[bc_playlist_id:241899:] HORSE OF THE YEAR Havre de Grace Havre de Grace on Monday night joined Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta by becoming the third straight female to be named Horse of the Year, a feat never before accomplished in American racing. Read Full Article » Votes: Havre de Grace, 166; Acclamation, 26; Game On Dude, 10 2-year-old male Hansen On Nov. 5, in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Hansen played the national stage for the first time and registered his most courageous win, holding off the heavily favored Union Rags by a head. View Full Profile » Votes: Hansen, 194; Union Rags, 52; Secret Circle, 1 2-year-old female My Miss Aurelia The good ones – the real good ones – have the uncanny knack of revealing themselves early. Such was the case with My Miss Aurelia. If My Miss Aurelia’s debut was promising, her next victory in the Adirondack Stakes proved she was for real. View Full Profile » Votes: My Miss Aurelia, 247; Stephanie’s Kitten, 1 3-year-old male Animal Kingdom Despite being sent off at 20-1 in the Derby, Animal Kingdom won like a 2-1 shot, scoring an emphatic 2 3/4-length victory under John Velazquez that was so impressive he was favored in the next two legs of the Triple Crown. View Full Profile » Votes: Animal Kingdom, 114; Caleb’s Posse, 111; Shackleford, 12 3-year-old female Royal Delta After looking sensational in capturing the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Churchill Downs, everyone could plainly see what a truly great performer Royal Delta was. View Full Profile » Votes: Royal Delta, 243; Awesome Feather, 2; Plum Pretty, 2 Older male Acclamation On turf, Acclamation was virtually unbeatable in 2011. In five appearances on turf, all in California, Acclamation won four consecutive graded stakes. On the main track, he won Del Mar’s biggest race for older horses, the Pacific Classic. View Full Profile » Votes: Acclamation, 95; Game On Dude, 70; Tizway, 52 Older female Havre de Grace Havre de Grace had a championship quality 2011 season that combined attributes of towering predecessors, Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, plus a few grand flourishes of her own. View Full Profile » Votes: Havre de Grace, 245; Blind Luck, 2; Awesome Maria, 1 Male turf Cape Blanco Cape Blanco was already a multiple Group 1 stakes winner when he made his first trip to the United States in July 2011. Less than three months later, by Oct. 1, he had won three consecutive Grade 1 stakes to outdo his previous accomplishments and earn a nomination as finalist for champion turf male of 2011. View Full Profile » Votes: Cape Blanco (IRE), 172; Acclamation, 55; St Nicholas Abbey (IRE), 16 Female turf Stacelita Expectations were high for Stacelita upon her arrival to the United States, and she more than met them, earning the Eclipse Award for top female turf runner. View Full Profile » Votes: Stacelita (FR), 158; Perfect Shirl, 28; Never Retreat, 25 Male sprinter Amazombie A mere throw-in in a $5,000 two-horse deal as a yearling, Amazombie turned back all comers in winning the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs to cap an unforgettable season for his trainer, Bill Spawr. View Full Profile » Votes: Amazombie, 201; Caleb’s Posse, 42; Regally Ready, 2 Female sprinter Musical Romance Musical Romance had 14 starts and 5 wins capped by a decisive victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint that boosted the filly from anonymity to Eclipse Award winner as outstanding female sprinter. View Full Profile » Votes: Musical Romance, 131; Hilda’s Passion, 53; Sassy Image, 46 Steeplechase horse Black Jack Blues In three weeks, Black Jack Blues did more than any other 2011 American steeplechase starter. He won his only two starts, both stakes, earned $171,000, and laid waste to the best field of the season. View Full Profile » Votes: Black Jack Blues (IRE), 137; Tax Ruling, 80; Decoy Daddy (IRE), 1 Trainer Bill Mott The key to Mott’s good performance this year is that he came on very strong late in the year with six of his 15 graded stakes wins earned in November,including the BC Ladies' Classic.View Full Profile » Votes: Bill Mott, 83; Bob Baffert, 60; Todd Pletcher, 57 Owner Ken and Sarah Ramsey Ken and Sarah Ramsey's decision to breed many of their mares to 2004 Turf Male Champion Kitten’s Joy has paid off, and in 2011 they enjoyed their biggest successes with homebreds by the stallion Ken Ramsey has called “the family stallion.” View Full Profile » Votes: Ken and Sarah Ramsey, 66; Midwest Thoroughbreds, 60; Team Valor International, 25 Breeder Adena Springs Frank Stronach’s far-flung breeding operation continued to dominate North American racing in 2011, ending the season well ahead in every category. View Full Profile » Votes: Adena Springs, 151; Ken and Sarah Ramsey, 62; Ocala Stud, 5 Jockey Ramon Dominguez As rewarding as 2010 was, 2011 proved even more lucrative for the 35-year-old Dominguez. He was the second-leading rider in North America by victories, and he again led in money won, with his mounts earning more than $19.4 million. View Full Profile » Votes: Ramon Dominguez, 197; John Velazquez, 30; Javier Castellano, 14 Apprentice jockey Kyle Frey Frey began working with horses just three years ago but won 153 races in his first full season of riding in 2011 to earn recognition as the Eclipse Award winner for champion apprentice jockey. View Full Profile » Votes: Kyle Frey, 77; Ryan Curatolo, 57; Rosario Montanez, 19 Handicapper John Doyle John Doyle won the $500,000 first-place prize and title of 2011 DRF/NTRA Handicapper of the Year at the 12th annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) last January in Las Vegas. View Full Profile » Award of Merit and Special Award Award of Merit – Cot Campbell Special Eclipse Award – Rapid Redux Media Eclipse Awards Photography – Bob Mayberger, Sports Illustrated Snapshot; “A.P. Smithwick Memorial Stakes,” August 4, 2011. Writing – Feature/Commentary - Claire Novak, ESPN.com; “Pressure off Durkin at Belmont,” June 10, 2011. Writing - News/Enterprise – Jennie Rees, Louisville Courier-Journal; “Breeders’ Cup 2011: Jockeys Rein in Their Emotions,”   October 30, 2011. Television - Live Racing - ESPN, “The Breeders’ Cup Classic”; Mike McQuade, Coordinating Producer; November 5, 2011. Television - Feature - HRTV, “Inside Information: Randy Romero,” Amy Zimmerman, Executive Producer; December 26, 2010. Audio and Multi-Media Internet – Thoroughbred Times, “On the Scene,” November 1-6, 2011 Breeders’ Cup; Tom Law and Greg Charkoudian, co-producers.