Horsephotos

Ghostzapper outpolls Smarty Jones to capture the 2004 Horse of the Year award.

Both Ghostzapper and Smarty Jones were overwhelming winners of divisional titles, with Ghostzapper also being named champion older male, and Smarty Jones champion 3-year-old colt.

Those results, along with all other equine and human championships, were revealed Monday by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association at the 34th annual Eclipse Awards dinner at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

Todd Pletcher, trainer of two of the year's champions, was voted top trainer, while Ken and Sarah Ramsey were voted outstanding owners.

Ghostzapper, a son of Awesome Again owned and bred by Frank Stronach, trained by Bobby Frankel, and ridden by Javier Castellano, won all four of his starts last year in a campaign that went from July 4 to Oct. 30. In addition to the Breeders' Cup Classic, he also won the Woodward Stakes, Iselin Breeders' Cup Handicap, and Tom Fool Handicap. He is in training and will race this year at age 5.

Smarty Jones was the most popular horse in racing the first half of the year, when he won his first six starts, including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, to put himself on the verge of becoming the first horse to sweep the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978. But he finished a weary second in the June 5 Belmont Stakes, never raced again, and two months later was retired to stud.

Of the 329 eligible voters representing the NTRA, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers Association, 274 cast ballots. Of those, 174 voted for Ghostzapper, and 95 for Smarty Jones. Ashado, who was named champion 3-year-old filly, and Kitten's Joy, who won the male turf championship, received one vote apiece for Horse of the Year. Three voters abstained.

Stronach, whose Adena Springs Farm bred Ghostzapper, won the Eclipse Award as champion breeder.

Several categories - such as sprinter, trainer, and owner - were perceived as close calls before the results were revealed. Speightstown, the Breeders' Cup Sprint winner, defeated Pico Central for champion sprinter by 157 votes to 101. Ghostzapper finished third in the sprint division with 15 votes.

Although the votes are not herded into blocs as they were in previous years, it is interesting to note that voters from the NTRA (39-12) and NTWA (91-52) preferred Speightstown, but Daily Racing Form voters went for Pico Central by 37-27. Pico Central defeated Speightstown in their lone head-to-head meeting in the Vosburgh, but Pico Central subsequently bypassed the Breeders' Cup and then was upset in the Cigar Mile.

The victories by Ashado and Speightstown, coupled with leading the nation in purse earnings, propelled Pletcher to his first Eclipse Award as champion trainer. Pletcher received 155 votes, more than double the 71 votes of second-place Steve Asmussen, who set a single-season record for victories in 2004 with 555 wins. Frankel was third with 35 votes, and John Servis, the trainer of Smarty Jones, finished fourth with 12.

John Velazquez, who rides first call for Pletcher and was the regular rider of both Ashado and Speightstown, won his first Eclipse Award as champion jockey.

Pletcher's victory over Asmussen appeared to show that most Eclipse voters went for quality over quantity, and that also played out in the voting for champion owner. Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who campaigned Kitten's Joy as well as the top older horses Nothing to Lose and Roses in May, received 100 first-place votes to beat out Michael Gill, whose claiming-based operation led the nation in wins and purse earnings last year. Gill received 79 votes.

Gill actually received more votes than the Ramseys (19-13) from the NTRA, but Ramsey led Gill in votes cast by the NTWA (61-39) and Daily Racing Form (26-21). The voting was completed in late December, before Ken Ramsey was fined by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority as a result of trying to get another owner to scratch a horse on Dec. 31 at Turfway Park.

Many other divisional winners were expected, including Declan's Moon (2-year-old male), Sweet Catomine (2-year-old filly), Azeri (older female), Ouija Board (turf female), and Hirapour (steeplechaser). Brian Hernandez Jr. was named champion apprentice jockey.

The divisional title for Azeri was her third straight. She also was the Horse of the Year in 2002. Azeri received 179 first-place votes, nearly twice as many as runner-up Sightseek (91). Azeri and Sightseek split their only two meetings last year.

The Breeders' Cup appeared to be a major factor in determining this year's champions. Ashado, Ghostzapper, Ouija Board, Speightstown, and Sweet Catomine all parlayed Breeders' Cup victories into Eclipse Awards.

