Eclipse Awards: Cody’s Wish is voted 2023 horse of the year

Palm Beach, Fla.

Cody’s Wish, at once the feel-good story and heartbreaking saga of the past two seasons, was honored as the 2023 horse of the year Thursday night at the 53rd annual Eclipse Awards at The Breakers.

“Can’t and quit was two words we never used,” said Kelly Dorman, the father of Cody Dorman, the late inspiration for the horse’s name. “We never will. You think that horse can’t talk, but he can. And he won’t use those two words either.”

Dorman was crying as he spoke about the now-retired horse.

“You’ll never hear Tom Hanks say there’s no crying in horse racing,” he said.

The Cody’s Wish story reached a heartbreaking climax the weekend of the Breeders’ Cup when Cody Dorman died after a lifelong battle with a rare genetic disorder. Only 17, he passed away on the flight home from California to Kentucky the day after he watched his namesake win a second consecutive Dirt Mile.

Also named the top older dirt male, Cody’s Wish drew 134 first-place votes for horse of the year from the media and racing-industry representatives who decided the champions. White Abarrio got 37, Idiomatic 21, Up to the Mark 9, Arcangelo 6, Auguste Rodin 6, Elite Power 5 and Practical Move 1.

Seventeen championships were announced Thursday night in a two-hour ceremony that was televised by FanDuel TV and hosted by Acacia Clément, Britney Eurton and Nick Luck.

These were the winners of the other 16 awards:

Older male: Cody’s Wish. Grade 1 scores in the Churchill Downs, the Met Mile and the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile were on this division champion’s résumé. This was the third different horse trained by Bill Mott who won an award Thursday.

Older female: Idiomatic. The winner of eight races in nine starts finished her durable year with three Grade 1 triumphs, including the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

3-year-old male: Arcangelo. The colt who propelled Jena Antonucci to become the first female trainer of a U.S. classic winner parlayed that Belmont Stakes triumph into a Travers (G1) win and, with all that, the division championship.

3-year-old filly: Pretty Mischievous. A win in the Kentucky Oaks was the first of three Grade 1 triumphs last year for the newly crowned champion.

Owner and breeder: Godolphin won its seventh owner Eclipse and its third consecutive award as the top breeder. The global operation is owned by its founder Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum.

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. Make it five Eclipse Awards in the last six years for Ortiz, whose 366 wins led all U.S. and Canada riders.

Turf female: Inspiral. Despite having only one run in North America in 2023, that victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf was good enough to make the U.K.-based daughter of Frankel an Eclipse winner.

Turf male: Up to the Mark. The three-time Grade 1 victor and Breeders’ Cup Turf runner-up gave Mike Repole his second win of the night and his partner Vinnie Viola his first.

Trainer: Bill Mott. Having finalists in three Eclipse Award categories propelled Mott, 70, to his fourth victory in this category. He previously won in 1995, 1996 and 2011.

Female sprinter: Goodnight Olive. Thanks to her victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, she got the nod for the second year in a row despite a loss to Echo Zulu in the Ballerina Handicap (G1).

Male sprinter: Elite Power. It was the second year consecutive Eclipse Award in this category for the two-time Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner.

2-year-old filly: Just F Y I, already a two-time Grade 1 winner, carried her 3-for-3 year to the Eclipse Award.

Apprentice jockey. Axel Concepcion of Puerto Rico won the award after winning 206 races and $5.5 million purse money in 2023.

Steeplechase horse: Merry Maker, the upset victor in the Lonesome Glory at Aqueduct, was named the champion in this category.

Horseplayer of the year. Paul Calia, winner of the 2023 National Horseplayers Championship.

Award of Merit. The Jockey Club chairperson Stuart Janney.

Media Eclipse Awards

Writing feature-commentary. Tim Layden, NBCSports.com, “Maple Leaf Mel and the long arc of a horse racing tragedy,” Nov. 1.

Writing news-enterprise. Sean Clancy, The Saratoga Special, “The Worst Test,” Aug. 6.

Live television programming. NBC Sports, Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Nov. 3 and 4. Lindsay Schanzer, senior producer.

Feature television programming. Woodbine Entertainment, “Secretariat The Last Race,” Oct. 8, TSN Canada. Tammy Gillanders, producer.

Multimedia. TDN Writers’ Room podcast, Wade and Carson Jost, Sept. 20. Susan Finley, publisher, Thoroughbred Daily News.

Photography. Carolyn Simancik – “Trading Horse Paint,” Cody’s Wish, National Treasure battle in Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, The Press Box, Nov. 4.

Special Eclipse Award. Tom Hammond for career excellence.

First-place votes in the categories decided by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters and Daily Racing Form.

2-year-old male. Fierceness 205, Big Evs 4, Muth 3, Locked 2, Prince of Monaco 2, Nutella Fella 1, The Wine Steward 1, Timberlake 1.

2-year-old filly. Just F Y I 202, Hard to Justify 9, Candied 3, Tamara 2, Brightwork 1, Jody’s Pride 1, She Feels Pretty 1.

3-year-old male. Arcangelo 193, Auguste Rodin 21, Arabian Knight 2, Mage 1, National Treasure 1, Two Phil’s 1.

3-year-old filly. Pretty Mischievous 182, Randomized 24, Mawj 9, Ceiling Crusher 2, Faiza 2.

Older dirt male. Cody’s Wish 148, White Abarrio 65, Elite Power 5, Defunded 1.

Older dirt female. Idiomatic 211, Goodnight Olive 4, Echo Zulu 3, Adare Manor 1.

Male sprinter. Elite Power 183, Cody’s Wish 35, Speed Boat Beach 1.

Female sprinter. Goodnight Olive 140, Echo Zulu 72, Maple Leaf Mel 3, Caravel 2, Kirstenbosch 1, Pretty Mischievous 1.

Male turf. Up to the Mark 141, Auguste Rodin 60, Master of The Seas 12, Casa Creed 1, Exaulted 1, Integration 1, Nobals 1, Program Trading 1, Red Knight 1.

Female turf. Inspiral 112, In Italian 50, Mawj 43, Anisette 4, War Like Goddess 3, Caravel 2, Closing Remarks 1, Didia 1, Fev Rover 1, Moira 1, Surge Capacity 1.

Steeplechase horse. Merry Maker 69, Snap Decision 50, Awakened 25, Noah and The Arc 24, Belfast Banter 19, Scaramanga 6, voter abstentions 26.

Owner. Godolphin 191, Klaravich Stables 7, Juddmonte 5, Gary Barber 2, Repole Stable 2, Coleswood Farm 1, Harris Farm 1, George Krikorian 1, Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables 1, Bruno Schickedanz 1, voter abstentions 6.

Breeder. Godolphin 202, Calumet Farm 3, Brereton Jones 3, Richard Barton Enterprises 1, George Krikorian 1, Repole Stable 1, Spendthrift Farm 1, Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings 1, Taylor Made Farm 1, voter abstentions 5.

Trainer. Bill Mott 132, Brad Cox 60, Steve Asmussen 8, Chad Brown 7, Jena Antonucci 4, Todd Pletcher 3, Bob Baffert 1, Mark Casse 1, Linda Rice 1, voter abstentions 2.

Jockey. Irad Ortiz Jr. 187, Javier Castellano 17, Flavien Prat 7, Júnior Alvarado 4, Juan Hernández 1, Luis Sáez 1, Mike Smith 1, voter abstention 1.

Apprentice jockey. Axel Concepción 166, Sofía Vives 16, Jaime Torres 14; Luis Rivera Jr. 7, Walter Rodríguez 2, voter abstentions 14.