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Bricks and Mortar Voted Horse of the Year to Lead 2019 Eclipse Award Honorees
RacingThe 2019 Eclipse Awards were held Thursday, Jan. 23 at the Sport of Kings Theater at Gulfstream Park, where an undefeated season by Bricks and Mortar highlighted the proceedings as he captured Horse of the Year and champion turf male .
Many of the remarkable racehorses and individuals from a memorable 2019 season were honored. Continue reading for a complete list of the Eclipse Award recipients.
Horse of the Year: Bricks and Mortar
Trainer: Chad Brown
Owners: Klaravich Stables Inc. and William H. Lawrence
2019 record: 6 starts – 6 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
2019 earnings: $6,723,650
Signature wins: Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, Arlington Million XXXVII Stakes, Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes
Notable: Bricks and Mortar capped a perfect 6-for-6 season with a hard-fought victory in the Grade 1 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf after winning important races such as the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational, Manhattan Stakes, and Arlington Million earlier in the year. The first turf horse to win Horse of the Year since Wise Dan in 2013, Bricks and Mortar also was named champion turf male in a banner campaign.
Bricks and Mortar was also voted Secretariat Vox Populi winner, aka the fan’s choice as Horse of the Year, at the inaugural America’s Best Racing Fan Choice Awards on Dec. 19.
Champion Older Dirt Male: Vino Rosso
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable
2019 record: 6 starts – 3 firsts – 1 second – 1 third
2019 earnings: $3,960,625
Signature wins: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes
Notable: Captured the most prestigious race for older dirt horses with a dominant score in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Finished second in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup via disqualification. Ranked third by earnings among all North American Thoroughbred racehorses in 2019.
Champion Older Dirt Female: Midnight Bisou
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Owners: Bloom Racing Stable, Madaket Stables, and Allen Racing
2019 record: 8 starts – 7 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds
2019 earnings: $2,185,000
Signature wins: Personal Ensign Stakes Presented by Lia Infiniti, Ogden Phipps Stakes, Apple Blossom Handicap
Notable: Nearly pulled off an undefeated campaign, finishing second in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff to close out 2019. Won graded stakes at five different racetracks.
Champion Male Turf Horse: Bricks and Mortar
Trainer: Chad Brown
Owners: Klaravich Stables Inc. and William H. Lawrence
2019 record: 6 starts – 6 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
2019 earnings: $6,723,650
Signature wins: Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, Arlington Million XXXVII Stakes, Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes
Notable: Bricks and Mortar opened the year with a victory in the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf, won three more races with seven-figure purses in May, June, and August, and then finished his championship season with a victory in the $3 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf. He banked $6,723,650 in an undefeated season that he began with only one graded stakes win (in 2017) to his credit.
Bricks and Mortar was also voted Secretariat Vox Populi winner, aka the fan’s choice as Horse of the Year, at the inaugural America’s Best Racing Fan Choice Awards on Dec. 19.
Champion Female Turf Horse: Uni
Trainer: Chad Brown
Owners: Michael Dubb, Head of Plains Partners, Robert LaPenta, and Bethlehem Stables
2019 record: 4 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
2019 earnings: $1,455,000
Signature wins: TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile, First Lady Stakes Presented by UK HealthCare
Notable: Scored two Grade 1 victories in 2019, both coming in the fall as she reached peak form. Defeated Got Stormy as well as males with her patented closing kick in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Champion 3-Year-Old Male: Maximum Security
Trainer: Jason Servis
Owners: Gary and Mary West
2019 record: 8 starts – 6 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds
2019 earnings: $1,791,100
Signature wins: TVG.com Haskell Invitational Stakes, Xpressbet Florida Derby, Cigar Mile Handicap
Notable: Despite being controversially disqualified in the 2019 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, Maximum Security did more than enough to earn an Eclipse Award by crossing the finish line first in seven of eight races. The bay colt earned signature wins in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational Stakes and Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap – the latter against older horses – to cement his Eclipse credentials.
Champion 3-Year-Old Filly: Covfefe
Trainer: Brad Cox
Owner: LNJ Foxwoods
2019 record: 6 starts – 5 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
2019 earnings: $1,052,425
Signature wins: Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, Longines Test Stakes
Notable: Went 5-for-6 as a 3-year-old in 2019, including a season-ending win at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Won races at five different tracks.