Sweet Catomine was the most overwhelming divisional winner. She received 273 of a possible 274 votes, with only one Daily Racing Form member denying her a unanimous selection by voting for Runway Model, who finished third to Sweet Catomine in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Ghostzapper also was a one-sided choice as best older male. He received 269 votes, with only Dubai World Cup winner Pleasantly Perfect (four votes) and Whitney Handicap winner Roses in May (one) getting other votes.

It was a similar scenario for 3-year-old male, with Smarty Jones receiving 265 votes to seven for Kitten's Joy and two for Birdstone, who spoiled Smarty Jones's Triple Crown bid in the Belmont.

Ashado, who won the Breeders' Cup Distaff, the Kentucky Oaks, and the Coaching Club American Oaks, received 257 first-place votes. Ouija Board was a distant second with 14.

Kitten's Joy captured the male turf championship on the strength of his overall year, even though he was upset by Better Talk Now in the Breeders' Cup Turf. Kitten's Joy received 247 first-place votes to 12 for Breeders' Cup Mile winner Singletary and nine for Better Talk Now.

British-based Ouija Board made just one start in this country, but she made it count. Her victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf helped bring her 235 votes to 24 for runner-up Ticker Tape and six for Intercontinental.

Declan's Moon, who completed an undefeated year by winning the Hollywood Futurity, received 188 first-place votes to defeat Afleet Alex (44) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Wilko (22) easily.

Hernandez (164 votes) received nearly double the total of second-place Pablo Fragoso (84) for champion apprentice jockey.

The Cella Family and Oaklawn Park received the Eclipse Award of Merit. Dale Baird, the all-time winningest trainer, received a Special Eclipse Award. Media winners in newspapers, radio, television, and photography - all announced previously - were also recognized.

How they voted

Eclipse Award balloting concluded Dec. 27, 2004. Voters were asked to rank the top three finishers in each division. Winners were determined by first-place votes only. Following are the first-place votes cast by members of the three blocs that make up the Eclipse electorate: NTRA/Equibase, Daily Racing Form, and National Turf Writers Assocaition.

Two-Year-Old Male

Declan's Moon,188; Afleet Alex, 44; Wilko, 22; Rockport Harbor 17; Roman Ruler, 1. Voter abstentions, 2.

Two-Year-Old Filly

Sweet Catomine, 273; Runway Model, 1. No abstentions.

Three-Year-Old Male

Smarty Jones, 265; Kitten's Joy, 7; Birdstone, 2. No abstentions..

Three-Year-Old Female

Ashado, 257; Ouija Board (GB), 14; Stellar Jayne, 1. Abstentions, 2.

Older Male

Ghostzapper, 269; Pleasantly Perfect, 4; Roses in May, 1. No abstentions.

Older Female

Azeri,179; Sightseek, 91; Storm Flag Flying 3; Adoration, 1. No abstentions.

Sprinter

Speightstown, 157; Pico Central (BRZ), 101; Ghostzapper, 15. Abstentions, 1.

Male Turf Horse

Kitten's Joy, 247; Singletary, 12; Better Talk Now, 9; Soaring Free, 2; Sulamani, 2; Leroidesanimaux, 1; Nothing to Lose, 1. No abstentions.

Female Turf Horse

Ouija Board (GB), 235; Ticker Tape (GB), 24; Intercontinental (GB), 6; Light Jig (GB), 2; Megahertz (GB), 2; Wonder Again, 2; Commercante (FR), 1; Lucifer's Stone, 1. Abstentions, 1.

Steeplechase Horse

Hirapour (IRE), 216; Sur La Tete, 10; McDynamo, 8; Preemptive Strike, 2; Tres Touche, 2; Cherokee in the Hills, 1. Abstentions, 35.

Horse of the Year

Ghostzapper, 174; Smarty Jones, 95; Ashado, 1; Kitten's Joy,1. Voter Abstentions, 3.

Owner

Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, 100; Michael Gill, 79; Someday Farm, 41; Adena Springs/Stronach Entities, 27; Juddmonte Farms, 12; Gary Tanaka, 2, Eugene and Laura Melnyk, 2; Sam-Son Farm, 2; Robert Bone,1; Robert and Beverly Lewis, 1; Louis O'Brien, 1. Abstentions, 6.

Breeder

Adena Springs, 166; Juddmonte Farms 26; John Franks, 18; Someday Farm, 16; Aaron and Marie Jones, 13; Farnsworth Farms, 9; Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, 9; William S. Farish, 3; Arthur Appleton, 1; Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Wygod, 1. Abstentions, 12.

