Everywhere you look in the horse racing media these days, writers and bloggers are weighing in on their choice for 2010 Horse of the Year. Today, the finalists for the 2010 Eclipse Awards were announced, and officially the finalists in the Horse of the Year category are: Blame, Goldikova (IRE), and Zenyatta.
The 4-year-old Blame, owned and bred by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, held off the fast closing 6-year-old mare Zenyatta by a head in the Breeders' Cup Classic on November 6 at Churchill Downs in Louisville. Blame, who won four races in five starts in 2010, is also a finalist for champion Older Male. Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider are also finalists in both the Champion Owner and Champion Breeder categories.
As a 5-year-old, Goldikova captured her unprecedented third consecutive Breeders’ Cup Mile last fall in a season in which she won five group or grade I races. Goldikova is also a finalist in the Female Turf category. Owned by Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, Goldikova has already won the 2010 Cartier Racing Award as the European Horse of the Year.
Zenyatta, runner up for Horse of the Year in 2008 and 2009, was undefeated in 19 career races prior to the Breeders' Cup Classic. A winner of five grade I races in 2010, she is also a finalist in the Older Female category, an award she has won the past two years. Zenyatta’s, owners, Jerry and Ann Moss, are finalists for Champion Owner, and Zenyatta’s trainer, John Shirreffs, is a finalist for Champion Trainer. Team Zenyatta is also being honored with a Special Eclipse Award, which honors extraordinary service, individual achievements in, or contributions to the sport of Thoroughbred racing.
Now is your chance to weigh in - which of this outstanding trio do you believe should be named 2010 Horse of the Year, and why? Let us know.
