Led by Flightline’s spectacular victory in Saturday’s $6 million Classic, the results of some Breeders’ Cup races last Friday and Saturday at Keeneland helped clearly define champions in certain divisions. But in light of the dominant performances of European-based turf runners in the Breeders’ Cup, other divisions seem to lack a clear standout in the race for year-end Eclipse Awards. The Eclipse Awards are voted on by members of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, whose bloc includes field staff at Equibase. Ballots typically go out in December and are due just after New Year’s. The Eclipse Awards ceremony will be held Jan. 26 at The Breakers Palm Beach, a resort in Florida. Flightline’s 8 1/4-length victory capped a perfect 3-for-3 season, one in which he was brilliant winning the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap and otherworldly taking the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar. His devastating Classic victory should make him a unanimous choice for Horse of the Year and older dirt male champion. In other years, both Olympiad, a winner of five graded stakes and runner-up in the Classic, and Life Is Good, a three-time Grade 1 stakes winner who finished fifth in the Classic, would have had Eclipse worthy campaigns. Besides Horse of the Year and older dirt male, here is a look at the other divisions: :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2022: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more for each division 2-year-old male: In a head-to-head match-up of two-time Grade 1 winners, Forte beat Cave Rock by 1 1/2 lengths in the $2 million Juvenile. Forte also won the Hopeful and Breeders’ Futurity and was 4 for 5 overall. 2-year-old female: Wonder Wheel’s decisive three-length victory over Leave No Trace in Friday’s $2 million Juvenile Fillies not only was her second Grade 1 win of the year, but also avenged her lone defeat, which came to Leave No Trace, in the Grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga. Wonder Wheel won the Grade 1 Alcibiades and the listed Debutante Stakes in a campaign that saw her win four of five starts. 3-year-old male: Aside from his unfortunate injury suffered midway down the backstretch of the Classic, Epicenter was the most consistent 3-year-old to run all year. Prior to the Classic, he had four wins - the Grade 1 Travers, Grade 2 Jim Dandy, Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, and Grade 2 Risen Star - and was second in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Taiba won two Grade 1s - the Santa Anita Derby and Pennsylvania Derby - and finished best (third) among the 3-year-olds in the Classic. Cyberknife was a two-time Grade 1 winner (Arkansas Derby and Haskell) and finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Rich Strike won the Kentucky Derby, Mo Donegal the Belmont and Wood Memorial, and Early Voting the Preakness. 3-year-old female: Despite her fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Distaff, Nest won three Grade 1s - the Ashland, Coaching Club American Oaks, and Alabama - as well as two other graded stakes and was second in the Belmont Stakes, which should be enough to win the 3-year-old filly title. She twice defeated Secret Oath, who beat her in the Kentucky Oaks, and Nest finished one position ahead of her in the Distaff. Older dirt female:  Malathaat’s stirring nose victory over Blue Stripe and Clairiere in the Distaff was her third consecutive Grade 1 triumph and should carry her to an Eclipse Award in the older dirt female division. She and Clairiere split four decisions in 2022, with Malathaat beating her in the Personal Ensign and Breeders’ Cup and finishing second to her in the Grade 1 Odgen Phipps and Grade 2 Shuvee. Turf male: The U.S.-based runners in this division were suspect all year long. The divisional title figures to come down to Modern Games and Rebel’s Romance, who were magnificent winning Saturday’s Mile and Turf, respectively. :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! Modern Games gets the edge because he owns an additional Grade 1 victory in North America having taken the Woodbine Mile in October. His only European victory came in the Group 1 French 2000 Guineas Rebel’s Romance did go 5 for 5 on turf, with two Group 1 wins in Germany. The most accomplished U.S.-based male turf runner in 2022 may have been Count Again, who won the Shoemaker and Kilroe Mile - both Grade 1 stakes at Santa Anita - and the Grade 3 Thunder Road. He did not race beyond May 30. Turf female: This could be an interesting race. In Italian was a two-time Grade 1 winner this year (Diana and First Lady) and was a strong second behind Europe’s 3-year-old filly Tuesday in the BC Filly and Mare Turf. In Italian also won the Grade 3 Honey Fox and was third in the Grade 1 Just a Game. War Like Goddess was third to Rebel’s Romance in the Turf but beat males in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and beat her own gender in the Grade 2 Glens Falls and Grade 3 Bewitch. Regal Glory was a two-time Grade 1 winner and won the Grade 3 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf but finished 10th in the Mile. Bleecker Street won four graded stakes, including the Grade 1 New York. She was done for the year after a third-place finish in the Diana. Female sprinter: Goodnight Olive, by virtue of her win in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint and Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga is the likely female sprint champion. She has won all five of her starts in 2022. Defending female sprint champion Ce Ce won two graded sprint stakes - no Grade 1s - and was fourth in the Filly and Mare Sprint. It would be out of the box, but Caravel beat males in the Turf Sprint and has five victories - three turf, two synthetic - for the season. Male sprinter:  Jackie’s Warrior’s four graded stakes wins earlier in the year, including Grade 1 scores in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt and Grade 1 Churchill Downs - will try to stand up in the wake of finishing the year with a second to Cody’s Wish in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga and a third to Elite Power in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Jackie’s Warrior won last year’s sprint title despite a sixth-place finish in the Sprint. Elite Power’s five-race win streak included a victory in a weak renewal of the Grade 2 Vosburgh at Aqueduct. :: Get Daily Racing Form Past Performances – the exclusive home of Beyer Speed Figures Cody’s Wish followed his Forego victory by winning the BC Dirt Mile, but that could hardly be considered a sprint as it was run around two turns. Cody’s Wish did win two one-turn mile stakes including the Grade 3 Westchester at Belmont and Hanshin Stakes at Churchill Downs. Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr., a three-time winner in this category, seems like a lock. He has already set a North American record for purse money won ($34,628,316), has 74 stakes wins - two shy of Garret Gomez’s one-year record, and has won 48 graded stakes, 20 of which were Grade 1s. Trainer: This could be interesting. Chad Brown has won 228 races from 854 starters, 62 stakes, 49 graded (including the Preakness and one Breeders’ Cup), and has $29,750,919 in purse money earned. He could have two champions (Goodnight Olive and In Italian). Brown has 17 Grade 1 stakes wins. Todd Pletcher has won 201 races from 890 starters, 56 stakes, 34 graded (including the Belmont and two Breeders’ Cups) and has $28,325,399 in earnings. He is likely to have three champions (Forte, Malathaat, and Nest). Pletcher has 16 Grade 1 stakes wins. Steve Asmussen leads all trainers in wins with 350 (45 graded stakes) and has $26,357,115. John Sadler did train the Horse of the Year in Flightline. Owner: Godolphin Racing’s four Breeders’ Cup wins give it 22 graded stakes wins on the year. Godolphin also leads all owners with $14,907,858 in earnings. Peter Brant (17 graded stakes win), Seth Klarman (12 graded stakes wins), Mike Repole (10 graded stakes wins including various partnerships), and Flightline’s group of Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, Jane Lyon’s Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing are all in the conversation. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.