Trainer

Todd Pletcher, 155; Steve Asmussen, 71; Robert Frankel 35; John Servis 12; Abstentions, 1.

Jockey

John Velazquez, 241; Edgar Prado, 14; Rafael Bejarano, 6; Jerry Bailey, 4; Stewart Elliott, 4; Ramon Dominguez, 3; Alex Solis, 1. Abstentions, 1.

Apprentice Jockey

Brian Hernandez, Jr., 164; Pablo Fragoso, 84; Mick Ruis, 5; James Graham, 2; Eric Camacho, 1; Brandon Whitacre, 1. Abstentions, 17.

Horsephotos

Ken Ramsey, just before being named champion owner.

Earlier in the evening at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, while accepting the award for Kitten's Joy as champion male turf horse, Ramsey made an emotional, heartfelt apology for his actions of Dec. 31, when he offered to pay a rival owner $1,000 to scratch a horse out of a race at Turfway Park. Ramsey subsequently was suspended for one week and fined $25,000 by the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority.

"To each of you - my family, friends, the racing industry, and the media - I truly apologize and ask for your forgiveness," Ramsey said.

Ramsey's body language was that of an embarrassed, shamed man, and he walked off with his shoulders slumped, even though much of the black-tie crowd responded to his apology with a standing ovation.

But when Ramsey and wife Sarah were later announced as champion owner for the exploits of Kitten's Joy, as well as Nothing to Lose and Roses in May, Ramsey leaped to his feet and pumped his right fist in the air. The boundless energy and enthusiasm for which he is known was back. "This one is really, really, really super special," he said when he reached the podium.

Not far from Ramsey, though, another finalist for champion owner, Mike Gill, stared straight ahead, emotionless. Gill is admittedly ambitious about his quest for champion owner - his statements betray a sense of entitlement - and for the second straight year, the nation's winningest owner in terms of races won had reached the top three finalists with his claiming-based outfit but had lost to an owner whose horses race at the sport's highest level. For the rest of the evening, Gill's table - made up of family and friends - looked on glumly, rarely applauding for any subsequent winners.

Champion owner was one of three categories that was deemed a close call heading into the evening, along with champion trainer and sprinter. The reactions of the runners-up in those divisions ranged from trainer Steve Asmussen saying his single-season record of 555 wins left him "pleased and satisfied," even though he finished second to Todd Pletcher, to trainer Paulo Lobo saying Pico Central's loss to Speightstown for champion sprinter left him "very sad."

Speightstown defeated Pico Central by 157 votes to 101 in balloting among members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National Turf Writers Association, and Daily Racing Form.

"It's terrible. I'm sad," Lobo said. "But I knew it. We were finished ever since the Breeders' Cup," which Pico Central passed and Speightstown won.

Lobo said he was deeply disappointed that Pico Central was denied a championship in a year in which he shipped from California to win three Grade 1 races in New York - the Carter, Met Mile, and Vosburgh, the latter in his only head-to-head meeting with Speightstown.

"He's the only one that's won those three Grade 1's in history," Lobo said.

Asmussen said he "wasn't surprised" by the outcome for champion trainer. Pletcher trained two Eclipse Award winners, Speightstown and the 3-year-old filly Ashado. Voters preferred Pletcher over Asmussen by 155-71.

"I'm absolutely not disappointed. We had a great year setting the record," Asmussen said. "For me, training is getting the best performance out of a horse on a given day, and that continues to be my goal. You can only do that with the ones you have control over.

"I'm at the beginning of my career. We've come a long ways in four or five years. I feel like the longer I do this, the better I'll get at it. We're moving towards more quality - that's the direction we're headed. We're going to try and acquire better-quality horses. I'm proud of the win record. It was extremely rewarding. But I'm not going to try and beat myself. We're set up to win a bunch of races this year, but I'm not going to be getting on an airplane every day."

Gill took the loss as a challenge to come back more aggressively this year. Voters preferred Ramsey over Gill, 100-79. Asked how he felt about the result, Gill answered for 15 minutes.

