The road to thoroughbred racing’s Eclipse Awards ceremony in Florida on Thursday night went through California.
Thorpedo Anna, named Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly for 2024, led the usual long list of honorees who capped their seasons with definitive victories at the Breeders’ Cup, which was held at Del Mar last November.
Champion older male on dirt National Treasure, male sprinter Straight No Chaser and 2-year-old male Citizen Bull made up an unusually long list of divisional Eclipse winners who were trained at Santa Anita and Del Mar.
The results announced at a dinner televised from Palm Beach, Florida, made 2024 a bounce-back season for California’s best racehorses even though it was a hard year for the state’s racing industry.
In 2023, California horses had failed to win an Eclipse in any of the 11 flat-racing equine categories, represented the end of a steep decline from the five California horses honored in 2018 (when Triple Crown winner Justify was Horse of the Year), from the three in 2020 (when Authentic was Horse of the Year) and 2021, and even from the one in 2022 (when Flightline took the top prize).
So California racing people were relieved and hopeful when the early-January announcement of Eclipse finalists – top-three vote-getters in each category – showed horses based here having a chance at as many as four championships.
“It’s good to have California horses in the discussion,” Santa Anita director of racing Jason Egan said last Saturday.
Of the four, only male-on-turf championship contender Johannes came up short, finishing second to globetrotting Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Rebel’s Romance, 89 first-place votes to 81 in the closest balloting of the year by racing journalists and executives.
The others romped in the voting, Bob Baffert-trained National Treasure getting 148 first-place votes to fellow Californian Full Serrano’s 19 in the older-males division, Baffert-trained Citizen Bull getting 204 to Chancer McPatrick’s two for 2-year-old male, and Dan Blacker-trained Straight No Chaser getting 125 to Cogburn’s 38 and California-bred star The Chosen Vron’s 23 for male sprinter.
California can also take partial credit for Flavien Prat winning his first Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey, since Prat calls Southern California home and began his year at Santa Anita as usual in 2024 before conquering the nation with records for graded stakes wins (56) and overall stakes wins (82).
The two Breeders’ Cup winners Prat rode at Del Mar on Nov. 2 both won Eclipse Awards, Breeders’ Cup Classic winner for Sierra Leone voted champion 3-year-old male and Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Moira voted champion female on turf.
Sierra Leone helped Chad Brown win the Eclipse for outstanding trainer for the fifth time, Brown receiving 101 first-place votes to Ken McPeek’s 88.
“I finally beat Kenny McPeek in a photo,” Brown said in accepting the trophy Thursday.
But McPeek was on stage for the biggest prize of the night, as part of the group accepting the Horse of the Year title for Thorpedo Anna, who joined Rachel Alexandra (2009) as the only 3-year-old fillies to win the overall championship. Thorpedo Anna outpointed Sierra Leone 193-10 in first-place votes, and Fierceness was next with five.
McPeek, the trainer, had Judy Hicks, the breeder, address the dinner crowd.
“It’s the culmination of so many things,” said Hicks, who began Thorpedo Anna’s unlikely rise by breeding the Uncle Mo mare Sataves to the stallion Fast Anna.
More a celebration than a culmination. McPeek drew cheers by reminding the audience that Thorpedo Anna will race in 2025.
As for the California-based champions, National Treasure has been retired, but 6-year-old Straight No Chaser returned to workouts in December and 2-year-old Citizen Bull is getting ready to hit the Kentucky Derby trail.
Here are all of the champions:
Horse of the Year: Thorpedo Anna
Older male on dirt: National Treasure
Older female on dirt: Idiomatic
3-year-old male: Sierra Leone
3-year-old female: Thorpedo Anna
2-year-old male: Citizen Bull
2-year-old female: Immersive
Male sprinter: Straight No Chaser
Female sprinter: Soul of an Angel
Male on turf: Rebel’s Romance
Female on turf: Moira
Steeplechase horse: Snap Decision
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Apprentice jockey: Erik Asmussen
Trainer: Chad Brown
Owner: Godolphin
Breeder: Godolphin
Kevin Modesti reported from Los Angeles.