Champion 2-Year-Old Male: Storm the Court
Trainer: Peter Eurton
Owners: Exline-Border Racing, David A. Bernsen, Susanna Wilson, and Dan Hudock
2019 record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
2019 earnings: $1,172,951
Signature win: TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile
Notable: After finishing third in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes, Storm the Court delivered a career-best performance on the grand stage of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships when he held off Anneau d’Or to win the TVG Juvenile by a head at 45.90-1 odds.
Champion 2-Year-Old Filly: British Idiom
Trainer: Brad Cox
Owners: Michael Dubb, The Elkstone Group (Stuart Grant), Madaket Stables, and Bethlehem Stables
2019 record: 3 starts – 3 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds
2019 earnings: $1,381,250
Signature wins: Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Darley Alcibiades Stakes
Notable: British Idiom won her first two races by a combined margin of 10 lengths before she was seriously challenged for the first time in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. The chestnut filly proved up to the task with a tenacious neck victory over Donna Veloce to cap an unbeaten juvenile season.
Champion Male Sprinter: Mitole
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
Owners: William and Corinne Heiligbrodt
2019 record: 7 starts – 6 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
2019 earnings: $2,756,200
Signature wins: Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap, Forego Stakes Presented by Encore Boston Harbor, Churchill Downs Stakes Presented by Twinspires.com.
Notable: Cemented champion sprinter honors with powerful 1 ¼-length victory in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and won Grade 1 races at three different distances. Ranked fourth in earnings among all Thoroughbreds racing in North America in 2019.
Champion Female Sprinter: Covfefe
Trainer: Brad Cox
Owner: LNJ Foxwoods
2019 record: 6 starts – 5 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third
2019 earnings: $1,052,425
Signature wins: Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, Longines Test Stakes
Notable: Named after a typo in a tweet by President Donald J. Trump, Covfefe closed her 3-year-old season with three straight wins, including a three-quarter-length score in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. She prevailed in five of her six starts in 2019 and won races at five different tracks.
Outstanding Trainer: Chad Brown
2019 wins: 222
2019 earnings: $31,112,144
Leading horses: Bricks and Mortar, Uni, Sistercharlie, Guarana, Cambier Parc, Structor, Rushing Fall, Dunbar Road, Annals of Time, Valid Point
Notable: Chad Brown earned his fourth straight Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer by surpassing the previous North American earnings record of Todd Pletcher ($28,116,097 in 2007) with purse earnings of $31,112,144. Brown trained 2019 Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar, TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Uni, and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Presented by Coolmore America winner Structor as he amassed 54 graded stakes wins and 20 Grade 1 victories.
Brown was also voted Best Trainer at the inaugural America’s Best Racing Fan Choice Awards on Dec. 19.
Outstanding Owner: Klaravich Stables Inc. and William H. Lawrence
2019 wins: 17
2019 earnings: $8,178,845
Leading horses: Bricks and Mortar, Annals of Time, Focus Group
Notable: Topped the earnings list among all North American owners in 2019. More than $6.7 million in earnings in 2019 came from an undefeated campaign by Bricks and Mortar, winner of the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf and four other Grade 1 races during the year. Hedge fund president Seth Klarman formed Klaravich Stables in 1993 and currently races horses in partnership with William Lawrence, CEO of Meridian Capital Partners.
Outstanding Breeder: George Strawbridge Jr.
2019 wins: 26
2019 earnings: $7,505,233
Leading horse: Bricks and Mortar
Notable: Renowned owner-breeder Strawbridge finished third among all North American breeders by purse earnings for 2019. The bulk of his earnings as breeder came from Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar, a five-time Grade 1 winner in 2019 who captured the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Outstanding Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
2019 wins: 324
2019 earnings: $34,109,019
Signature wins: Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes, Arlington Million XXXVII Stakes.
Leading horses: Bricks and Mortar, Vino Rosso, Four Wheel Drive, Perfect Alibi
Notable: Ortiz Jr. picked up his second consecutive Eclipse Award as outstanding rider by shattering the all-time North American record for purse earnings in a single season with $34,109,019 – the previous record was $28,120,809 by Javier Castellano in 2015 – while winning nine different races with seven-figure purses. He won four Breeders’ Cup races, including the $4 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf with Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar and the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic aboard Vino Rosso.
