Spendthrift Farm | Horse Racing Free Tips

Eclipse Awards Ceremony to be Virtual in 2021

The Eclipse Awards Ceremony honoring champions of 2020 will be held Jan. 28 as a virtual event with portions hosted from Spendthrift Farm in Lexington. Winners in 17 human and equine categories will be announced in a virtual ceremony streamed live on multiple outlets, including TVG and Racetrack Television Network, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. The finalists for the 2020 Eclipse Awards will be announced Jan. 16.

“Aligning the 50th Eclipse Awards with a historic property like Spendthrift Farm serving as the backdrop for the broadcast is a natural,” said Keith Chamblin, National Thoroughbred Racing Association Chief Operating Officer. “Earlier this summer when it became clear that the 2020 Eclipse Awards ceremony would need to be a virtual event, we began discussions with Spendthrift about hosting portions of the event. Not only is Spendthrift one of the leading stallion farms in the world, steeped in a great tradition of champions, under the leadership of B. Wayne Hughes it has led the way in introducing innovations to the industry like Safe Bet, Share the Upside and MyRaceHorse.com.”

The Eclipse Awards are voted on by representatives of the NTRA, Daily Racing Form, and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. In addition to Spendthrift Farm, Eclipse Awards sponsors include Keeneland, Roberts Communications, Four Roses Bourbon, Daily Racing Form, Breeders’ Cup, FanDuel, The Stronach Group, TVG, Dean Dorton, Jackson Family Wines, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, and Hallway Feeds.

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50th Annual Eclipse Awards Ceremony To Be Held Virtually On Jan. 28

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form (DRF) and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) today announced that the 50TH annual Eclipse Awards ceremony, honoring Thoroughbred racing's champions of 2020, will be held on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 as a virtual event, with portions hosted from historic Spendthrift Farm in Lexington.

Winners in 17 human and equine categories will be announced in a virtual ceremony streamed live on multiple outlets, including TVG and Racetrack Television Network, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. on Jan. 28.

The finalists for the 2020 Eclipse Awards will be announced on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021.

“Aligning the 50th Eclipse Awards with a historic property like Spendthrift Farm, serving as the backdrop for the broadcast, is a natural,” said Keith Chamblin, NTRA Chief Operating Officer. “Earlier this summer when it became clear that the 2020 Eclipse Awards ceremony would need to be a virtual event, we began discussions with Spendthrift about hosting portions of the event. Not only is Spendthrift one of the leading stallion farms in the world, steeped in a great tradition of champions, under the leadership of B. Wayne Hughes it has led the way in introducing innovations to the industry like Safe Bet, Share the Upside and MyRaceHorse.com.”

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. Eclipse Awards are voted on by representatives of the NTRA, Daily Racing Form, and NTWAB.

In addition to Spendthrift Farm, Eclipse Awards sponsors include Keeneland, Roberts Communications, Four Roses Bourbon, Daily Racing Form, Breeders' Cup, FanDuel, The Stronach Group, TVG, Dean Dorton, Jackson Family Wines, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, and Hallway Feeds.

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In The Stud Presented By Kentucky Equine Research: Mor Spirit, First Weanlings Of 2020

Mor Spirit displayed speed and consistency on the racetrack, and he will look to instill both into his first crop of foals, born earlier this year.

On this week's episode of In The Stud, we head out to Spendthrift Farm to speak with Mark Toothaker about multiple Grade 1 winner Mor Spirit, the stallion's physical, and the parts of his family tree that are getting hot at the right time. We also get a special appearance from trainer Bob Baffert, who conditioned Mor Spirit, to go into more detail about how the stallion is put together.

Mor Spirit, a son of Eskendereya, won six of 14 starts during his on-track career for earnings of $1,668,400. He displayed his elite form early on, winning the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity as a juvenile. Then, he proved his mettle against the handicap division at age four with a score in the G1 Metropolitan Handicap. Between those two efforts, he notched victories in the G3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes and G3 Steve Sexton Mile Stakes.

Mor Spirit is out of the Grade 3-placed stakes-winning Dixie Union mare Ima Dixie Girl. His extended family includes champion Stellar Wind, Grade 1 winner Great Hunter and multiple Grade 3 winner Owendale.

The In The Stud video series, put together by our friends at EquiSport Photos, features up-and-coming names in the stallion ranks, with a focus on those whose first foals are weanlings of 2020. Paulick Report bloodstock editor Joe Nevills interviews farm staff about the stallion's appealing qualities and what mares might work best with them, while giving viewers and potential breeders a chance to see the stallion on the walk and on the racetrack.

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Into Mischief Passes Tapit, Sets Single-Season Earnings Record

With another productive weekend, which included a victory by the impressive first-time starter and “TDN Rising Star” Life Is Good at Del Mar, Into Mischief has set a new Northern Hemisphere record for most single-season earnings by a sire. According to TDN sire stats, Into Mischief’s offspring have earned $19,994,815 this year. The record had been held by Tapit, whose progeny earned $19,914,317 in 2016.

A win Saturday at Churchill Downs Saturday by Asar in an $85,000 maiden special weight race, moved Into Mischief into the top spot. He added to his totals with a win Sunday by Valletta in a $40,000 maiden claimer at Aqueduct and then picked up another $34,200 when the Bob Baffert-trained Life Is Good romped to a 9 1/2-length win as the 1-5 favorite in the betting.

With earnings of $11,465,367, Tapit is a distant second behind Into Mischief in 2020.

“He’s a remarkable horse,” said Spendthrift Farm General Manager Ned Toffey. “There’s not a lot left to say about him. He’s shown that he can get any level of horse and at the same time is very consistent. That’s what has allowed him to get to the level he has gotten to. He is so good mentally. Such a high percentage of the mares he breeds result in, first of all, a live foal, and, second of all, a good sound foal. They get to the racetrack and they perform. He’s been prolific at doing that and the offspring have been prolific at doing their job from a consistency standpoint and a brilliancy standpoint. We are proud to be associated with him.”

In addition to the earnings record, Into Mischief leads all stallions in several categories for the year. They include number of winners (178), wins (266), black-type winners (28), and black-type performers (58). With three Grade I winners, he is tied with Speightstown, Violence, War Front and More Than Ready for the top spot in that category.

Into Mischief’s 2020 accomplishments will almost certainly include a Horse of the Year title. With his wins in the GI Haskell S., the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, Authentic is a clear favorite for that title. He, alone, accounts for $6,160,000 of the total earned by Into Mischief’s offspring this year.

“Authentic is the horse that checked the last box in terms of his ability to get a Classic horse,” Toffey said. “That was the one question people still had about him, as remarkable as he has been as a sire. He started off at such a low price point, so the mare quality back then was not exactly stellar. But the great stallions seem to be able to overcome that. As he has added quality, you see the results of that. And the quality only continues to improve. As the mares have improved, you are starting to see these Classic-type of results. Authentic has very much demonstrated that.”

Into Mischief’s year also included a win in the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, the GI Acorn S. and the GI Test S. by Gamine and a win by Dayoutoftheoffice in the GI Frizette S.

Into Mischief’s stud fee for 2021 has been set at $225,000.

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