"I'm disappointed," Gill said. "I'm not sure what I have to do. I don't want this to sound like sour grapes. Ken Ramsey's a great guy. But I doubled him in earnings, and was seven wins off the [single-season] record. I've had the second-most and fourth-most wins in history the last two years. I'll go for 600 or 700 wins this year. If they set the bar higher, a champion shows his courage and doesn't quit.

"I'll come back every year. I will break the record. I'll put up numbers at Fair Grounds that'll never be touched. I already have the record at Gulfstream. I'll set records at Monmouth and Laurel and Charles Town and Delaware. I'm going to go into Chicago. I'm just going to keep making a statement."

Several persons stopped by Gill's table after the dinner and offered support, including Julio Canani, the trainer of champion 2-year-old filly Sweet Catomine.

"Don't quit trying," said Canani, whose son, Nick, once trained for Gill.

"They thought they had a monster before this," Gill said. "Every time they do this, it's like Frankenstein growing another body part. I'm going to come back bigger and badder."

O'Connell, who has also appeared in the movies "Stand by Me" and "Jerry Maguire," is a horse racing fan, according to the NTRA, which produces the awards. The ceremony will be televised live by Television Games Network, the cable and satellite horse racing channel.

This year will be the first time that the Eclipse Awards are broadcast live. TVG plans to broadcast 4 1/2 hours of coverage of the event, beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Through Friday, Baird had won 9,021 races. His closest rival is Jack Van Berg, who has 6,343 victories.

Baird, 69, has trained in West Virginia for 44 years, although his first winner came at Ellis Park in Kentucky, in 1961. Most of his victories have come with claiming horses that he owns or co-owns.

Baird has topped the annual trainers' standings by wins 17 times.

In 1904, brothers Louis and Charles Cella oversaw construction of Oaklawn Park, which this year celebrated its 100th anniversary by implementing a $5 million bonus for any horse who won the Rebel Stakes, Arkansas Derby and the Kentucky Derby. The bonus was claimed by Smarty Jones in the biggest payday in Thorough-bred racing history.

Oaklawn is currently owned and run by Charles J. Cella, the grandson of Charles Cella.

Horsephotos

Ghostzapper (above) and Smarty Jones are main rivals for Horse of Year, while Steve Asmussen and Todd Pletcher are top candidates for champion trainer.

Ghostzapper, the winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic, is a finalist for best older male, a division that he is certain to win, and also for sprinter, for which he is a longshot. Smarty Jones, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, is a finalist for champion 3-year-old colt.

The winners will be announced at the 34th annual Eclipse Awards dinner on Jan. 24 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The top three finalists in 10 equine and five human categories were announced on Wednesday. The finalists for Horse of the Year, however, are not announced, since that could reveal the identity of divisional champions.

But the sentiment toward Horse of the Year of the 274 voters who cast ballots this year might be reflected by the finalists in other categories. For instance, Frank Stronach, the owner and breeder of Ghostzapper, is a finalist for both champion owner and breeder, and Bobby Frankel, the colt's trainer, is also a finalist in his category.

However, Smarty Jones's connections did not make the cut. Neither Roy and Pat Chapman, whose Someday Farm bred and owned Smarty Jones, nor trainer John Servis were among the finalists in their respective divisions.

Voters are members of Daily Racing Form, the National Turf Writers Association, and racing executives from NTRA member tracks. The votes are pooled; there is no longer bloc voting, which occasionally resulted in horses without the most overall votes winning championships.

Several of the choices this year were slam dunks. Sweet Catomine, for instance, is an overwhelming favorite to be named champion 2-year-old filly. But in that category, as in all others, three finalists were announced.

Voters are asked to fill in three names per category. Only the first choice is used to determine the winner. The second- and third-place votes are used merely to determine the two other finalists, even, conceivably, in a category in which a horse received a sweep of first-place votes.

Other categories were far more difficult for voters. For instance, even though Frankel is a finalist for champion trainer and has one of the two leading candidates for Horse of the Year, he is considered an outsider for champion trainer. His rivals are Steve Asmussen, who set a single-season record for victories with 555, and Todd Pletcher, who led the nation in purse earnings and won Breeders' Cup races with Ashado and Speightstown.

Pletcher's main man, John Velazquez, is a heavy favorite to be named champion jockey over Rafael Bejarano and Edgar Prado. Conspicuous by his absence is Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey, who has won a record seven Eclipse Awards.

