2025 Eclipse Awards Ballot and Discussion

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Voting Overview In voting that concluded on Jan. 1, 2026, Eclipse Awards voters cast their ballots to rank the top three horses and individuals in each Championship division on a 10-5-1 point system. This voting established the top three finalists in each division, whose names were released on Jan. 4, 2026. The tallies below represent only first-place votes from members of the consolidated voting entities, NTRA, Daily Racing Form, and National Turf Writers And Broadcasters. Voter participation rate: 220/240 = 92% (Name, First-Place Votes)

Two-Year-Old Male Ted Noffey, 218; Further Ado, 1; Gstaad (GB), 1.

Two-Year-Old Filly Super Corredora, 146; Cy Fair, 49; Explora, 10; Tommy Jo, 4; Mythical, 3; Bella Ballerina, 2; Percy’s Bar, 2; Zany, 2; Balantina (IRE), 1; Voter Abstention, 1.


Three-Year-Old Male Sovereignty, 219; Voter Abstention, 1.

Three-Year-Old Filly Nitrogen, 183; Shisospicy, 24; Gezora (FR), 5; Fionn, 2; La Cara, 2; Clicquot, 1; Good Cheer, 1; Kilwin, 1; Lush Lips (GB), 1.


Older Dirt Male Forever Young, 127; Sierra Leone, 50; Nysos, 24; Mindframe, 9; Fierceness, 6; Book’em Danno, 1; Touchuponastar, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.

Older Dirt Female Thorpedo Anna, 171; Scylla, 33; Splendora, 9; Cavalieri, 2; Hope Road, 1; Kopion, 1; Seismic Beauty, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.


Male Sprinter Book’em Danno, 115; Bentornato, 82; Nysos, 14; Patch Adams, 5; Mindframe, 1; Troubleshooting, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.

Female Sprinter Shisospicy, 113; Splendora, 68; Kopion, 34; Ag Bullet, 1; Hope Road, 1; Positano Sunset, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.


Male Turf Horse Notable Speech (GB), 115; Rebel’s Romance (IRE), 59; Ethical Diamond, 23; Deterministic, 17; Zulu Kingdom (IRE), 2; Carl Spackler (IRE), 1; Formidable Man, 1; Troubleshooting, 1; World Beater, 1.

Female Turf Horse She Feels Pretty, 151; Gezora (FR), 36; Shisopicy, 22, Lush Lips (GB), 4; Nitrogen, 4; Ag Bullet, 2; Excellent Truth (IRE), 1.

Steeplechase Horse Cool Jet (IRE), 119; Zanahiyr (IRE), 51; Swore, 14; Proven Innocent, 8; Abaan, 6; Fil Dor (FR), 1; Historic Heart (IRE), 1; Voter Abstentions, 20.


Owner Godolphin, 206; Spendthrift Farm LLC, 7; Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, 2; Bruno Schickedanz, 2; Susumu Fujita, 1; Klaravich Stables, Inc., 1; Voter Abstention, 1.

Breeder Godolphin, 212; WinStar Farm, LLC, 2; Aaron and Marie Jones, 1; Calumet Farm, 1; Don Alberto Corporation, 1; Northern Racing, 1; Tanma Corporation, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.


Trainer Bill Mott, 85; Brad Cox, 50; Chad Brown, 40; Todd Pletcher, 21; Bob Baffert, 13; Steve Asmussen, 3; Jamie Ness, 2; Mark Casse, 1; Christophe Clement, 1; Michael Maker, 1; Brendan Walsh, 1; Henry Walters, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.


Jockey Flavien Prat, 152; Irad Ortiz Jr., 52; John Velazquez, 6; Junior Alvarado, 5; Jose Ortiz, 3; Kendrick Carmouche, 1; Tyler Gaffalione, 1.

Apprentice Jockey Pietro Moran, 128; Yedsit Hazlewood, 55; Christopher Elliott, 26; Voter Abstentions, 11.


Horse of the Year Sovereignty, 201; Forever Young (JPN), 17; Ted Noffey, 2.

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Award of Merit Edward L. Bowen was posthumously honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit

Special Eclipse Awards for Career Excellence Bob Duncan and Trevor Denman each received a Special Eclipse Award for Career Excellence.

Horseplayer of the Year Dan Piazza was presented with an Eclipse Award as the 2025 Horseplayer of the Year.


Media Eclipse Awards Media Eclipse Awards also are given in the categories of photography, multimedia, news/enterprise writing, feature/commentary writing, television–-feature, and television–live racing programming to recognize members of the media for outstanding coverage of Thoroughbred racing. The 2025 Media Eclipse Awards winners, determined by a judges’ panel for each category and previously announced, are:

Live Television Programming – FOX Sports, “The Belmont Stakes,” Michael Mulvihill, President – Insight & Analytics, June 7, 2025
Feature Television – FOX Sports, “The Healing Ride,” Michael Mulvihill President – Insight & Analytics, June 7, 2025

Writing – News/Enterprise – Natalie Voss, Paulick Report - “Doom Scroll: Thoroughbreds, Bail Pens, And Horse Traders,” December 2024
Writing – Feature/Commentary – Jay Privman, DRF.com and Daily Racing Form, “Lukas Morphed from Caustic to Avuncular,” June 29, 2025

Photography – Skip Dickstein, “Unseated,” The Albany Times-Union and BloodHorse, Aug. 31, 2025

Multimedia – Augusta Chapman and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics Radio “The Horse is Us: Inside the Horse-Industrial Complex,” Oct. 31, 2025


FanDuel Racing-NTRA 2025 Moment of the Year The connections of Forever Young (JPN) were honored as the winner of the FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year, as voted on by fans. The 4-year-old colt, owned by Susumu Fujita and trained by Yoshito Yahagi, captured the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. (G1).