The Eclipse Finalists
 

The finalists, in alphabetical order:

Two-year-old male: Lookin At Lucky, Noble's Promise, Vale of York

Two-year-old filly: Blind Luck, Hot Dixie Chick, She Be Wild

Three-year-old male: Mine That Bird, Quality Road, Summer Bird

Three-year-old filly: Careless Jewel, Flashing, Rachel Alexandra

Older male: Einstein, Gio Ponti, Kodiak Kowboy

Older female: Life Is Sweet, Music Note, Zenyatta

Male sprinter: Dancing in Silks, Kodiak Kowboy, Zensational

Female sprinter: Informed Decision, Music Note, Ventura

Male turf horse: Conduit, Gio Ponti, Presious Passion

Female turf horse: Goldikova, Midday, Ventura

Steeplechase horse: Mixed Up, Red Letter Day, Spy in the Sky

Owner: Godolphin Racing, Juddmonte Farms, Jerry and Ann Moss

Breeder: Adena Springs, Juddmonte Farms, Dolphus Morrison

Trainer: Steve Asmussen, Bob Baffert, John Shirreffs

Jockey: Ramon Dominguez, Garrett Gomez, Julien Leparoux

Apprentice jockey: Luis Batista, Christian Santiago Reyes, Luis Saez

The fact that Jonathon Sheppard didn't make Top 3 in this polling is about as insulting and pathetic as anything you'll ever see. Asmussen of course deserves the trophy again after smashing his own training records, but what sport are the voters watching that puts Baffert and Shirreffs ahead of Sheppard this particular year? Ridiculous.

It would be an interesting experiment.

Vegas should have betting on who wins the awards, and then we should see if PG can hex RA and Zenyatta.

I agree completely with you on Sheppard. (http://www.derbytrail.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=31036). He's likely to train a Champion over the flats (Informed Decision) and the jumps (Mixed Up), and his work with Cloudy's Night has been remarkable.

I think the fact that Asmussen was given a suspension during the year for a medication positive should be disqualifying for year-end awards (similar to the Shawne Merriman rule that the NFL adopted).

how about atr in the broadcast catagory?..hmm hmm.danny..

same thing i said last year-but they didn't listen, and he won.

Still can't believe Summer Bird is as good as he is. I wached him run at Oaklawn and he beat me that day. Wasn't even a Stakes race, He was long and lanky, clumsy but not winded after the race. Tim Ice was a happy camper after the race saying he'll be in the Arkansas Derby before it's over this sprin.

Baffert deserves to win it, he led all trainers in Grade 1 wins this year, what else matters?

Maybe doing more with less.

That's the type of logic that makes me not pay attention to these or any other sports awards.

LOL this is silly. So because he gets good stock he should be punished? He deserves it, he is a legend and his wife is hot.

Didnt Baffert win like 10 Gr. 1's with only a couple of hundred starts?? that sounds like doing more with less

I'm just wondering about something for absolutely no reason and while I suppose i could look it up was wondering if you (or anyone here) knows the answer.

I'm curious about the number of G1 wins the 3 nominees and Sheppard had this past year.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer.

As an aside, I don't care much about awards but i hope Einstein wins.

Cheers and applause to him and to his connections.

Asmussen-7, Baffert-10, Shireffs-6, Sheppard-4.

http://cristblog.drf.com/crist/2010/...s-of-2009.html

That was fast DaTruth. Thank you!

Just wanted to mention that Mixed Up won the G1 Colonial Cup Hurdle...

http://www.thestate.com/sports/story/1039100.html

... and the G1 Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase.

http://www.st-publishing.com/cms/ind...=907&Itemid=76

I guess these don't count...

I wasn't referring solely to numbers. Strawbridge has become more active at sales, but Baffert is likely to get more expensive yearling and 2yo purchases than Sheppard will get. It is a very small sample, but looking at their Grade 1 winners this year that sold at public auction: Zenzational ($700k 2yo), Looking at Lucky ($475k 2yo), POTN ($270k yearling), Forever Together ($240k 2yo) and Informed Decision ($320k 2yo).

i agree, nothing beats head to head comp. if people worried about making good bets as much as they worry about these goofy (fake) awards they would do better at the track. its basically a bunch of fat guys that smoke cigars voting on who they THINK deserves some corny award. most of them could not get up and do a lap around the dinner table, yet they KNOW what a great athlete is. its moronic, thats why i can't remember who won this crap more than a year back. yet, ask me who won the belmont in 1978 and i'll tell you. the funniest part of it, is watching everyone bitch about who deserves what. the races are in the books, what, somehow a group of chosen "experts" are going to sort out which horses are most deserving of a crappy plaque. i'm sure going to be heart broken if so and so deos not get one of those.....lol....:rolleyes:

If the award goes to who did the most with less I nominate Tim Ice.:D

Tom McCarthey with General Quarters..(1 horse barn):D

Good article on the man who should be winning it this year:

http://www.drf.com/news/article/110095.html

He's an Eastern based trainer and his 2009 record in dirt races was 4-for-34.

