Tue, 01/08/2013 - 18:45

2012 Eclipse Awards: Zagora

photo by: Emily Shields

By the time Zagora left Saratoga last season, her year was reaching a crescendo. She had already won four stakes on turf and finished third in the Grade 1 Diana Stakes to stake a rightful place among the nation’s top turf females.

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 18:45

2012 Eclipse Awards: Point of Entry

photo by: Tom Keyser

When he stepped onto the Gulfstream Park grass course in February to make his first start of 2012, Point of Entry had never even run in a turf stakes race, and when he stepped off after finishing fourth in a second-level allowance race, there was no obvious reason to believe Point of Entry was on a fast track to su

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 18:45

2012 Eclipse Awards: Godolphin Racing LLC

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 18:45

2012 Eclipse Awards: Little Mike

photo by: Barbara D. Livingston

It wasn’t until a few days before Breeders’ Cup Saturday that trainer Dale Romans even decided Little Mike would start in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 18:45

2012 Eclipse Awards: Demonstrative

photo by: Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Oh what might have been.

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 18:45

2012 Eclipse Awards: Wise Dan

photo by: Barbara D. Livingston

What do Eclipse Award voters do with a runner whose record is only a head away from being flawless, who traveled far and wide to win in Kentucky, New York, Canada, and California, whose people classed up the game and let their horse do the talking?

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 18:45

2012 Eclipse Awards: Dale Romans

Dale Romans didn’t lead all trainers in earnings in 2012, nor did he win the most graded stakes races.

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 18:45

2012 Eclipse Awards: I'll Have Another

photo by: Justin N. Lane

He won the Robert Lewis Stakes, but few believed. Even after he won the Santa Anita Derby, doubts remained, so much so that he was only the ninth choice among 20 in the Kentucky Derby. And even after winning that race, he will wasn’t favored in the Preakness.

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 18:45

2012 Eclipse Awards: Todd Pletcher

Todd Pletcher’s position as an Eclipse Award finalist for North America’s outstanding trainer can be described in three words: familiar but fitting.

Although his presence among the final trio is certainly nothing new, it is deserving. Pletcher, a five-time Eclipse Award winner, leads North American trainers with his horses having earned more than $20 million and having won 42 graded stakes.

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 18:45

2012 Eclipse Awards: Fort Larned

photo by: Susie Raisher

Behold the virtues of patience. It took Fort Larned 13 races to become known outside his own barn and 17 races to be recognized as a horse of national consequence.