San Luis Rey fire response voted 2017 NTRA Moment of the Year

The racing and equine community’s response to the December fire that swept through San Luis Rey Training Center in Southern California has been voted the 2017 Moment of the Year, according to the organization that administers the award, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

The Dec. 7 fire, which killed 46 Thoroughbreds at the training center, galvanized members of the racing and equine communities nationwide, with thousands of individuals providing assistance or funding to the relief effort.

The fire was one of 13 events of 2017 that the NTRA identified as eligible for the Moment of the Year. Voting was conducted on the organization’s website and through the use of Twitter. According to the NTRA, the fire garnered 843 of the 3,303 total votes cast, or 25.5 percent. The second-place finisher, Arrogate’s victory in the Dubai World Cup, received 536 votes, or 16 percent.

Representatives of the Moment of the Year are normally recognized during the annual Eclipse Awards ceremony. This year, the responders who assisted in the relief efforts in California, along with those who participated in relief efforts for horses in Puerto Rico who were affected last year by Hurricane Maria, are already scheduled to be honored and memorialized with a Special Eclipse Award at the awards ceremony on Thursday night at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.