DeRosa: Breeders’ Cup decides turf champions for 2024

I by no means think a Breeders' Cup victory is necessary to win an Eclipse Award, but I do value the world championships more than any other races, especially in divisions with no real clear leader going into the fall.

That's how I view both the male and female turf divisions this year. On the male front, there were some impressive three-year-olds and a turf sprinter who caught the eye all year, but no real clear leader among the Mile and Turf divisions.

This sort of presents a double whammy for Rebel's Romance because I am not only valuing his Breeders' Cup Turf win as the most important of the year but also rewarding a one-start-in-North America performer. When it comes to voting for those types, my policy has always been once you win in North America, all starts are fair game. Rebel's Romance three Group 1 wins in three different countries ahead of his Breeders' Cup score make him clearly the best turf male this year in North America.

Moira does not have quite the resume Rebel's Romance has outside the Breeders' Cup, but in a year where the female turf division traded Grade 1 wins, the Breeders' Cup one means most especially given she did win the Beverly D at Colonial Downs and finished second in a pair of other Grade 1 wins.

Chili Flag is the only three-time graded stakes winner this year, but she was no match for Moira in the Breeders' Cup. Didia had some nice wins this year, and that third in the Breeders' Cup is likely good enough to make her a finalist in the division, but the head to head tally is just impossible to ignore.