Bill Mott, a Hall of Famer now for decades, turned 70 last July. It is never too late to explore new places, and during 2023, Mott went somewhere he’d never been, his $17.43 million in stable earnings the highest mark of a long career.

Mott’s stable during 2022 racked up 26 graded stakes wins, the highest yearly figure of his career and a far cry from 2017 and 2018 when he won, respectively, nine and eight graded stakes. Things did not slow down in 2023, with 24 graded stakes wins, including 10 individual Grade 1 winners.

If Brad Cox is not named champion trainer of 2023, it will be largely because Cox has become a victim of his own success.

Cox has trained more than 200 winners the last seven years. His runners earned a staggering $30.9 million during 2023, more than Cox’s stable earnings of $23.8 million in 2022, less than the $31.7 million he reached in 2021. Cox won 30 graded stakes during 2023, the fourth straight year he has won 30 or more graded races.

Gone are the days when Chad Brown battled against the label of turf trainer. Brown has plenty of high-end horses for the main track now. Nonetheless, his bread and butter remains green.

Brown ranked sixth among American trainers in 2023 wins with 206. Narrow the standings to turf races, and Brown was the runaway leader, his 113 wins 21 more than Phil D’Amato’s second-leading total.

:: Full list of 2023 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

Jaime A. Torres wrapped up his riding apprenticeship in October, and the $4,255,679 in mount earnings he won with the bug last year is one of the central reasons he is an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice jockey of 2023.

The total ranked second among all North American-based apprentices in 2023, and it was achieved in less than a calendar year as Torres began riding as a journeyman on Oct. 15.

:: Full list of 2023 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

Sofia Vives is an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice jockey of 2023 because of the wins and mount earnings she compiled while riding in Canada.

Vives, a 21-year-old native of South Carolina, ranked second in wins among North American-based apprentices last year, with 122 from 764 starts. She racked up $3,569,901 in mount earnings in 2023 to rank fourth in that category after wrapping up her season Dec. 17.

Axel Concepcion is an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice jockey of 2023 after a year in which he led his division in both wins and mount earnings and also secured the spring riding title at Laurel Park.

Concepcion is an 18-year-old native of Puerto Rico. He compiled a record of 198 wins from 1,002 starts last year, for mount earnings of $5,172,124. He started 2023 with a Jan. 19 win at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, and by February was based in Maryland.

Flavien Prat went on a Grade 1-winning tear in 2023, accounting for 13 such races with 12 different horses at tracks across the United States. For his performance at the highest level of the game, he is an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding jockey of 2023.

Prat, a 31-year-old native of France, won Grade 1 races in Arkansas, California, Kentucky, and New York. His first of the year came in the Beholder Mile aboard A Mo Reay in March at Santa Anita. He scored his final Grade 1 of the year at the same track with Speed Boat Beach in the Malibu on Dec. 26.

Irad Ortiz Jr. has won four Eclipse Awards for outstanding jockey throughout his career to establish himself as one of racing’s most successful riders. But he’s not one to rest on his laurels.

Ortiz once again is the front-runner for North America’s champion jockey on the heels of a 2023 in which he set a single-season record for mount earnings with $39,192,585, led his peers in wins with 366 from 1,560 starts, and captured three individual Breeders’ Cup races, topped by the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Tyler Gaffalione achieved two significant career firsts in 2023 that played a role in him being voted an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding jockey.

Gaffalione won his first Kentucky Oaks in May, when he guided Pretty Mischievous to a neck victory in the filly classic. By year’s end, Gaffalione had compiled $29,980,952 in mount earnings, which represented his highest total since he began riding in 2014.

Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet again showed its quality at the top levels of the sport in 2023, finishing second to fellow finalist Godolphin by both Grade 1 wins and overall graded stakes wins in North America.

Stonestreet bred and raised Goodnight Olive, who is a favorite to repeat as Eclipse Award champion female sprinter. The mare scored a repeat victory in the PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Santa Anita to line herself up for the honor.