The Eclipse Award is an American

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 award named after the 18th-century British

racehorse 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 ...

and sire,

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that 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 ce ...

. An

Eclipse Award Trophy The Eclipse Award Trophy is presented annually to recognize those horses and individuals whose outstanding achievements have earned them the title of Champion in their respective categories. Presently there are twenty categories that include Americ ...

is presented to the winner in each division that 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 in Australia is the

Australian Thoroughbred racing awards The Australian Thoroughbred racing awards are given annually in Australian Thoroughbred horse racing. Voting on various categories is done by members of the Australian Racing Writers Association and include: Australian Champion Racehorse of the Ye ...

, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

the Sovereign Awards, and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, the Cartier Racing Awards.

1971–present

The Eclipse Awards were created by three independent bodies in 1971 to honor the champions of the sport. 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. The Eclipse Awards selections are made by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, ''

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 raceho ...

'' 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 i ...

, is credited with starting the Eclipse Award program. The

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

artist and sculptor

Adalin Wichman Adalin Wichman (1922 – March 10, 2013) was an American sculptor and artist from the U.S. state of Kentucky. Wichman designed the Eclipse Award Trophy in 1971, which are awarded to horses and individuals who have made outstanding contributions ...

designed the Eclipse Award, each of which is individually cast in the traditional lost wax 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 ''BloodHorse'' is a multimedia news organization covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding that started with a newsletter first published in 1916 as a monthly bulletin put out by the Thoroughbred Horse Association.

'' 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 (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, ''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 race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

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 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 race; as well as the st ...

Edward L. Bowen Edward L. Bowen (born c. 1942 in West Virginia) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing historian and author and the president of the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, an institution involved in funding equine research. Biography Bowen gr ...

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 # American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse # American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly #

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 both ''Turf & Spo ...

# American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly # American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse #

American Champion Older Dirt Female Horse The Eclipse Award for Champion Older Dirt Female Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a filly or mare, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of the ...

American Champion Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1947, in 1971 it became part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to the top horse in sprint races (usually those run at a distance ...

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 ...

# American Champion Male Turf Horse #

American Champion Female Turf Horse The American Champion Female Turf Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. It is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to a female horse (filly or mare) for her performance on grass race courses. Until 1978 t ...

# American Champion Steeplechase Horse # Outstanding Owner # Outstanding Breeder # Outstanding Trainer # Outstanding Jockey # Outstanding Apprentice Jockey #

Eclipse Special Award The Eclipse Special Award is part of the Eclipse Award program in United States Thoroughbred horse racing. The Special Award's purpose is to honor outstanding individual achievements in, or contributions to, the sport. It is not awarded every year. ...

# Eclipse Award of Merit # National Thoroughbred Racing Association Moment of the Year

References

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