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NYRA/Adam Coglianese
AMERICAN PHAROAH UNANIMOUS FOR HORSE OF THE YEAR
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters announced that Zayat Stables’ American Pharoah, the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, was unanimously voted as Horse of the Year at the 45th annual Eclipse Awards at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino in Hallandale Beach, Florida. American Pharoah becomes the second unanimous selection, joining John Henry in 1981, to sweep all votes in the Horse of the Year category. American American Pharoah became the first horse to win the Pharoah received all Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. 261 votes from the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, Daily Racing Form and the NTRA block of Equibase field personnel and North American racing officials. American Pharoah also was a unanimous choice for champion 3-year-old by Eclipse Award voters. In 2015 American Pharoah won seven of eight races, six of those Grade 1 events, including the Arkansas Derby, Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, Haskell Invitational and Breeders’ Cup Classic. He was the first horse in 37 years to sweep the Triple Crown and the first to earn what has been referred to as Thoroughbred racing’s “Grand Slam” consisting of the Triple Crown races and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He also set a single season earnings record of $8,288,800. It was a big night for the American Pharoah team as Zayat Stables won both the outstanding owner and outstanding breeder awards and American Pharoah’s trainer, Bob Baffert, won his fourth outstanding trainer award. American Pharoah’s jockey, Victor Espinoza, finished second in the outstanding jockey category to Javier Castellano, who captured the honor for the third consecutive year. Spendthrift Farm’s Beholder, undefeated in five starts in 2015, won her third Eclipse Award, taking the older dirt female trophy. Beholder won the 2-year-old filly championship in 2012 and the 3-year-old filly title in 2013. The complete list of 2015 Eclipse Award winners are as follows: • 2-Year-Old Male: Nyquist • 2-Year-Old Filly: Songbird • 3-Year-Old Male: American Pharoah
• 3-Year-Old Filly: Stellar Wind • Older Dirt Male: Honor Code • Older Dirt Female: Beholder • Male Sprinter: Runhappy • Female Sprinter: La Verdad • Male Turf Horse: Big Blue Kitten • Female Turf Horse: Tepin • Steeplechase Horse: Dawalan (Fr) • Owner: Zayat Stables • Breeder: Zayat Stables • Trainer: Bob Baffert • Jockey: Javier Castellano • Apprentice Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione • Horse of the Year: American Pharoah The Award of Merit winner, voted on by a panel of representatives from the three presenting organizations, was presented to Leonard Lavin of Glen Hill Farm. The Award of Merit honors an outstanding lifetime achievement in the Thoroughbred industry. John O’Neil was honored as the 2015 Horseplayer of the Year as the winner of the Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship. Media Eclipse Awards also were given in the categories of photography, audio and multimedia Internet, news/enterprise writing, feature/commentary writing, national television-feature programming and national televisionlive racing programming to recognize members of the media for outstanding coverage of Thoroughbred racing. The 2015 Media Eclipse Awards winners, determined by a judges’ panel for each category, are the following: • Photography: Scott Serio, Cecil (Md.) Guardian, “American Pharoah Trains at Keeneland for Breeders’ Cup,” and Michael Clevenger, Louisville Courier-Journal, “American Pharoah Wins the Belmont Stakes” • Writing – Feature/Commentary: Jennie Rees, Louisville CourierJournal; “Dyslexia Doesn’t Slow Down Keen Ice Trainer Romans” • Writing – News/Enterprise: Tim Sullivan, Louisville Courier-Journal; “Family, PETA at Odds After Horseman’s Death” • Television – Live Racing: NBC Sports, “2015 Belmont Stakes” • Television – Feature: Digital Kitchen (Hennegan Brothers, directors), AT&T U-verse Sports, “Ironman Perry Ouzts” • Audio and Multimedia Internet: Mary Simon, Daily Racing Form, “Regret’s Derby at 100”
THOROUGHBRED OWNER CONFERENCE CONCLUDES, NEXT EDITION SCHEDULED FOR BREEDERS’ CUP OwnerView’s second Thoroughbred Owner Conference, sponsored by Keeneland Association, the New York Racing Association, The Stronach Group and Woodbine Entertainment Group, took place in January with presentations on a wide range of aspects of Thoroughbred ownership and a keynote address by horse owner and CBS broadcaster Jim Rome.
Approximately 200 people attended the two-day event, including both longtime horse owners and new or prospective owners. In the conference’s closing remarks, William M. Lear Jr., vice chair of The Jockey Club, announced that the third OwnerView Thoroughbred Owner Conference will be held in the days leading up to the 2016 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park in early November. “Our first two owner conferences have been very well received, and we thank The Stronach Group for hosting this edition as well as our third conference to be held in November 2016,” Lear said. “Holding the next one WWW.NATIONALHBPA.COM
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