2010 Eclipse Awards: Zenyatta Wins Horse of the Year

by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2011 10:03 PM EST in Racing News

LOUISVILLE KY - NOVEMBER 06: Zenyatta runs in the Classic during the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs on November 6 2010 in Louisville Kentucky. Zenyatta was named 2010 Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Zenyatta was named 2010 Horse of the Year at tonight's Eclipse Award banquet in Florida, narrowly beating out the horse she lost to at the Breeders' Cup, Blame.

Final Horse of the Year vote:

Zenyatta - 128
Blame - 102
Goldikova (IRE) - 5

A very surprising result, at least in my mind, as I figured there was no way Blame wouldn't win this award given his victory in the Classic. Last year, winning the Classic wasn't enough to win HOY but this year a close loss was. I'd love to see the breakout of voters with regards to which ones didn't vote for Zenyatta last year that did vote for her this year.

I'm also surprised that Goldikova got as many votes as she did for HOY. I don't necessarily disagree that she is "pound-for-pound" the best horse in the world, and I have no problem with her as the champion female turf horse, but it's tough to envision a one-U.S. start horse as Horse of the Year. But I can also understand why five people voted for her - she's one of a kind.

About the only other surprise of the evening was Ramon Dominguez being named champion jockey. Nothing against Ramon but I figured Gomez would win this one.

Congratulations to all 2010 Eclipse Award winners.

A complete list of winners can be found below the jump...

Horse of the Year	Zenyatta
Older Male	Blame
Older Female	Zenyatta
3YO Colt	Lookin At Lucky
3YO Filly	Blind Luck
2YO Colt	Uncle Mo
2YO Filly	Awesome Feather
Male Sprinter	Big Drama
Female Sprinter	Dubai Majesty
Male Turf	Gio Ponti
Female Turf	Goldikova (IRE)
Jockey	Ramon Dominguez
Bug Boy	Omar Moreno
Trainer	Todd Pletcher
Owner	WinStar Farm
Breeder	Adena Springs
Steeplechase	Slip Away

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Was stunned

But beyond thrilled. It seemed to me that most of the people voters who wrote articles about their choice went with Blame.

by LAEagle on Jan 17, 2011 10:07 PM EST reply actions

I was really surprised, as well.

In one sense, it would have been disappointing to see such a great mare never recognized as HOY. And like last year, I didn’t have an issue with anyone that thought Blame deserved the award; that wouldn’t change my perception of Zenyatta. But it’s nice to see her win.

I think I was more surprised at Dominguez winning top jockey. He’s got the numbers but it’s hard not to when you ride for Pletcher.

"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."

by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2011 10:13 PM EST up reply actions

If it was purely about performance and earnings

obviously it would have been Blame. Perhaps it was Zenyatta’s intangibles (read: press coverage and thrill factor). Congrats to a beautiful horse and her connections. One category I can get behind: WinStar for Outstanding Owner. They were a VERY profitable angle this year.

by bones_boy on Jan 17, 2011 10:17 PM EST reply actions

Agreed.

And it seems that the criteria for HOY is nebulous enough that those intangibles are certainly valid. In terms of impact on the sport of horse racing, Zenyatta was clearly HOY. After all, if it only had to do with wins and earnings there would be no need to vote.

"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."

by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2011 10:20 PM EST up reply actions

Also might have benefitted from

Blame only having 3 Grade 1 victories. Zenyatta had 5 – even with them all being against other distaffers, it might have been enough.

by LAEagle on Jan 17, 2011 10:23 PM EST up reply actions

Most of the winners

Were slam dunks really. I wonder if Goldikova could win next year with just one start.

by LAEagle on Jan 17, 2011 10:17 PM EST reply actions

I think the perfect storm would have to exist...

If the older horse division shakes out a bit weak and nobody steps up during the Triple Crown, she could have a shot. A 4-time Breeders’ Cup winner would carry a lot of weight.

"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."

by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2011 10:21 PM EST up reply actions

I'll have an additional post on the voting breakdown tomorrow...

but for now I’ll just say this: I can’t believe Sidney’s Candy didn’t get one vote for champion 3YO while Drosselmeyer (3) and Super Saver (1) got four votes between them.

