2016 Eclipse Awards: Juddmonte Farms

Prince Khalid bin Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms has developed into a global superpower over the course of four decades and arguably had North America’s most electrifying runners on dirt and turf in 2016.

On the main track, Arrogate ascended to the top of the 3-year-old division with a 13 1/2-length thrashing of his opponents in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes and put himself in the Horse of the Year discussion with a win over California Chrome in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Homebred Flintshire once again showed himself to be a dynamic runner in North America’s turf ranks, winning the Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes and the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes, along with the Grade 2 Bowling Green Stakes. He finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

:: Eclipse Awards: 2016 finalists with profiles

Juddmonte Farms was North America’s leading owner by earnings, with $7,199,865 in 2016. That figure was helped by 22 wins in 95 starts, both the second fewest of the top 15 earners.

The farm’s dedication to the very top of racing’s spectrum is best displayed by Juddmonte’s position as the leader by graded stakes earnings, with $6,262,510. The figure accounted for 87 percent of the operation’s earnings for 2016.

Juddmonte Farms is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award for outstanding owner, receiving the honor in 1992 and 2003. This is the operation’s seventh time as a finalist in the category since 2000.

The farm also earned the outstanding breeder Eclipse in 2001-03 and 2009.