At the 55th annual Eclipse Awards held in Palm Beach, Sovereignty was honored as Horse of the Year and 3-year-old male champion, with trainer Bill Mott receiving the trainer of the year award for guiding Sovereignty to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. Sovereignty notably skipped the Preakness and missed the Breeders’ Cup Classic due to a fever. Ted Noffey was named 2-year-old male horse after an undefeated season including a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, positioning him as an early favorite for the next Kentucky Derby.
Other major winners included Flavien Prat as jockey of the year, Pietro Moran as apprentice jockey, and Godolphin LLC as both owner and breeder of the year. Additional category winners featured Forever Young as older dirt male, Book’em Danno as male sprinter, and Notable Speech as male turf horse. Female honors went to Super Corredora (2-year-old filly), Nitrogen (3-year-old filly), and others across various divisions. The Eclipse Awards, named after the 18th-century sire Eclipse, are voted on by members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.