"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."

by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2011 10:33 PM EST reply actions

Interesting thought - but Super Saver did win the Derby

but I see your point. Sidney’s Candy was way more consistent, and that’s difficult to say for 3 YO’s last year

by bones_boy on Jan 17, 2011 11:17 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, the TC horses always get extra attention

I just figured somebody would throw SC a crumb.

Even stranger: Super Saver got one vote, Drosselmeyer got 3. I would expect the Derby winner to get more votes. I know Dross won the Belmont but, jeez, that was a weak Belmont.

"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."

by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2011 11:24 PM EST up reply actions

NYC bias?

Gotta love it! ;-)

by LAEagle on Jan 17, 2011 11:24 PM EST up reply actions

How many votes does Tom Durkin have? :-)

by bones_boy on Jan 18, 2011 12:19 AM EST up reply actions

Last year

they published all the individual votes and I’d love to see that again this year. Not because I think anyone is really wrong (well, okay, yes I do) but just to see how it broke out person-by-person.

"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."

by Matt Gardner on Jan 18, 2011 11:09 AM EST up reply actions

I look at it this way. Will the super rich owners of Zenyatta send me a check if they win…No

Will the super rich owners of Blame send me a check.. No

Did the super rich owners of Blame retire a perfectly sound horse just to get more money..YES.. So screw ’em … if they are not willing to to what is good for the sport then the hell with there horse.

Now… more importantly.. I need a single in the late Pick 4 at Gulf tommorrow.

by Lucky Duck on Jan 18, 2011 11:22 AM EST reply actions

I have no

Problem with Zenyatta winning the Horse of the Year, no one drew people to the sport like she did. Maybe at the Beginning of the year Rachel did, but after that Zenyatta was the super star. Even though she lost, barely to Blame, she was definitely the horse of the year for the sport. Plus, even though she lost, I have a feeling she was still the best horse in that race. Just seeing how upset Mike Smith was after the race, makes me think he may have approached the race a bit differently. Anyway, good choice. She did a lot for the sport.

by btalbert29 on Jan 18, 2011 11:40 AM EST reply actions

Well I think Blame deserved it, he beat her head to head,

but luckily I don’t really think Zenyatta or Blame actually gives a crap if they won. Z was a great ambassador for the sport, but I lived in California during her career and was never overly impressed with the fields she beat. Still to give her credit, she did fire every time, however it’s easier to fire when you are in a 5 horse field and facing Lethal Heat or Dawn after Dawn every other race.

This post was approved by Michael Olt.

by RA Dickey on Jan 19, 2011 9:18 PM EST reply actions

Welcome aboard buddy

We’re a pretty nice group, even when we disagree. Feel free to post more often.

by LAEagle on Jan 20, 2011 1:11 AM EST up reply actions

I think it's clear the impact on the sport was the difference for a lot of votes

I suppose the voting this year spotlights even more the vague nature of HOY criteria. Is it simply record? Head-to-head? Impact? Obviously, since the guidelines aren’t clear, it’s different for every voter

And like you wrote, neither one really cares if they won; just give ’em hay and oats and all is good.

"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."

by Matt Gardner on Jan 20, 2011 3:01 PM EST up reply actions

As you sort of mentioned earlier I believe

It really only matters for posterity. Like if I wanna see who won HOY in 1906 I can see it was Burgomaster. Don’t know a thing about him, but I assume he musta been really good because he won it. Maybe I’ll do some research now on him.

So, we’re thinking of how folks 25 years plus from now are gonna look at it.

by LAEagle on Jan 20, 2011 3:07 PM EST up reply actions

Very true.

And now you’ve got me looking back at past HOY winners!

Last gelding: John Henry 1984
Last 2YO: Favorite Trick 1997
Last/only 2YO Filly: Moccasin 1965

I’ll be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about Moccasin, but thanks to the glorious invention of the internet, here is a TIME article on the only juvenile filly to be named HOY. (link)

"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."

by Matt Gardner on Jan 20, 2011 3:27 PM EST up reply actions