Final yr I put collectively some execs and cons for what figured to be a aggressive race for Horse of the 12 months, however Thorpedo Anna seems to be a reasonably sturdy favourite to win the highest prize on the 2024 Eclipse Awards, so let’s shift focus to the 3-year-old male division.
I first voted within the Eclipse Awards in 2006, so this yr will mark my 19th time submitting a poll. There aren’t any actual pointers for easy methods to vote for Eclipse Award winners and there’s no established factors system in North American racing, so there have been some very uncommon particular person votes over time. I sometimes attempt to construct a case for and towards every of the candidates in each division to form my last choice, so this train takes you behind my course of a bit. Nonetheless, I additionally included right here some perception into the narrative element. Narrative doesn’t issue into my Eclipse Awards choices, however it might be silly to suppose the story behind every horse doesn’t play any function for some voters… particularly in notably shut races.
For the 3-year-old male class in 2024, I attempted to determine the 5 horses I consider are more than likely to provide the three finalists for the class and listed the professionals and cons for every contender with out injecting my opinion into the combination.
Which horse will take dwelling the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old male on Jan. 23, 2025, at The Breakers Palm Seashore in Florida? Let’s discover the candidates in alphabetical order.
Homeowners: West Paces Racing, R. A. Hill Steady, Belmar Racing and Breeding, Two Eight Racing, and Pine Racing Stables
Coach: Danny Gargan
2024 Report: 6 begins – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
2024 Earnings: $2,169,875
Graded Stakes Wins: Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes, Grade 2 Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes
Execs: Earned victory in Triple Crown race with half-length Belmont Stakes win; two Grade 1 wins and three graded stakes wins tied for greatest amongst this group; received Haskell Stakes, arguably most vital race for 3-year-olds outdoors of Triple Crown and Travers Stakes; defeated Sierra Leone, Mystik Dan, and Seize the Gray in Belmont Stakes; title recognition as full-sibling to 2023 Kentucky Derby Introduced by Woodford Reserve winner Mage with World Sequence champion Jayson Werth a part of possession group.
Cons: Lacked consistency of a few of friends with three unplaced finishes in six races; by no means confronted older horses; well-beaten in 10th-place end behind Mystik Dan in Kentucky Derby; completed 6 ½ lengths behind Sierra Leone in Toyota Blue Grass Stakes; misplaced by 8 ¼ lengths to Fierceness when fourth in DraftKings Travers Stakes.
Proprietor: Repole Steady
Coach: Todd Pletcher
2024 Report: 6 begins – 3 wins – 1 second – 1 third
2024 Earnings: $2,753,600
Graded Stakes Wins: Grade 1 DraftKings Travers Stakes, Grade 1 Curlin Florida Derby, Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes Introduced by Mohegan Solar
Execs: Excessive profile as 2023 champion 2-year-old male from high barn and well-known proprietor; two Grade 1 wins and three graded stakes victories tied for greatest amongst contenders right here; defeated Horse of the 12 months favourite Thorpedo Anna in memorable version of Travers Stakes; beat Sierra Leone in each Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes wins; defeated Dornoch in Travers Stakes; beat Seize the Gray in Jim Dandy Stakes; second in solely begin versus older horses in $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic.
Cons: Lacks a victory in any Triple Crown race; ran worst race of the yr on largest stage when 15th and overwhelmed by 24 ½ lengths in Kentucky Derby; didn’t win a race towards older males; defeated by Sierra Leone in Breeders’ Cup Basic and by Mystik Dan in Kentucky Derby.
Homeowners: 4 G Racing, Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby III, and Valley View Farm
Coach: Ken McPeek
2024 Report: 6 begins – 2 wins – 1 second – 1 third
2024 Earnings: $4,070,050
Graded Stakes Wins: Grade 1 Kentucky Derby Introduced by Woodford Reserve, Grade 3 Southwest Stakes
Execs: Received crucial race on the planet for 3-year-old grime horses when successful Kentucky Derby by a nostril, defeating Sierra Leone, Dornoch, and Fierceness amongst others; returned on two weeks relaxation to complete second within the Preakness Stakes; sturdy narrative element as trainer-jockey swept Longines Kentucky Oaks with Thorpedo Anna and Derby with Mystik Dan; ranks second amongst this group in purse earnings for the yr.
Cons: Just one Grade 1 win and two graded stakes wins for the yr; misplaced 4 races by 2 ¼ lengths or extra, together with a pair of unplaced finishes; well-beaten by Seize the Gray in Preakness and Dornoch in Belmont Stakes; didn’t race in any respect in second half of season and thus by no means confronted older males.
Homeowners: Peter Brant, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, and Brook T. Smith
Coach: Chad Brown
2024 Report: 7 begins – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 2 thirds
2024 Earnings: $5,911,250
Graded Stakes Wins: Grade 1 Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic, Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes
Execs: Defeated older males in $7 million Breeders’ Cup Basic for marquee big-stage win at World Championships; solely 3-year-old amongst this group with victory towards older males; chief amongst this group by purse earnings and tied for greatest with two Grade 1 wins and three graded stakes victories; by no means worse than third in seven 2024 begins, all in Grade 1 or Grade 2 races; defeated Fierceness in Breeders’ Cup Basic and Dornoch in Blue Grass Stakes; second by a nostril in Kentucky Derby; third in Belmont Stakes.
Cons: Spent a lot of yr as bridesmaid in marquee division races; lacks victory in any Triple Crown race; overwhelmed by Fierceness in back-to-back begins this summer season in Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes; misplaced to Mystik Dan in Kentucky Derby and Dornoch in Belmont Stakes; no vital narrative element to bolster profile.
Proprietor: MyRacehorse
Coach: D. Wayne Lukas
2024 Report: 9 begins – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
2024 Earnings: $2,324,800
Graded Stakes Wins: Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby, Grade 2 Pat Day Mile Stakes Introduced by SAP
Execs: Earned victory in Triple Crown race with 2 ¼-length Preakness Stakes win; defeated Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan in Preakness; two Grade 1 wins and three graded stakes wins tied for greatest amongst this group; stable narrative element with Preakness win for fashionable 88-year-old Corridor of Fame coach D. Wayne Lukas.
Cons: Lacks consistency with 4 unplaced finishes from 9 begins; misplaced to Sierra Leone in Blue Grass Stakes, Dornoch in Belmont Stakes, and Fierceness in Jim Dandy Stakes whereas overwhelmed by 10 or extra lengths in all three; closed out season unplaced in lone strive towards older males in Large Ass Followers Breeders’ Cup Grime Mile.
