In appreciation of horseplayers throughout North America, tonight we will honor John Doyle, a Scottsdale, Ariz., resident who won the $500,000 first-place prize and title of 2011 DRF/NTRA Handicapper of the Year at the 12th annual Daily Racing Form/NTRA National Handicapping Championship (NHC) last January in Las Vegas.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – With the Eclipse Awards being held in California, two of the most popular winners on Monday night were from the home team. There were rousing cheers in the ballroom at the Beverly Wilshire hotel when both Acclamation and, especially, Amazombie were announced as champions.

Both horses are California-breds, and both provided rewards for people who have been participating in the game for decades.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Havre de Grace on Monday night joined Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta by becoming the third straight female to be named Horse of the Year, a feat never before accomplished in American racing.

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History is expected to be made on Monday night at the 41st annual Eclipse Awards dinner at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., because if Havre de Grace, the perceived front-runner, does in fact make off with the coveted golden trophy for 2011 Horse of the Year, she will become the third consecutive female to win that honor, a feat never before accomplished in American racing.

[WATCH LIVE: 2011 Eclipse Awards - 8 p.m. Eastern on Monday, Jan. 16]

Havre de Grace came out on top in an online fan vote for Horse of the Year conducted by Daily Racing Form and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the two organizations announced Friday. The vote was part of a free-to-enter sweepstakes that required fans to select the horse they felt deserved to win the 2011 Horse of the Year Award, which will be announced Monday in Beverly Hills, Calif., at the 41st annual Eclipse Awards dinner.

The Stronach Group, the private company formed from the gambling assets of MI Developments, will sponsor the Eclipse Awards ceremony for the next two years, including this year, the event’s administrators announced on Thursday.

As part of the sponsorship agreement, the Eclipse Awards ceremony in 2013 will be held at Gulfstream Park, the Hallandale, Fla., track owned by the Stronach Group. The track’s grandstand includes a theater designed to host events.