2019 Eclipse Awards: Gary Barber

Former MGM executive Gary Barber is the co-founder of Spyglass Entertainment, for which he was among the executive producers of “Seabiscuit.” Barber’s Grade 1 performers placed him among the finalists for the 2019 Eclipse Award as outstanding owner.

His stable was led by the tenacious Got Stormy, who put together an ambitious campaign from March to December and won two stakes in the span of a week at Saratoga – the De La Rose against her fellow turf distaffers, followed by a course record-shattering performance over males in the Grade 1 Fourstardave. After running second in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile and Breeders’ Cup Mile, she captured the Grade 1 Matriarch to conclude her season.

:: Full list of 2019 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

The Barber-owned War of Will had an adventurous spring, first establishing himself as a prominent Kentucky Derby candidate with a pair of graded stakes wins before running ninth in the Louisiana Derby. Caught in the scrum in the Kentucky Derby that resulted in Maximum Security’s disqualification, he ran eighth, then bounced back two weeks later to win the Preakness Stakes.

Barber also owned Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Belvoir Bay, a survivor of the horrific Lilac Fire that engulfed San Luis Rey Downs in December 2017. The mare was one of several horses who were set free to escape the flames and remained unaccounted for for several days.

Barber, who also campaigned graded stakes winners Miss Mo Mentum and Power Gal in 2019, finished third among owners by earnings not including partnerships. In partnership, Barber, born in 1957 in South Africa, owned Grade 1 winner Channel Maker, Grade 2 winner Shotski, multiple stakes winner Needs Supervision, and Grade 1-placed steeplechaser Belisarius.