2 of his 4 dirt wins came at Penn National .. and one at Delaware.

He also stunk up the joint at the 2009 GP meet (29-0-2-2) like he does at Gulfstream almost every year since forever.

In a year end champion trainer discussion...once those facts have been stated...to ask if he had a great year with turf horses, synthetic horses, and hurdle horses ... is to ask 'Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?'

Wasn't the other a Grade I sprint on the Derby undercard? We should probably mention all the facts, not just selective ones.

DrugS I think at this stage in his life it seems Sheppard does things the way HE wants. I am sure he could have 2 year olds sharp as a tack and bustin thru the gates in March IF he wanted. I never saw him run but I am told Storm Cat was a beast. As for him being Trainer of the year uhm NO. Doesnt mean he isnt a better trainer then the guy who should win this year.

All the facts?

Such as his 3-for-26 record at Delaware Park ... or his 1-for-23 record at Colonial ... or his 0-for-9 record at Monmouth Park .. on top of his 0-for-29 GP duck.

Those facts?


But Yeah, Informed Decisions did have a 3/4 length win over the dime claimer Temple Street in a "Gr 1" race so slow it could have been timed with a sundial.

A really interesting read. Nice to see someone treating horses like horses.

I'm sure if we dissected any trainer's record closely enough, we could come up with some inane statistics to bolster an argument. If you don't think Sheppard had an outstanding year given what he has to work with, that's your prerogative.

I hear ya Freddy.

It's a pretty pointless award ... but if you're based in the East and you only win four dirt races all year and post poor numbers at a few meets ... you're toast.

The best trainers are the ones who markedly improve almost everything they get... and train horses who consistantly out perform expectations. AKA the Alchemistsic Super Trainers.

It's not about what I think .... it's about how they've voted in the past.

Which is why he was a stone cold cinch to not win - and unlikely to even get nominated ... which he didn't.

One could say that your alchemist supertrainers also fail to hold up their numbers on synthetic and turf and therefore are just as much of a specialist as you are implying that Sheppard is. Sheppard's horses performed big in sprinting, turf, steeplechasing and marathon -- that is pretty good.

I kind of agree with the person who said that if a trainer has had a positive they shouldn't be eligible for the award.

The difference is that Sheppard is based in the East...and the vast majority of important races run in the East are run on dirt.

Also, most people in California barely even realize that racing exists outside of California. You think he's getting many votes from them?

I get your point, but this year only 2 of the awards will go to horses who actually won on dirt in alleged dirt categories (possibly Kodiak Kowboy too), so I don't think that had anything to do with it.

I don't think the average Eclipse voter is dissecting Sheppard's record at tracks like Colonial or Delaware any more than they are looking at Asmussen's record on synthetic surfaces. The fact is that the votes in these human categories is superficial, at best, and only a handful of trainers with large numbers of horses really have a chance to win the award.

Not that I'd expect you to be able to understand.... but...

Parisxfarm just noted that one of Sheppard's 4 dirt wins came in a Grade 1 ... and I mocked the quality of the performance by the horse.

In narrow victory, over a laughable former 10K claimer, the winner ran well below her synthetic form.

I obviously agree.

But based on all of that ... did you really think Sheppard had a chance at winning - or even being nominated?

No, I never thought Sheppard was going to win the award, although I think he probably should.

Shirreffs won two of the most important of the original Breeders Cup races and was 11-for-26 in Graded Stakes races with a $3.25 ROI.

Baffert managed to win a Grade 1 stake race with 6 different horses and his horses posted a $2.70 ROI with 78 starts in Graded Stakes races.

They both had huge years - their horses greatly exceeded expectations in the big races - and surely dominated the west coast portion of the vote.

If they gave an Eclipse Award for trainer of only synthetic, turf, and hurdle horses... Sheppard wins easy despite his typical 0-for-29 Gulfstream duck.

I don't have have all the PPs or numbers in front of me, but using ROI to state that a trainer had a good year doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Baffert's three highest-profile horses during the year were Zensational, Pioneer of the Nile and Lookin at Lucky, and none of them paid a big price (maybe with the exception of Zensational in the Triple Bend). It suggests that a few big prices likely skewed the results.

It's like saying that the partnership in which I'm involved had a great year because our ROI from 29 starters (4 wins) was $4.05. We had a horse that won at Belmont and paid $97.00.

But if we're going to use that analysis, what was Sheppard's ROI for his graded stakes starters?

$2.50

Baffert won the Pacific Classic with that absolute no-talent disgraceful Maryland pig Richard's Kid. That was one of his 6 different Grade 1 winners last year.

You can argue that RK helped Bafferts ROI numbers in Graded Stakes - and put them totally through the roof in Grade 1 stakes - but it also is a great training accomplishment to win such an important race with such a poorly thought of rat of a race horse.