The Eclipse Award is an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

award named after the 18th-century

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

and sire,

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected American foundries with expertise in studio bronze casting. It is then mounted on the hand-crafted native Kentucky walnut base to comprise the Eclipse Award on which a brass plate recites the award winner. The equivalent award in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

is the Australian Thoroughbred racing awards, in

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the Sovereign Awards, and in

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, the Cartier Racing Awards.

1971–present

The Eclipse Awards were created by three independent bodies in 1971 to honor the champions of the sport. Due to conflicting award winners for Horse of the Year in five years from 1949 to 1970, racing executive J.B. Faulconer gathered the interests of ''Daily Racing Form'' and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA), making them compromise on a unified set of awards, which would be called the Eclipse Awards. Although widely viewed as a national standard, they are not an official national award as Thoroughbred racing in the United States has no

sport governing body A sports governing body is a sports organisation that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions, including disciplinary action for rule infractions and dec ...

. The Eclipse Awards selections are made by the

National Thoroughbred Racing Association The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is a broad-based coalition of American horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with incr ...

, ''

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 rac ...

'' and the National Turf Writers Association who select all finalists at the end of the year. Those same voters then vote any of the three finalists in each category. Winners are announced in January of the next year. J. B. Faulconer, the first full-time publicity director at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for ...

, is credited with starting the Eclipse Award program. The

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

artist and sculptor Adalin Wichman designed the Eclipse Award, each of which is individually cast in the traditional

lost wax Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; loanword, borrowed from French language, French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cas ...

method and is hand finished. The Eclipse Awards are supported by official partners which in recent years has expanded significantly and in 2019 The Jockey Club became one of them.

1936–1971

Prior to creation of the Eclipse Awards, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America and the ''Daily Racing Form'' each published their own opinion of annual champions.

1887–1935

For more than a century, annual champions have been chosen by various bodies and these have been compiled and condensed with Eclipse Award winners by ''

The Blood-Horse ''The Blood-Horse'' (also referred to simply as ''Blood-Horse'' and displayed on its nameplate in upright all-capital letters without hyphenation as BLOODHORSE) is a news magazine that originated in 1916 as a monthly bulletin of the Thoroughbred ...

'' magazine. Majority owner The Jockey Club states that "BloodHorse magazine is the flagship publication" and that its "mission is to serve the Thoroughbred owner and breeder with integrity." According to

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, ''The Blood-Horse'' is the thoroughbred industry's most-respected trade publication. The

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

Website is among the initiatives and organizations supported by The Jockey Club. The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame uses the 1887-1935 Champions published by ''The Blood-Horse'' when referencing champions in the biography of its inductees.

Churchill Downs Incorporated Churchill Downs Incorporated is the parent company of Churchill Downs. The company has evolved from one racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, to a multi American-state-wide, publicly traded company with racetracks, casinos and an online wagering comp ...

annually published a list of champions in which they state that "Champions prior to 1936 were selected retrospectively by a panel of experts as published by ''The Blood-Horse'' magazine." In his 2007 book titled ''Masters of the Turf: Ten Trainers Who Dominated Horse Racing's Golden Age,'' author and

Thoroughbred racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

Edward L. Bowen used the 1887-1935 Champions published by ''The Blood-Horse'' when referencing champions of that era.

Thoroughbred Heritage

As well, Thoroughbred Heritage has their own list of "Champions of the Turf" with many from much earlier years based on a retrospective assessment by their own experts.Thoroughbred Heritage
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Eclipse Award categories

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

# American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse #

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving ...

American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse The American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when ''Turf & Sports Di ...

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

# American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse # American Champion Older Dirt Female Horse #

American Champion Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a ...

# American Champion Female Sprint Horse # American Champion Male Turf Horse # American Champion Female Turf Horse # American Champion Steeplechase Horse # Outstanding Owner # Outstanding Breeder # Outstanding Trainer # Outstanding Jockey # Outstanding Apprentice Jockey # Eclipse Special Award # Eclipse Award of Merit #

National Thoroughbred Racing Association Moment of the Year The National Thoroughbred Racing Association Moment of the Year award, first awarded in 1999, celebrates or honors one moment that occurred during a given year that most thoroughly exemplifies the spirit and ethos of the sport of Thoroughbred horse ...

References

* {{Eclipse Awards American horse racing awards Horse racing awards 1971 establishments in the United States Awards established in 1971