The article provides a detailed analysis and ranking of top Thoroughbred racehorses across various divisions for the 2025 season, focusing heavily on the turf male division where Rebel’s Romance is favored as the best turf male despite a runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. The author emphasizes Rebel’s Romance’s international success, demanding campaign, and consistent high-level performances, placing him above Notable Speech and Deterministic, who also had strong seasons but with less depth or international impact. The piece stresses that Eclipse Awards should honor the best overall performance rather than just recent or domestic success, defending the choice of Rebel’s Romance as the top turf male.

Beyond turf males, the article ranks leaders in other divisions such as older dirt males, older dirt females, 3-year-old males and fillies, turf females, male and female sprinters, and 2-year-olds. Notable mentions include Forever Young as the standout older dirt male for his global campaign and Breeders’ Cup Classic win, Thorpedo Anna leading older dirt females, Sovereignty as the top 3-year-old male, and She Feels Pretty as the leading turf female. The author highlights the importance of evaluating the full body of work, consistency, and quality of competition across the season rather than focusing solely on marquee events or convenience in voting.