Benjamin Leon of Besilu Stables set out to make an impact when he spent a combined $30,575,000 at the 2011 Keeneland September yearling sale and November breeding stock sale to bolster his young program.

Leon saw immediate success with Royal Delta, whom he bought for $8.5 million and campaigned to an Eclipse Award for champion older female the following year. However, one could argue that the biggest imprint left by the Besilu program came several years later with 2017 Horse of the Year finalist Gun Runner.

Hector Diaz Jr. might have launched his riding career later than most, but his maturity worked to his advantage last year as he established himself as one of the top apprentices in North America. For his accomplishments, he is a finalist for the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice of 2017.

Diaz, a 27-year-old from Puerto Rico, won 74 races from 697 starts during his initial season of riding, with those mounts earning more than $2.6 million. He placed second in apprentice earnings last year in North America, trailing only Southern California-based phenom Evin Roman.

Katie Clawson rode just eight months last year, but made her mark on racing. She was the second-leading apprentice in North America with 82 wins, and her $1,859,444 in mount earnings ranked third among her peers. For the memorable season, Clawson is an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice of 2017.

Clawson is a 20-year-old native of Arizona who grew up in Indiana. She wintered last year at Oaklawn Park, where she ranked as the meet’s leading apprentice, and then made a splash at Indiana Grand.

Evin Roman started 2017 as an unknown apprentice testing the waters in Southern California. By year’s end, he had won five riding titles on one of the toughest circuits in North America.

For his accomplishments, Roman is an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice of 2017.

Roman also led all apprentices in wins, with 161, and mount earnings, with $5 million, through Dec. 29. The 19-year-old won his first race in January in his native Puerto Rico, then made his way to Santa Anita, where he picked up his first Southern California victory Feb. 18.

Scorpiancer had a brief but brilliant campaign in 2017.

The 8-year-old gelding made just two starts, less than a month apart, and won two of the most prestigious American jump races at the start of the season – the Grade 3 Temple Gwathmey Handicap at Middleburg, S.C., on April 22, and the Grade 1 Calvin Houghland Iroquois Steeplechase at Percy Warner Park, outside of Nashville, Tenn., on May 13.

That was it. Despite the short campaign, Scorpiancer is a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the outstanding steeplechaser of 2017.

One thrilling race in New Jersey in the fall defined the year for the 11-year-old Mr. Hot Stuff, a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding steeplechaser of 2017.

Mr. Hot Stuff struggled through his first four starts of the year, with only a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Temple Gwathmey Handicap in South Carolina to show for his effort. Then came the Grade 1 Grand National Stakes at Far Hills in New Jersey in October. In the 4:57.40 needed to run the 2 5/8 miles, Mr. Hot Stuff claimed his first major win since 2013.

From minor handicaps to Grade 1 races, All the Way Jose was part of the 2017 steeplechase season from start to finish in 2017.

All the Way Jose ran in four consecutive Grade 1 races in the summer and fall and won his first race at that level in the Grade 1 Lonesome Glory Handicap on Sept. 21 at Belmont Park. For the season, All the Way Jose is a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding steeplechaser of 2017.

Just when it seems there are few statistical accomplishments left for Chad Brown to surpass, he raises the bar again. That was the case for Brown in 2017, with his horses having won more than $26.2 million in purse money, bettering his previous high in 2016, when his stable won more than $23.1 million and he earned an Eclipse Award as champion trainer. He is a finalist to win his second consecutive Eclipse Award.

Steve Asmussen started diffferent 489 horses in 2017, the most of any North American trainer, but it was his stellar training and management of one in particular, Horse of the Year favorite Gun Runner, that highlighted his year and made him an Eclipse Award finalist.

Propelled by the early-season success of Arrogate, winner of the Pegasus World Cup and Dubai World Cup, Hall of Fame trainer Baffert finished 2017 with the richest yearly haul of earnings of his prestigious career, with his stable making more than $21.1 million in North America and more than $27.3 million when earnings from the Dubai World Cup are included. His success in 2017 has made Baffert a finalist for his fifth Eclipse Award as champion trainer.