Ortiz was also voted Best Jockey at the inaugural America’s Best Racing Fan Choice Awards on Dec. 19.
Outstanding Apprentice Jockey: Kazushi Kimura
2019 wins: 148
2019 earnings: $4,746,556
Leading horses: Gun Society, Theregoesjojo, Hell N Wild, Broadway Bonnie
Notable: Kimura, 20, is the reigning Sovereign Award winner as Canada’s outstanding apprentice. Woodbine’s third-leading rider in 2019, the Japan native won 117 races and amassed $3.7 million in purse earnings before he graduated from the apprentice ranks.
Steeplechase Horse: Winston C
Trainer: Jonathan Sheppard
Owner: Hudson River Farms
2019 record: 8 starts – 5 firsts – 0 seconds – 1 third
2019 earnings: $246,393
Signature wins: $150,000 A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase Stakes, $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap
Notable: Winston C made four starts in England in 2019 before joining the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard in North America in May and posting Grade 1 wins in the A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase Stakes and New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap, both at Saratoga Race Course.
Vote Totals:
Two-Year-Old Male
Storm the Court, 147; Structor, 51; Maxfield, 12; Independence Hall, 8; Tiz the Law, 6; Four Wheel Drive, 4; Dennis’ Moment, 3; Anneau d’Or, 2; Eight Rings, 2; Thousand Words, 2; Basin, 1; Nucky, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Two-Year-Old Filly
British Idiom, 222; Bast, 12; Sharing, 6; Alms, 1.
Three-Year-Old Male
Maximum Security, 217; Omaha Beach, 16; Code of Honor, 8.
Three-Year-Old Filly
Covfefe, 189; Guarana, 19; Serengeti Empress, 11; Iridessa, 9; Concrete Rose, 6; Dunbar Road, 6; Cambier Parc, 1.
Older Dirt Male
Vino Rosso, 129; Mitole, 108; McKinzie, 3; Voter Abstention, 1.
Older Dirt Female
Midnight Bisou, 210; Blue Prize, 31.
Male Sprinter
Mitole, 236; Maximum Security, 5.
Female Sprinter
Covfefe, 235; Belvoir Bay, 4, Mia Mischief, 1; Serengeti Empress, 1.
Male Turf Horse
Bricks and Mortar, 241.
Female Turf Horse
Uni, 126; Sistercharlie, 61; Got Stormy, 33; Iridessa, 15; Concrete Rose, 3; Vasilika, 2; Cambier Parc, 1.
Steeplechase Horse
Winston C, 158; Brain Power, 44; Scorpiancer, 3; Voter Abstentions, 36.
Owner
Klaravich Stables, Inc. and William H. Lawrence, 184; Gary Barber, 18; Peter Brant, 11; Calumet Farm, 6; William and Corrine Heiligbrodt, 3; Gary and Mary West, 3; Joseph Besecker, 2; End Zone Athletics, Inc., 2; Hronis Racing, 2; Madaket Stables LLC, 2; LNJ Foxwoods, 1. Voter Abstentions, 7.
Breeder
George Strawbridge, Jr., 122; Calumet Farm, 94; Godolphin, 8; Edward A. Cox, Jr., 2; Gary and Mary West, 2; WinStar Farm, 2; William S. Farish, 1; Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, 1; Stonestreet Thoroughbreds, 1; Voter Abstentions, 8.
Trainer
Chad Brown, 204; Steve Asmussen, 19; Brad Cox, 5; Jason Servis, 5; Karl Broberg, 2; Mark Casse, 1; Voter Abstentions, 5.
Jockey
Irad Ortiz, Jr., 205; Javier Castellano, 21; Flavien Prat, 5; Joel Rosario, 3; Mike Smith, 3; Jose Ortiz, 1. Voter Abstentions, 3.
Apprentice Jockey
Kazushi Kimura, 74; Julio Correa, 60; Angel I. Diaz, 53; Cristian A. Torres, 19; Jorge I. Velez, 3; Reylu Gutierrez 1; Keimar Trotman, 1; Voter Abstentions, 30.