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50th Annual Eclipse Awards To Be Presented Virtually, Program Will Air Live On Jan. 28

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National Turf Writers and Broadcasters and Daily Racing Form announced today that the 50th Annual Eclipse Awards, presented by Spendthrift Farm, will air live on TVG and Racetrack Television Network on Thursday, Jan. 28, beginning at 8 p.m. ET., and also streamed on other outlets and platforms.

This year's ceremony will be a virtual telecast. NBC Sports' Kenny Rice will anchor the program from Lexington, and will be joined by many fellow Eclipse Awards' masters of ceremonies and presenters from the past 20 years. Britney Eurton and Jeannine Edwards will present from historic Spendthrift Farm, home to some of racing's greatest champions. Acacia Courtney and Gabby Gaudet will present from Gulfstream Park in Florida; Gary Stevens and Daily Racing Form National Correspondent Jay Privman from Santa Anita Park in California, and Kenny Mayne from EPSN Studios.

In addition to TVG and RTN, the Eclipse Awards ceremony will be shown live on the following outlets: NTRA.com; America's Best Racing Facebook page and Twitter feed; XBTV Facebook page; DRF.com; Bloodhorse.com; ThoroughbredDailyNews.com; Equibase.com; Breeders' Cup Facebook page and YouTube channel; MyRacehorse Facebook page and YouTube channel; and TOBA.org.

In addition to honoring the 17 winners in the horse and human categories, Thomas Goldsmith will receive the Eclipse Award as the 2020 Horseplayer of the Year. Members of the media will be honored for outstanding coverage in six categories.

In keeping with the 50th anniversary theme, results from the NTRA Eclipse 50 Contest, a vote by fans of their 10 favorite Eclipse Award-champion horses and their favorite champion trainer and jockey from the past 50 years, will also be revealed throughout the show.

The Eclipse Awards are conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), and Daily Racing Form. The Eclipse Awards ceremony is produced by the NTRA.

The Eclipse Awards are sponsored by Spendthrift Farm, Roberts Communications, Four Roses Bourbon, Daily Racing Form, Breeders' Cup, FanDuel Group, The Stronach Group, TVG, Dean Dorton, Stonestreet Farm, Keeneland, Racetrack Television Network, Jackson Family Wines, Florida HBPA, Runhappy, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, Hallway Feeds and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

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.

Order of Events for 50th Annual Eclipse Awards Ceremony:

1. Older Male
2. Older Female
3. Horseplayer of the Year
4. Steeplechase Horse
5. In Memoriam
6. Breeder
7. 3-Year-Old Filly
8. 3-Year-Old Male
9. Media Awards
10. FanDuel Moment of the Year
11. 2-Year-Old Male
12. 2-Year-Old Filly
13. Apprentice Jockey
14. Jockey
15. Trainer
16. Male Sprinter
17. Female Sprinter
18. Female Turf
19. Male Turf
20. Owner
21. Horse of the Year

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Santa Anita Cancels Friday Program Due To Heavy Rain Forecast

With strong rains predicted to hit Southern California over the next several days, Santa Anita Park has made the decision to proactively cancel its Friday program, effective Tuesday morning. Friday's entries were originally scheduled to close this past Sunday, but track management opted to wait until Tuesday in order to better evaluate the weather forecast.

In addition to Friday's cancellation, given the amount of rain predicted over the next few days, two turf stakes, the Grade 2 San Marcos on Saturday and the $75,000 Baffle on Sunday, will now be shifted to next week. The 6 ½ furlong Baffle will be run on Friday, Feb. 5, and the mile and one quarter San Marcos is now set for Saturday, Feb. 6.

“The models are showing us three straight days of rain, with the heaviest hitting around noon on Friday,” said Nate Newby, Santa Anita Senior Vice President and General Manager. “We've discussed it with our stakeholders and cancelling Friday in advance provides horsemen, fans and employees the best scenario to plan accordingly.”

Santa Anita will schedule extra races throughout the next racing week to make up for those that were originally scheduled for this Friday.

With entries scheduled to be taken Wednesday, Jan. 27, racing will resume at Santa Anita this Saturday, Jan. 30. A pair of important main track stakes, the Grade 3, $100,000 Robert B. Lewis, a key prep to the Santa Anita Derby and the Grade 2, $200,000 San Pasqual, an iconic precursor to the Santa Anita Handicap, will highlight Saturday's racing.

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Breeders’ Cup Runner-Up Dayoutoftheoffice ‘Way Ahead Of Schedule’ For Sophomore Debut

Like the majority of Thoroughbred trainers, Tampa Bay Downs conditioner Tim Hamm is a realist. And he knows it is unlikely his filly Dayoutoftheoffice will be announced as the Eclipse Award Champion 2-Year-Old Filly on Thursday after her second-place finish to Vequist in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 6 at Keeneland.

After her dazzling 5-furlong breeze in 1:01 on Sunday at Tampa Bay Downs, Hamm expects Dayoutoftheoffice to earn another shot against Vequist in the near future. Dayoutoftheoffice had breezed 4 furlongs a week earlier in 49 3/5 seconds in her first workout of 2021.

“She's coming back incredibly well. Her work today (with exercise rider Alfredo Clemente aboard) was awesome,” Hamm said Sunday. “She just did it real easy and she galloped out super strong. She is way ahead of schedule, and it's a good feeling that we can handle her how we want and have her plenty fit for whatever race we choose (as her 3-year-old debut).”