Ghostzapper won all four of his starts last year, ranging from the seven-furlong Tom Fool to the 1 1/4-mile Classic. That versatility made him a finalist in two categories. In the older male division, his rivals are Pleasantly Perfect, the winner of the Dubai World Cup and Pacific Classic, and Roses in May, who won the Whitney and was second in the Breeders' Cup Classic. Not making the cut was Southern Image, who won the Santa Anita Handicap and Pimlico Special but did not race the second half of the year.

Stronach (Ghostzapper) and Ken and Sarah Ramsey (Roses in May) are among the finalists for owner, but they may be overwhelmed by Michael Gill, whose claiming-based stable led the nation in earnings.

Stronach's rivals for champion breeder are Juddmonte Farms and the late John Franks.

The sprint division is one of the most hotly contested, and the announcement of a winner will be one of the hold-your-breath moments of the black-tie Eclipse Awards dinner. Although Ghostzapper is a finalist because of his Tom Fool victory, the other finalists - Pico Central and Speightstown - are considered the leading candidates.

Another hotly contested category is champion older female, where Azeri is a slight favorite over Sightseek. They split their two meetings with one another last year. The other finalist is Storm Flag Flying, who upset Azeri in the Personal Ensign.

Smarty Jones is a certainty to be named champion 3-year-old colt. The other finalists are Birdstone, who upset Smarty Jones in the Belmont Stakes and then captured the Travers, and turf specialist Kitten's Joy.

Kitten's Joy, who won 6 of 8 starts but was upset in the Breeders' Cup Turf, is the favorite to be named champion male turf horse against two Breeders' Cup winners, Better Talk Now (Turf) and Singletary (Mile).

The other finalists for 2-year-old filly against Sweet Catomine are Balletto and Runway Model, both of whom Sweet Catomine handily defeated in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Not making the cut was Splendid Blended, who won the Hollywood Starlet and was second to Sweet Catomine in the Oak Leaf Stakes.

Declan's Moon, the winner of the Hollywood Futurity, is considered the favorite to be named champion 2-year-old male. The other finalists are Afleet Alex, the winner of the Hopeful Stakes, and Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Wilko. Not making the top three were Proud Accolade, the Champagne Stakes winner, and the undefeated Rockport Harbor.

Ashado, who won the Kentucky Oaks and Breeders' Cup Distaff, is the heavy favorite to be named champion 3-year-old filly over turf specialist Ouija Board and Stellar Jayne. Not making the top three was Society Selection, who won the Test and upset Ashado in the Alabama.

Ouija Board is favored, however, to be named champion female turf runner, even though she made only one start in this country, a workmanlike victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. Her rivals are Intercontinental, the Matriarch winner, and Ticker Tape, who won two Grade 1 races, the American Oaks and Queen Elizabeth II.

Hirapour, McDynamo, and Preemptive Strike are the finalists for champion steeplechase horse.

Pablo Fragoso, Brian Hernandez Jr., and Angel Quinones are the finalists for champion apprentice jockey.

The Eclipse Awards finalists (in alphabetical order) are:

Two-Year-Old Male: Afleet Alex, Declan's Moon, Wilko

Two-Year-Old Female: Balletto (UAE), Runway Model, Sweet Catomine

Three-Year-Old Male: Birdstone, Kitten's Joy, Smarty Jones

Three-Year-Old Female: Ashado, Ouija Board (GB), Stellar Jayne

Older Male: Ghostzapper, Pleasantly Perfect, Roses in May

Older Female: Azeri, Sightseek, Storm Flag Flying

Sprinter: Ghostzapper, Pico Central (BRZ), Speightstown

Male Turf Horse: Better Talk Now, Kitten's Joy, Singletary

Female Turf Horse: Intercontinental (GB), Ouija Board (GB), Ticker Tape (GB)

Steeplechase: Hirapour (IRE), McDynamo, Preemptive Strike

Owner: Michael Gill, Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, Stronach Stables

Breeder: Adena Springs/Stronach Entities, John Franks, Juddmonte Farms

Trainer: Steve Asmussen, Robert Frankel, Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Rafael Bejarano, Edgar Prado, John Velazquez

Apprentice Jockey: Pablo Fragoso, Brian Hernandez, Jr., Angel Quinones

NTRA Commissioner D.G. Van Clief, Jr. will present the Horse of the Year trophy to the winning connections at the conclusion of the Eclipse Awards ceremony.

