Horse of the Year

Reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief), G1 Dubai World Cup hero Magnitude (Not This Time), GI Pegasus World Cup victor White Abarrio (Race Day), and GI Pennsylvania Stakes winner Baeza (McKinzie) headline 17 nominations to what is shaping up to be a blockbuster summer event Saturday, June 27 in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs. One of seven stakes races set for that card, nominations for the 'Win and You're In' contest for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic also include the likes of Nysos (Nyquist), last...

The trio of 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', Emerging Market (Candy Ride {Arg}), Ottinho (Quality Road)and Growth Equity (Nyquist) trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown and the 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', Chief Wallabee (Constitution) for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott worked Saturday across Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park in preparation for the GI Belmont Stakes at the Spa June 6, the NYRA press office said in a Saturday release. The pair of Ottinho and Growth Equity worked in company over the Belmont Park dirt...

We knew it was going to be a battle of the big three, and so it was late with White Abarrio (Race Day) pulling rank to claim the GII Oaklawn Handicap over Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief). Understandably and unsurprisingly, the seasonal debuts of both MGISW Sovereignty and MGISW Journalism (Curlin) dominated the front pages in the days leading up to this contest. For many in the editorial community, as it went for the betting public, the best horse in 2025 was the horse to beat here and...

While there isn't a definitive path yet, next-race plans are pending for GI Apple Blossom Handicap victress Claret Beret (Not This Time), according to trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. The Florida-based mare has since returned to the Sunshine State. She posted a 105 Beyer figure in her upset over champion Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) Apr. 11 and her final time of 1:42.21 was the fastest running of the race since Horse of the Year Havre De Grace in 2011. Her speed figure is the highest in the country this year for a...

Maybe a touch earlier than expected, the rematch that the horse racing world pined for has arrived as reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief) will once again square off against the 2025 GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) in the GII Oaklawn Handicap on Saturday. Both colts will be making their much-anticipated 4-year-old debuts in Hot Springs. Sovereignty turned in a spectacular season last year when he won the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Belmont Stakes and GI DK Travers Stakes. The Bill Mott trainee came down with a...

Edited Press Release Reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief) got his first feel of the Oaklawn racing surface Wednesday morning, galloping a mile in advance of his 2026 debut in Saturday's $1.2-million GII Oaklawn Handicap. Escorted to the track by his Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, Sovereignty visited the indoor paddock and galloped after the first surface renovation break. "Easy day," Mott said. "He was ready to do something. He was happy that he was able to do something." The Oaklawn Handicap will mark the 4-year-old debut...

Among a list of 25 nominations in the Sports Emmy Award category, NBC Universal has landed three for NBC Sports' presentation of Kentucky Derby 151, the organization announced via press release. The three categories are Outstanding Live Sports Special: Non-Championship Event; Outstanding Sports Camera Work: Short Form; and Outstanding Sports Writing: Short Form. It was the third consecutive year that the network has garnered more than 10 nominations and it marks the eighth time in the past 16 years that an NBC Sports' horse racing presentation has been nominated for...

Reigning Eclipse Champion Book'em Danno (Bucchero) has been named New Jersey-bred Horse of the Year for the third consecutive year by the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association of New Jersey, the organization said in a press release on Tuesday. Owned by Atlantic Six Racing LLC and trained by Derek Ryan, the gelding won four of five starts during 2025. The state's all-time leading New Jersey-bred money earner, now boasting $1,855,425 in career earnings, swept Saratoga's older sprint series--the GIII True North Stakes, GII Vanderbilt Stakes and GI Forego Stakes--en route to being...

The latest edition of the Boundless Podcast, hosted by jockey and veterinarian Dr. Ferrin Peterson, features an interview with Judy Hicks. Hicks is the breeder of 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). "Before Thorpedo Anna won 10 graded stakes races and became one of the most talked-about horses in Thoroughbred racing, Judy Hicks bred her and believed in her potential from the very beginning," Peterson writes in an introduction to her podcast. "In this episode of The Boundless Podcast, Dr. Ferrin Peterson sits down with Judy at...

6th-GP, $84K, Msw, 4yo/up, f&m, 1m, 2:49 p.m. ET. In early June last summer, SPIRIT OF HOPE (Street Sense) worked toward her first start for trainer Bill Mott at Saratoga. The filly was tabbed as a 'main track only' entrant for a maiden special weight, but was unable to draw into the race. Given some more time through the fall, the Godolphin homebred is ready for her unveiling here. Out of highly productive mare Dance Card (Tapit), the first-time starter's half-siblings include Horse of the Year & current sire Cody's...

There's a special feel about this place: very different from some of the bigger farms around Lexington, with their miles of fencing leading to wide horizons. Here trees fill the undulations like green mist, and then there's this gem of a house, faithfully reproduced from a much older one in New Hampshire that Dede McGehee came across in a book one day. Hummingbirds flit into the flower baskets on the veranda. Overall, Heaven Trees Farm feels very apt to its name. "Except when I looked into it, it turned out...

There are no rules, no guidelines, nothing of the kind, when it comes to Eclipse Award voting. You can vote for whomever you want for whatever reason you want. But I always was of the belief that there was an unwritten rule, or at least an understanding, that the Eclipse Awards were all about recognizing year-round excellence, that champions were the ones who most excelled throughout the year. Maybe that's because I became a racing fan and later a racing journalist when horses really did race more than four or...