HeresWhitmore – Fan-favorite Whitmore showed his 7-year-old legs were as good as ever when he closed to win the Breeders' Cup Sprint in his fourth try, giving trainer Ron Moquett his first career Breeders' Cup win. Whitmore, who competed in the 2016 Kentucky Derby, first raced in the Breeders' Cup in 2017 and had finished second in the Sprint in 2018. (Nov. 7)
#MileSweep – Champion trainer Aidan O'Brien saddles the top three finishers in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile after previously going 0-for-22 in the race with 73-1 shot Order of Australia delivering the victory. That Mile victory gave O'Brien his 13th career Breeders' Cup win triumph and first victory in the event since 2017. (Nov. 7)
#ReturnOfTheQueen – Monomoy Girl, who missed all of 2019 due to injury and illness, becomes just the fourth horse to win the Breeders' Cup Distaff twice and first since Beholder to win the race in non-consecutive years when she prevailed in 2020. The daughter of Tapizar defeated a field that included Preakness Stakes winner Swiss Skydiver in the Distaff to cap off a 4-for-4 comeback campaign in her 5-year-old season. (Nov. 7)
#AuthenticClassic – Authentic wins the Breeders' Cup Classic in track record time to become the leading contender for multiple seasonal championship honors. After giving trainer Bob Baffert his record-tying sixth win in the Kentucky Derby, Authentic provided his Hall of Fame conditioner his fourth Breeders' Cup Classic victory. (Nov. 7)
#GlamourGirl – One day after winning her second Breeders' Cup Distaff, Monomoy Girl sells to Spendthrift Farm for $9.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale where it is announced she will remain in training for 2021. Monomoy Girl's final price tied her for second all-time among racing or broodmare prospects sold at public auction in North America. (Nov. 8)
Fans are permitted to vote for multiple moments but there is a limit of one vote per moment for each Twitter account. Subsequent votes from an account will be disqualified. Votes for the poll must be submitted by Jan. 12 at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
Past Moments of the Year:
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.
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