2020 Eclipse Awards finalists: Authentic's coattails are long

Authentic, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic, the top older horse Improbable, and the top older mare Monomoy Girl are the finalists for the 2020 Horse of the Year, it was announced Saturday by the three organizations which vote for the Eclipse Awards, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.

Authentic is favored to capture Horse of the Year when the winners are revealed the night of Jan. 28, but all three Horse of the Year finalists are favored in their respective divisions – Authentic for 3-year-old male, Improbable for older dirt male, and Monomoy Girl for older dirt female.

Authentic’s rivals for 3-year-old male are Nadal, who was unbeaten in four starts and won a division of the Arkansas Derby, and Tiz the Law, whose biggest wins came in the Belmont Stakes and Travers.

Improbable, who was second to Authentic in the Breeders’ Cup Classic but won three Grade 1 races, finds as his other finalists for champion older dirt male Maximum Security, winner of the Saudi Cup and Pacific Classic, and Vekoma, who won the Carter and Met Mile.

Monomoy Girl, who capped her year with a second victory in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, is seeking her second Eclipse Award, having taken the title as champion 3-year-old filly of 2018. Her fellow finalists for champion older dirt female are the 2019 divisional champion, Midnight Bisou, as well as Serengeti Empress. Not making the cut in that division was Ce Ce, who was the only older dirt female besides Monomoy Girl to win two Grade 1 races in 2020.

:: Full list of 2020 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

The top three finalists in all 17 Eclipse Award categories – 12 for horses, five for humans – were announced Saturday on TVG. There were 249 eligible voters, of whom 238 returned ballots by Jan. 4. Voters must choose three candidates, in order of preference, for each division. Those selections are totaled on a 10-5-1 point system to ascertain the top three finalists, but only first-place votes are used to determine each champion.

Serengeti Empress and Vekoma are two of three horses named as finalists in two divisions.

In addition to older dirt male, Vekoma is up for champion male sprinter along with Volatile and Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Whitmore. Not making the cut in that division was Malibu winner Charlatan.

Serengeti Empress is a finalist for top female sprinter, along with Gamine, who won three Grade 1 races including the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, and Glass Slippers, a European import who beat males in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Not making the cut in that division was Bell’s the One, who won the Derby City Distaff.

Like Serengeti Empress and Vekoma, Gamine is a finalist in two categories. She also is a finalist for champion 3-year-old filly, in which Preakness winner Swiss Skydiver is favored. Shedaresthedevil, who beat both Swiss Skydiver and Gamine in the Kentucky Oaks, is the other finalist.

Success in the Breeders’ Cup was paramount in both 2-year-old categories.

Essential Quality, who won the Juvenile, and Fire At Will, who won the Juvenile Turf, are the finalists for champion 2-year-old male along with two-time Grade 1 winner Jackie’s Warrior.

Similarly, Vequist, who won the Juvenile Fillies, and Aunt Pearl, who won the Juvenile Fillies Turf, are finalists for champion 2-year-old filly along with Juvenile Fillies runner-up Dayoutoftheoffice.

Channel Maker, the only two-time Grade 1 winner in his division, is a finalist for champion older male turf horse along with Order of Australia, the longshot winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile in his lone U.S. appearance, and Zulu Alpha, who won the Pegasus World Cup Turf.

Audarya and Rushing Fall, the top two finishers in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, and Tarnawa, who beat males in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, are the finalists for champion female turf horse, pitting a pair of European imports who made one start in this country against U.S.-based Rushing Fall. Not making the cut in this division was Starship Jubilee, who beat males in the Woodbine Mile and then stumbled at the start and lost her rider in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Most of the categories were fairly obvious in terms of the finalists, though there were, as often happens, a few surprises.

Perhaps the most glaring was the omission of Gary Barber as a finalist for champion owner, even though he led all owners with seven Grade 1 wins alone or in partnership, and has an excellent chance to end up with two divisional champions in Channel Maker and Vequist, both of whom he owns in partnership with Adam Wachtel.

The three finalists for owner are the group that campaigned Authentic (Spendthrift Farm, MyRacehorse Stable, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing), as well as Godolphin, whose lone finalist is likely champ Essential Quality, and defending champion Klaravich Stables, which campaigned 2019 Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar but has zero 2020 finalists. WinStar Farm, which had five Grade 1 winners alone or in partnership, and Michael Dubb, who had four Grade 1 winners in partnerships, also missed the cut.

Almost nearly as surprising is that Chad Brown, the four-time reigning champion, is not a finalist for champion trainer even though his 12 Grade 1 victories last year were second only to the 16 of Bob Baffert, who is a finalist along with Steve Asmussen and Brad Cox. Baffert has strong chances with his trainees Authentic, Gamine, and Improbable, while Cox has Essential Quality and Monomoy Girl as his best chances.

The potential impact of Authentic’s campaign could be profound. In addition to his trainer and ownership group being finalists, so too are his breeder and jockey.

Peter Blum Thoroughbreds, which bred Authentic, is a finalist along with Calumet Farm, which bred Zulu Alpha, and WinStar Farm, whose finalists include Shedaresthedevil and Swiss Skydiver.

John Velazquez, who rode Authentic to his biggest wins, and also was the regular rider for Gamine, is a finalist for champion jockey along with Irad Ortiz Jr., the defending two-time champion whose potential 2020 champions include Improbable and Whitmore, and Joel Rosario, who rode Vequist in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and led all riders with 11 Grade 1 victories. Not making the cut were Luis Saez, who was second with nine Grade 1 wins, and Javier Castellano, third with eight Grade 1 wins.

Luis Cardenas, Yarmarie Correa, and Alexander Crispin are the finalists for champion apprentice jockey.

Moscato, Rashaan, and Snap Decision are the finalists for champion steeplechase horse.