Those who watched the races from Churchill Downs on Sept. 14 were probably not surprised that an Eclipse Award finalist in the 2-year-old male division competed that day. They may be surprised that the finalist is Maxfield and not Dennis’ Moment.

Though the Eclipse Award in the 2-year-old male division has always gone to a dirt horse, Structor stated his case for change in 2019.

Structor was one of eight 2-year-olds to win a Grade 1 stakes in 2019, his coming in the $1 million Breeders Cup’ Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita on Nov. 1. That capped a perfect 3 for 3 campaign for Structor which included a maiden win at Saratoga in August and the Grade 3 Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont Park in September.

Julio Correa established himself as the top apprentice rider in the United States last year when he won 126 races. For the accomplishment, he is a 2019 Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice jockey in North America, alongside Angel Diaz, who is based in Puerto Rico, and Kazushi Kimura, who competes in Canada.

Maximum Security’s story seems almost made up – debuts for $16,000, for which anyone could have claimed him, goes on to finish first in the Kentucky Derby (only to earn the dubious distinction of being the first horse disqualified for an infraction in the race), has a severe medical emergency that keeps him out of a major race, yet returns in the fall to win twice.

That’s not a campaign. It’s a soap opera.

Owing to a promising 2-year-old campaign in which he finished second in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes in his second and final start, much was expected from Code of Honor coming into his 3-year-old year. So when he belly flopped in his 2019 debut in the Mucho Macho Man, finishing fourth of six at 4-5, questions understandably were raised about whether he had progressed from 2 to 3.

Omaha Beach was one of the best 3-year-olds in the land in the spring, when he won the Arkansas Derby and wound up as the morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby, and in the fall, when he returned from a layoff of nearly six months to win a Grade 1 sprint, and in the winter, when he won yet another Grade 1 race. He began the racing year in January and ended it in December, overcoming several twists and turns along the way, with his talent and the skill of his Hall of Fame trainer, Richard Mandella, winning out more often than not.

Serengeti Empress danced many of the major dances for fillies in 2019 – and, on the day of her division’s signature race, she was the queen.

Storm the Court has been a longshot in all of his races. But given how he performed in two of them, he is the likely favorite to win the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male.

Guarana’s campaign was brief, but dazzling. From April to September, the filly made four starts, winning a pair of Grade 1 events, and posting Beyer Speed Figures of 90 or higher in each outing. She shone bright enough to be voted a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding 3-year-old filly.

Guarana, a daughter of 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, races as a homebred for Three Chimneys Farm. The filly was, appropriately enough, turned over to trainer Chad Brown, who worked with Ghostzapper as an assistant to the late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel.

Lightning struck twice for Graham Motion when Sharing upset the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last fall.

Motion also trained the filly’s dam, Shared Account, to win the 2010 BC Filly and Mare at 46-1.

“I’m so appreciative of this filly,” Motion said after Sharing surged to a 1 1/4-length triumph at 13-1 in the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita. “Shared Account meant so much to me.”

Sharing was named a finalist for the Eclipse Award for 2-year-old filly of 2019.