One unintended (and in my opinion sad) consequence of the Breeders' Cup is its undue influence on the Eclipse Awards. Benny the Bull was the best sprinter of 2008, hands down, but Midnight Lute is likely to win because he won the BC.

In baseball the champ is the winner of the world series, In football is the winner of the Super Bown, Basketball same thing,the ones who finish the season with the best record arent called champions just ask last years New England PAtriots. In horse racing they are called the Breeders Cup World Championships, and to get an Eclipse award by not running in the Breeders Cup, a horse needs at least 3 to 4 Grade 1 wins.  Benny the Bull did not acomplish that.   This debate is not even come as close as the injustice Pico Central got when a horse he destroyed, Speightstown, got the Title because Pico Centrals owner refused to pay the money to run then Pico Central lost to Lion Tamer in the Cigar Mile.  Its Midnight Lute.  He was the champ, and they had to knock him off and nobody did.

Midnight Lute, he's the defending champ and he had to be beaten to be dethroned, his only loss this year was completely a misfortune, it's not like he got outrun, he was injured and not persevered with, on his best day Benny the Bull was no match for Lute, not even close.

I love Midnight Lute and Ventura was awesome, but Benny the Bull did NOTHING wrong and took down some of the world's biggest races. His victory in Dubai required him to endure a hard trip and represent the integrity of the US sprinters abroad.

Midnight Lute overcame a lot too this year with injuries. Maybe the Eclipse should have an award for that but as of now it's not a factor.

Benny the Bull had a body of work and it was spectacular!!!!

Jason, I totally agree with you. As visually impressive as 'Lute's win was, and as much as I was rooting for him to repeat, Benny gets the nod in my book, and it's not even close. If a European contender had come in and won the Sprint, I highly doubt voters would have handed him/her the Eclipse based off of that one race, so I don't see how 'Lute can logically win. Too bad there's no DeFrancis Dash this year for 'Lute to try and win to bolster his case. I think he's already been retired, but perhaps a win in the Cigar Mile would help push him over the edge. As has been mentioned though, I know a lot of voters will be inclined to give it to him just off of his Sprint win. As for me, it's clearly got to go to Benny...

Sad state of affairs when the Sprint Champion is decided between two horses that ran four times and two times respectivly... Tough call.

Benny The Bull definetely.  Midnight Lute was spectacular in the Breeders Cup Sprint and probably would have been just as great as Benny this year had he not been on the sidelines.  One race should not be the deciding factor though, Benny The Bull did way more this year!!

Midnight lute is the defending champ. Nobody could knock him off. Benny the Bull, on his absolute best day (Forego)could not get near Midnight Lute. Midnight Lute just doesn't win, he destroys. He makes a statement. The statement is, he is one of the all time greats, and deserves another Eclipse Award.

MikeM/Jason: agree with ya, the division was kinda light this year. I do think Indian Blessing should get the nod over Ventura for female sprinter though. IB didn't skip a beat all year from Jan to Oct, and even in her losses, gave a great effort.

IS this total madness? Benny The Bull for champion sprinter? I loved Benny The Bull but his performances will never live as long in my memory as Midnight Lute's. Just look at all Midnight Lute has achieved. Two Breeders Cup wins, joining the greats of Breeders Cup history, a Forego win over There's been a lot said about how Dirt horses couldn't handle the Pro Ride at the breeders Cup, but Midnight Lute, a horse who won on a lake the year before, won easily on the Pro Ride. Midnight Lute was or is a better horse than Benny The Bull and that is that. For me his Breeders Cup win this year was made all the more remarkable because of a lengthy lay off. Would Benny The Bull have beat Midnight Lute in the Breeders Cup Sprint? No.

Benny the Bull deserves it but Midnight Lute will likely win. I agree that the Breeders' Cup often has undue influence on the voting. Ventura is likely to win the female sprint award even though Indian Blessing had a better year as a sprinter. A horse's record for the year too often takes second place to what happens on Breeders' Cup day (look at recent winners of the champion male turf award.  Singspeil won the 1996 Eclipse award even though he finished 2nd in his only North American start that year).

Sometimes I think they should just go ahead and hand out Eclipse awards in the BC winner's circle.

What about Indian Blessing?  Would she even be considered for it?  She had a good season as well, with 5 wins (2 of which were G1's)and 3 places (including the Filly & Mare Sprint.  Ventura was great also, but her record isn't as impressive to me (4-2-1).  

wow. this sounds a lot like the whole HOY thing goin on...Curlin won so many races outsid the breeders cup, beat the best DIRT horses in Dubai, won 5G1s. i can go on. Zenyatta wins her breeders cup and everyone is like HOY. Poor benny, has accomplished so much more racing wise. I'm not trying to take ANTHING away from Lute. as you can tell, 6F in 1:07 is no small feat. Benny has been forgotten since he was hurt.

What do you think Jason? See alot of alikeness there?

I think Benny should get it. Overall, his accomplishment is more. i think Indian blessing should be in there, but okayyy

Just to throw another name out there, how about Indian Blessing?

I'm really, really hoping they give her a chance in Dubai. That could be fun to watch!

Again, a tough call.  Benny had a great year.  Lute was the defending champ who came up huge on the biggest day.

The award goes to the "Outstanding". How one defines "outstanding" is the crux of the issue.  Some look at a body of work, others look just for the best horse.  Some look at an entire body of work (records outside the US for foreign horses, while some just look at certain races (Triple Crown, BC, etc), perhaps some throw in other issues like travel to different circuits, surfaces, etc.  It's all subjective.

That's why this division is so tough for me.  I really like Benny the Bull, but Midnite Lute was probably the best horse.  