NBC Sports was selected for a national television broadcast of live racing, and the NBC affiliate in Louisville, Ky., WAVE, was selected for local television coverage.

ESPN won for a nationally televised feature, and Premiere Radio Networks won for audio coverage.

NBC won for its June 5 broadcast of the Belmont Stakes, in which Smarty Jones failed in his attempt to win the Triple Crown, losing to Birdstone.

ESPN was honored for a half-hour broadcast on Oct. 31 called "Smarty Jones: America's Horse."

The local award went to WAVE for its 9 1/2 hours of pre- and postrace coverage on Kentucky Derby Day.

Premiere Radio's Eclipse came for its live national coverage of the Belmont.

Jensen's Eclipse for feature writing was for a series of articles chronicling the unsuccessful Triple Crown bid of Smarty Jones.

Christine won in the news and commentary category for a Dec. 24, 2003, article, "Kayak II," detailing the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap, won by Seabiscuit. The article resurrected speculation about whether Seabiscuit's stablemate, Kayak II, was held back to allow Seabiscuit to win.

Pierson Dulay's winning photograph showed Stephan's Angel leaping off the ground before being saddled for the Miss Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. The photo appeared in the July 2004 edition of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred.

Two-year-old colt or gelding: 1. Declan's Moon; 2. Afleet Alex; 3. Wilko. With reservations. Champion 2-year-olds shouldn't duck the Breeders' Cup, and it would be nice if they'd set foot outside California. Still, Declan's Moon beat Wilko and Proud Accolade, both of whom beat Afleet Alex, so that's that.

Two-year-old filly: 1. Sweet Catomine; 2. Sense of Style; 3. Balletto. If this one isn't unanimous, there should be an investigation.

Three-year-old colt or gelding: 1. Smarty Jones; 2. Birdstone; 3. Kitten's Joy. If Birdstone had won the Breeders' Cup Classic, he would have deserved this title and Horse of the Year, but he didn't so he doesn't. These divisional titles are really not intended for grass horses, but there's no clear third choice, and Kitten's Joy deserves a mention among the best of his crop.

Three-year-old filly: 1. Ashado; 2. Ouija Board; 3. Stellar Jayne. See above for thinking on Ouija Board, a genuine champion on grass. Champion 3-year-old fillies in America are made in races such as the Kentucky Oaks, CCA Oaks, and Breeders' Cup Distaff - and Ashado won all three.

Colt, horse, or gelding, 4-year-old and up: 1. Ghostzapper; 2. Pleasantly Perfect; 3. Southern Image. This really was a pretty strong group this year - also-rans include Roses in May, Medaglia d'Oro, Peace Rules, and Funny Cide - and there's no question Ghostzapper was the best of them all.

Filly or mare, 4-year-old and up: 1. Azeri; 2. Sightseek; 3. Storm Flag Flying. That's just the way they finished in the Go For Wand on Aug. 1, and nothing changed after that. Sightseek may well have been as good as Azeri, but Azeri gets the edge for winning her three Grade 1's at different tracks and not exclusively at Belmont.

Sprinter, 3-year-old and up: 1. Pico Central; 2. Speightstown; 3. Ghostzapper. Pico Central's 3-1 edge on Speightstown in Grade 1's and his victory in their lone meeting make him the deserving choice. Off his Tom Fool, Ghostzapper might have been the year's best sprinter as well as router, but he only sprinted once.

Male turf horse, 3-year-old and up: 1. Kitten's Joy; 2. Better Talk Now; 3. Leroidesanimaux. Better Talk Now won his only face-off with the likely champion but was 1 for 7 otherwise, whereas Kitten's Joy was 6 for 7 otherwise.

Female turf horse, 3-year-old and up: 1. Ouija Board; 2. Wonder Again; 3. Intercontinental. Another case for unanimity. Ouija Board won the English Oaks, Irish Oaks, and Filly and Mare Turf, and her lone loss of the year was an excellent third to males in the Arc de Triomphe.

Breeder: 1. Frank Stronach; 2. Juddmonte Farms; 3. Phipps Stable. In a category that might be better judged by a panel of bloodstock experts, Stronach seems deserving of the nod for topping the money leaderboard by a wide margin and breeding the likely Horse of the Year.

