Zenyatta Voted Horse Of The Year

Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Moss’s Zenyatta was named the 2010 Thoroughbred Horse of the Year this evening at the 40th Annual Eclipse Awards

at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

The Eclipse Awards are voted on and presented by representatives of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form (DRF) and National Turf Writers And Broadcasters (NTWAB).

Zenyatta finished first with 128 votes, followed by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s Blame, who finished with 102 votes. European mare Goldikova (IRE) finished with five votes. There was one abstention and two “no votes” in the total Horse of the Year voting.

Zenyatta, trained by John Shirreffs and ridden by Mike Smith, was runner-up in the Horse of the Year voting in 2008 to Curlin and in 2009 to Rachel Alexandra. Zenyatta won five grade I races in 2010, while extending her career unbeaten streak to 19 races. She lost her final race to the four-year-old colt Blame by a head in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. At age six, Zenyatta becomes the oldest Thoroughbred to win the Horse of the Year title since Cigar in 1996. It is the second year in a row that a female was voted Horse of the Year.

Woodbine regular, Omar Moreno, was voted the Apprentice Jockey of the Year.

The winners of tonight’s 17 equine and human Eclipse Awards are listed below:

(Horse ages in parentheses where applicable; country codes indicate a foreign breeding designation)

• Horse of the Year: Zenyatta (6)
• Two-Year-Old Male: Uncle Mo
• Two-Year-Old Filly: Awesome Feather
• Three-Year-Old Male: Lookin at Lucky
• Three-Year-Old Filly: Blind Luck
• Older Male: Blame (4)
• Older Female: Zenyatta (6)
• Female Sprinter: Dubai Majesty (5)
• Male Sprinter: Big Drama (4)
• Male Turf Horse: Gio Ponti (5)
• Female Turf Horse: Goldikova (IRE) (5)
• Steeplechase Horse: Slip Away (7)
• Owner: WinStar Farm
• Breeder: Adena Springs
• Jockey: Ramon Dominguez
• Apprentice Jockey: Omar Moreno
• Trainer: Todd Pletcher

(NTRA)