The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

honor. Created in 1947, in 1971 it became part of the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

s program and is awarded annually to the top horse in sprint races (usually those run at a distance of under one mile). The ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of raceh ...

'' (DRF) began naming an annual sprint champion in 1947. Starting in 1950, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA) began naming its own champion. The following list provides the name of the horses chosen by these organizations. The ''Daily Racing Form'', the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, and the

National Turf Writers Association The National Turf Writers Association (NTWA) is an American association of journalists, columnists and other writers involved with reporting on the horse racing industry. The organization was founded by prominent sports writer Joe Hirsch who served ...

all joined forces in 1971 to create the Eclipse Award. Through 2006, the Sprint Champion was chosen from a horse of either sex. In 2007, a separate category honoring the

American Champion Female Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Female Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to the top female horse in sprint races usually run at a distance of 6 or 7 furlongs. This category honoring female sprinters became par ...

became part of the

s program. From 1960 through 1963 no award was given.

Honorees

References

{{Eclipse Awards Horse racing awards Horse racing in the United States