Owner: 1. Michael Gill; 2. Ken and Sarah Ramsey; 3. Frank Stronach. With a $3 million lead in earnings and nearly four times as many victories as any other owner in the top 20 in earnings, Gill may have finally muscled his way in here - especially in the absence of an obvious choice among the stakes-based owners. The Ramseys had a wonderful year with Roses in May, Kitten's Joy, and Nothing to Lose, but all of them lost on Cup Day.

Trainer: 1. Todd Pletcher; 2. Steve Asmussen; 3. Bobby Frankel. Pletcher's two Breeders' Cup victories and national earnings lead trump Asmussen's record number of victories and another strong year for Frankel.

Jockey: 1. John Velazquez; 2. Edgar Prado; 3. Alex Solis. Same rationale as the trainer award. Solis and Jerry Bailey deserve "incompletes" for a high rate of success in injury-shortened seasons.

Apprentice jockey: 1. Pablo Fragoso; 2. Brian Hernandez Jr.; 3. Jamie Spencer. Fragoso has proven he will be an important member of the New York colony for years to come and rode on a tougher circuit than Hernandez, who had more victories. Spencer may not technically be an apprentice, but he sure rides like one in this country.

Horse of the Year: 1. Ghostzapper; 2. Smarty Jones; 3. Ouija Board. Ghostzapper's Tom Fool, Iselin, Woodward, and Classic make up a much stronger body of work than Smarty Jones's Derby and Preakness, and this award should have nothing to do with turnstile counts and television ratings. The best and fastest horse doesn't always capture the public's imagination but should be the Horse of the Year.

"This won't be your standard televised awards show," said Tony Allevato, TVG's executive producer. "Our goal is to deliver a high-energy program that captures all the highs of the 2004 horse racing season."

The Eclipse Awards dinner will be held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. The TVG coverage lasts from 6 to 10 p.m. Pacific. Nearly all of the network's on-air personalities will take part.

In recent years, TVG has partly covered the Eclipse Awards with interviews and brief takes, but this is the first time the entire event will be shown.

The good news for racing fans who have desperately missed the arguing is that Eclipse Award ballots have now been received by most members of the media, and our opinions will be offered freely from now until the Dec. 27 voting deadline. If things go well, there should be enough controversy to make everyone happy.

Traditionally, members of the media convey their opinions on who deserves to win in each voting category, with the hope of convincing other voters and the general public to agree. But that isn't the primary focus of this column. My goal is to encourage you to pin down the standards you expect a horse to meet to earn your vote, and to apply them consistently each year.

For example, how do you handle a longshot Breeders' Cup winner who only showed sub-par form coming into the race? Is his Breeders' Cup victory an automatic rubber stamp that entitles him to your vote in the applicable category, or will you choose to pass on him unless he backs that unexpected victory with a post-Breeders' Cup triumph against meaningful competition? I insist on confirmation of the upset win, but I won't be disappointed at all if you disagree with me. My point is that the situation comes up frequently, and it makes little sense to vote one way this year, and then go the opposite way next year under similar circumstances.

Ghostzapper supporters believe he deserves to be Horse of the Year because he has consistently been the fastest horse. Fans of Smarty Jones believe his public relations value is deserving of extra credit. I am not oblivious to the value of public relations, and I appreciate the fact Smarty Jones has created new racing fans, but by my standards Ghostzapper's raw talent supersedes the popularity of Smarty Jones and makes him the clear choice. If Smarty Jones rescues a couple of small children from a burning building between now and the voting deadline, I'll have to reconsider.

I have seen a tendency among my friends and colleagues to vote for horses and people who are based in the same part of the country they are located in, and I believe it is often unfair. If you truly think these horses and people stand out based on their performance over the course of the year, fine. But don't be a rubber stamp for a candidate in any category based on geographic loyalty. Your vote should be based primarily on the merits of the individual in question.

I would also like to encourage voters to put a little extra thought into the listing of the statistics we see on the people we evaluate. For example, take a look at the numbers listed for the leading apprentice jockeys. It doesn't require much thought to note that Brian Hernandez Jr. has won more races than his rivals have, with 233 trips to the winner's circle through Dec. 5. Since he has done a lot of his riding in Kentucky, any geographic bias on my part would make him the easy pick to make.