Hamm said Dayoutoftheoffice will likely make her first 3-year-old start on either Feb. 27 in the Grade 2 Davona Dale at Gulfstream or on March 6 in the G3 Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn Park. “We nominated her to the Suncoast (on Feb. 6 at Tampa Bay Downs), but that is probably a little too quick,” he said. Hamm added that the Grade 1, $1.25-million Longines Kentucky Oaks on April 30 at Churchill Downs is in his plans for the Kentucky-bred daughter of Into Mischief.

Although Dayoutoftheoffice is 1-1 against Vequist, having beaten her in the G1 Frizette Stakes on Oct. 10 at Belmont, and had a better record last year – three victories from four starts, with the lone second in the Juvenile Fillies, compared to Vequist's two victories and two seconds – Eclipse voters have traditionally given extra weight to winning a Breeders' Cup race.

“Just being nominated is great. It says you had one of the best 2-year-old fillies in the country,” said Hamm, who also co-owns Dayoutoftheoffice under his Blazing Meadows Farm banner in partnership with Siena Farm. “I'd love to say we have a chance, but if you're voting, you're going to see who won on championship day (at the Breeders' Cup).”

The third nominee in the 2-Year-Old Filly category is Aunt Pearl, whose 3-for-3 record includes a victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (voters have been known to lean toward dirt horses when push comes to shove, but you never know).

The 50th Eclipse Awards Ceremony honoring the sport's 2020 champions will be held Thursday as a virtual event, with portions hosted from Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky. Winners in 17 equine and human categories will be announced in a program streamed live on multiple outlets, including TVG and Racetrack Television Network, beginning at 7:30 p.m. (see below for the finalists).

Hamm had a previous brush with Eclipse Award glory, having sold Wait a While as an unraced 2-year-old in 2005 after purchasing her the previous year as a yearling. She was part of his pinhooking program and reaped a $210,000 profit. In 2006, Wait a While earned the Eclipse as Champion 3-Year-Old Filly for owner Arindel and trainer Todd Pletcher.

“We breed them, raise them, sell them and race them. It is all part of our plan,” Hamm said.

Here are the Eclipse Award finalists (in alphabetical order) in each category:

Horse of the Year: Authentic, Improbable, Monomoy Girl

2-Year-Old Male: Essential Quality, Fire At Will, Jackie's Warrior

2-Year-Old Filly: Aunt Pearl, Dayoutoftheoffice, Vequist

3-Year-Old Male: Authentic, Nadal, Tiz the Law

3-Year-Old Filly: Gamine, Shedaresthedevil, Swiss Skydiver

Older Dirt Male: Improbable, Maximum Security, Vekoma

Older Dirt Female: Midnight Bisou, Monomoy Girl, Serengeti Empress

Male Sprinter: Vekoma, Volatile, Whitmore

Female Sprinter: Gamine, Glass Slippers, Serengeti Empress

Male Turf Horse: Channel Maker, Order of Australia, Zulu Alpha

Female Turf horse: Audarya, Rushing Fall, Tarnawa

Steeplechase Horse: Moscato, Rashaan, Snap Decision

Owner: Godolphin, Klaravich Stables, and the partnership of Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing

Breeder: Calumet Farm, Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, WinStar Farm

Trainer: Steve Asmussen, Bob Baffert, Brad Cox

Jockey: Irad Ortiz, Jr., Joel Rosario, John Velazquez

Apprentice Jockey: Luis Cardenas, Yarmarie Correa, Alexander Crispin

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Study: Four Risk Factors For Musculoskeletal Injuries In Racehorses Identified

Musculoskeletal injuries continue to plague Thoroughbred racehorses around the world, despite ongoing research into their causes. Many injuries occur during training, though many tracks report only race-day injuries.

Drs. Kylie L. Crawford, Anna Finnane, Clive Phillips, Ristan Greer, Solomon Woldeyohannes, Nigel Perkins, Lisa Kidd and Benjamin Ahern sought to determine the risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries and see if these factors were different for 2-year-old racehorses and older racehorses.

The team focused their study on Thoroughbreds training in southeast Queensland; they used injuries reported from training stables over a 56-week study. Control horses were recruited for every injury case. In total, information was gathered on 202 injured horses and 202 uninjured horses. Trainers and their staff were interviewed weekly regarding both injured and uninjured horses.

For this population of horses, the study team found four factors associated with higher odds of injury:

2-year-old horses that were prepped for racing for between 10 and 14 weeks. Increasing length of preparation was linked to higher odds for injury in all horses, but particularly in 2-year-olds. Horses not given adequate time for their tissues to repair and adapt to race training are more prone to injury.
2-year-old Thoroughbreds out of maiden mares (these horses were specifically at risk for shin soreness). They note that mares that have had multiple foals tend to have larger, heavier foals, which could be associated with bone density and ability to withstand race training.
Thoroughbreds of all ages that ran 1.5 miles to 2.3 miles at a fast gallop (faster than 34mph) in the four weeks preceding injury
3-year-olds and older horses that ran 1.9 miles to 3 miles at nearly 30 mph and faster. The scientists found that exercising a horse at a slower pace for an increasing number of days decreased the odds of injury no matter the horse's age. They reported that for horses thought to be at higher risk of injury, increasing the number of days worked at a slow pace may be more effective than completely resting the horse.

The scientists recommend that horses that fall into these categories be monitored closely for impending injury. The study team concluded that early identification of horses at increased risk, along with appropriate intervention, could significantly reduce the impact of musculoskeletal injuries in racehorses.

Read the full study here.