Eclipse Award voting totals and my reactions
Horse of the Year
California Chrome - 143
Main Sequence - 53
Bayern - 36
Shared Belief - 12
Untapable - 11
Wise Dan - 6
Adelaide - 1
Take Charge Brandi - 1
No surprise here; California Chrome regained the luster of his incredible first half of the year with an excellent performance in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and then a Grade 1 win on the turf in the Hollywood Derby. As good as the next five on the list were, it was California Chrome who had the best overall year from start to finish. Adelaide’s single vote had to be a nod to global racing.
Two-Year-Old Male
American Pharoah - 126
Texas Red - 111
Hootenanny - 16
Carpe Diem - 7
Dortmund - 3
Ocho Ocho Ocho - 2
I’m glad this was a close vote, because I have no doubt that Texas Red’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was the top performance of the division. Having said that, I did think that American Pharoah was slightly more deserving with a 1-0 head-to-head record, and two impressive Grade 1 wins.
Two-Year-Old Filly
Take Charge Brandi - 236
Lady Eli - 23
Condo Commando - 3
Sunset Glow - 3
Any thought this award would go to the undefeated turf star, Lady Eli, were completely washed away with Take Charge Brandi’s late season wins in the Delta Princess and The Starlet. Besides we all wanted to see another Willis Horton acceptance speech, didn’t we?
Three-Year-Old Male
California Chrome - 193
Bayern - 56
Shared Belief - 15
Perhaps I am being a bit harsh, but I did not think that Bayern was the best horse in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (remember, the best horse does not always win the race), which made this vote pretty clear cut for me. Shared Belief will have plenty more chances to show what he can do on the big stage.
Three-Year-Old Filly
Untapable - 265
Unanimous indeed.
Older Male
Main Sequence - 127
Palace Malice - 103
Wise Dan - 25
Goldencents - 9
Game On Dude - 1
I am not surprised by the result, but I maintain this award should be an award for older dirt horses. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see Main Sequence and Palace Malice each win one Eclipse Award?
Older Female
Close Hatches - 155
Dayatthespa - 64
Don’t Tell Sophia - 19
Judy the Beauty - 15
Iotapa - 7
Beholder - 5
The relatively easy win for Close Hatches over Dayatthespa in this category makes me believe that there are plenty of voters who see the older awards belonging to the dirt horses, like I do. Clearly the voters need better guidelines, or these two awards need an added distinction -- Older Dirt.
Male Sprinter
Work All Week - 184
Goldencents - 52
Palace - 12
Private Zone - 11
Bobby’s Kitten - 2
Bayern - 1
Big Macher - 1
Secret Circle - 1
Shared Belief - 1
Congratulations to the Illinois Breeding program! One question with these results … If Palace got one more vote than Private Zone, why was Private Zone a finalist over Palace? Unlike most stray votes, I actually liked the shout out to Bayern or Shared Belief by a pair of voters.
Female Sprinter
Judy the Beauty - 261
Midnight Lucky - 1
Living The Life - 1
La Verdad - 1
Awesome Baby - 1
If there was any doubt about who was best in 2014, it was answered loud and clear by Judy the Beauty’s Breeders’ Cup win. Interesting to see who got single votes, rather than Artemis Agrotera and Sweet Reason.
Male Turf Horse
Main Sequence - 243
Wise Dan - 18
California Chrome - 2
Karakontie -1
Adelaide - 1
As good as Wise Dan was once again in 2014, Main Sequence earned this award fair and square. Two votes for California Chrome in the Turf category? Umm … No!
Female Turf Horse
Dayatthespa -260
Crown Queen - 2
Coffee Clique - 1
Room Service - 1
In a division wide open until the first Saturday in November, the New York-bred Dayatthespa ran away with both the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf and the Eclipse Award with one fell swoop.