I have a lot of respect for Hernandez. But before voting for him, why not reshuffle the numbers a bit? Rather than passively accepting the idea that the total number of wins is the only way to rank these jockeys, I suggest that you take a closer look at some of the other numbers. The 1,377 horses ridden by Hernandez have earned $4,149,731. You will find Pablo Fragoso just three slots below Hernandez in the win standings, at 158. But Fragoso stands out from the pack with earnings of $6,837,772 despite having ridden just 1,111 mounts (he missed a couple of months due to injury). A check of their earnings per race shows Hernandez at $3,013, with Fragoso more than doubling that amount at $6,154. I'm going with Fragoso.

How do you handle an impressive horse who specializes in one type of race, then dabbles in another type, and beats the other specialists at their own game? The situation comes up often enough to deserve some thought. This year, if you are a big fan of Ghostzapper, you have some thinking to do in your vote for the top sprinter. Ghostzapper was a comfortable winner of the Grade 2 Tom Fool, in which he earned a 120 Beyer, a figure higher than the ones earned by the other sprinters listed in that category. He beat just three opponents that day, however, and they were not the leading contenders in the sprint category. I also believe that sprint specialists do not usually get as much respect as they deserve, so I am reluctant to go with an outsider for that award, despite his immense talent. Even though my long-term policy is to usually give the advantage to horses like Ghostzapper, I am open to the possibility of making an exception under special circumstances. In this case, I'll go with Speightstown.

And then there is top trainer.

Many have already conceded the Eclipse Award as leading trainer to Todd Pletcher. Why?

At some point, the leading trainer just became the man whose horses won the most money. Again, why?

Pletcher absolutely had a wonderful year. He capped it by winning his first two Breeders' Cup races, the Distaff with Ashado and the Sprint with Speightstown, making him the first trainer to win those two races in the same year.

Through Sunday, Pletcher had won 236 races. The stable had earned a season's best $17.3 million, nearly $700,000 more than Bobby Frankel's stable, in second place.

Is that enough to make Pletcher a lock, especially in a year with a singular achievement?

Jack Van Berg set the record for winners in a single year back in 1976. His mark of 496 winners had not really been threatened in the interim. After alternating at the top of the win standings in recent years with Scott Lake, Steve Asmussen set off after the record this year. He did not just beat the record. He blew it away.

Through Sunday, Asmussen had 535 winners. When Van Berg set the record, he had 2,362 starters. Through Sunday, Asmussen had 2,210 starters. So he broke the record with far fewer starters than the former record holder.

Trying to compare what Pletcher did to what Asmussen did, of course, is comparing apples to oranges, sort of like trying to compare Ghostzapper to Smarty Jones for Horse of the Year.

There really is no basis for comparison. The voters are given no guidelines. Every vote is completely subjective.

If you like Pletcher, you say this is a sport in which the big races matter most. You also point out that he won 43 graded stakes, including six Grade 1 stakes. If you don't like Pletcher, you say he had access to better horses that were capable of winning the big races. You say anybody could have won with those horses. You would be shortchanging Pletcher, but you could say it.

If you like Asmussen, you say he broke what looked like an unbreakable record. You could also point out that he is third in earnings with $13.6 million. You could say he won 14 graded stakes in addition to all those claiming races. You could say managing such a far-flung operation is almost impossible, but he did it better than anyone else ever has. If you don't like Asmussen, you say he was just running horses all over the place and wasn't really "training" them. You say he started so many horses that he had to win tons of races.

Of course, you could always say, hey, John Servis nearly won the Triple Crown with Smarty Jones and is fourth in earnings with $8.9 million (yes, the $5 million bonus Smarty won surely helped).

Me? I am voting for Asmussen. Most of what Pletcher did has been done before. In fact, somebody leads the country in money won every year.

Asmussen did something that had never been done. He sent out more than 500 winners. He will be in the vicinity of 560 winners at year's end. That's nearly 50 winners per month, an almost impossible pace, a pace that makes slumps impossible to overcome.

And it is that consistency that might be the most important part of Asmussen's 2004 season. Day after day, week after week, month after month, Asmussen's horses won races. They have also run second or third nearly 700 times. To summarize the numbers, Asmussen's horses through Sunday had been in the money in 1,222 of 2,210 races. That is certainly worthy of significant recognition. On my ballot, Steve Asmussen will be on the top line in the category that reads, simply, "Trainer."