If I were still voting, this is one instance where I would wimp out and split my first place vote between the two.

I can't decide. Benny Bull was great the first half of the year and overall has a better body of work but Midnight Lute was devastating in the Sprint. I nearly had a heart attack when the big screen showed him making his move around the turn.

The knock against Lute were two starts and one of them waaaay off the board. Benny got injured and never got the chance in the Sprint.

Tough call.

So is more credence being given to a race run on foreign soil?

Not sure about Lute, but he was injured, had a patch and STILL ran, blowing what was supposedly the best of the best still standing away.  

May have to consider Ventura or Indian Blessing.

Hello,,,the award is called CHAMPION SPRINTER,,,who honestly believes any horse could beat Midnight Lute???? TWO years in a row, he destroyed the field,,,come on?

Without a doubt Midnight Lute should get the eclipse award because he won the biggest race and beat much better competition in the breeders cup than benny did in any of his races. In the sunshine millions, benny beat santana strings and mach ride. In dubai, he beat idiot proof who ran in the turf sprint because he wasn't good enough for the real sprint. In the true north, he was all out to beat man of danger and abraaj and in the smile he beat how's your halo and rockerfeller. How many lengths would midnight lute have beaten this weak competition by? Midnight Lute should win the award and street boss should finish second.  

I THINK BENNY IS A GREAT HORSE,BUT BECAUSE OF WHO HIS TRAINER IS,I CHOOSE MIDNIGHT LUTE TO REPEAT AS CHAMPION!

jshandler: We don't know how many lengths Lute would have beaten those weak horses by because none of them were good enough to compete in the breeders cup. Lute was a much better horse as shown when he beat benny twice last year. Since you base the award on the entire year, your argument is weak because benny only ran 4 times. The best sprinter from the beginning of the year until the breeders cup was street boss and therefore he should get the award according to your standards. He won multiple grade 1's and set or equaled three track records.

I completely agree with your logic Jason, but everyone knows that Midnight Lute will most likely win the award.  A horse that only races twice and wins once, albeit the biggest GI in that division of the year, should not be an Eclipse Award winner even if he is defending his previous crown and puts in a brillant performance in the one race that he wins.  And we wonder why we are breeding such fragile horses?  

In Pat O'Brien, Lute grabbed a quarter, ripped his shoe off, and Garett took care of him,,,he never stepped on the gas

Jason, I am right with you!  One race, no matter how devastating, does not a champion make.  If they have to award the Eclipse to a sprinter that ran in the BC, it should go to Street Boss who ran lights out all year.  Midnight Lute deserves all the praise in the world for his performance, but he should not get the Eclipse because of one race.

I agree with Mike M.  Sad state of affairs.  Give the Sprint award to Ventura and the F&M Sprint award to Indian Blessing.  At least they had full campaigns.  But since that probably won't happen, Benny's year beats Lute's in my book. And I am a big supporter of the Breeders' Cup.  

A single win?? Would that be a first for the Eclipses?

"A single win?? Would that be a first for the Eclipses?"

No because nearly every year some European turf horse comes and collects the Turf, gaining the Male Turf Eclipse award. Ouija Board got two Eclipse awards and she raced just three times in North America. So why should Midnight Lute not get it?

Ladies & Gentlemen, Please enough with the Breeder's Cup As prestigeous as it is it's one race. Agreed you may have some of the top talent but it remains one race. The Eclise Awards are not based upon one race but the entire season, the body of work of the horses up for nomination. It is a shame that way too many people focus on the glamor races and conclude the best of the year should be decided on either the Triple Crown or BC results. Wake up there is racing twelve months a year.

Jason I couldn't agree with you more that you can not give an Eclipse to a horse with one win regardless of how spectacular that race was. In respect to that division a number of arguments can be made for the title but only two, in my opinion, fit what should be the criterion - Benny the Bull and Street Boss.

p.s. Jason you got to stop talking to most of the media when you want an accurate opinion on racing. Hang with the horse people.    

Benny the BUll should get it. One win isn't enough I don't think. Benny did more to prove himself and should get it.

Winning the early season stakes races is nice but that's not the championship. Just go ask the New England Patriots and how much it means to have an undefeated regular season but only to lose in the Super Bowl.

Benny the Bull. He did nothing wrong, won amazing races in good times, and just got a tough break when he couldnt run in BC. He's a champion and he deserves to be credited for his accomplishments.

Jason.... when you are right... you are right and Benny the Bull is the sprint champ and for anyone to offer another opinion is just plain silly. ONE or TWO spectacular races earn you nothing.

Jason... you're dead on right on this one. Everyone is talking about Lute's win in the Sprint. If anyone is a horse racing fan and saw the race the "Benny" ran in the True North, you have to give it to him. Belmont Stakes day. An absolute speed favoring track that day. I thought Benny was a bad bet that day b/c of it. Also coming off the layoff from Dubai. He just kept plugging and plugging away at the winner and nailed em'. Last year Benny was a different horse then he was this year. Much more accomplished and classy. I think he could've given Lute a run for his money this year. He won on 4 of the most different types of dirt surfaces you can think of as well. Lute is a great horse, but one race does not make a championship. Street Boss I believe loses a little more consideration beacuse Lute beat him on his own turf.

Question for all of you football fans. What record gets you to the Super Bowl? 4-0 or 0-1? And if you're the defending champ, do you have a slot reserved for you in the Super Bowl? Bad analogy Alfred K!

I agree that BTB should be voted the champ based on a body of work.

There is however a precedent for giving a horse an Eclipse based on on only 1 win in the states.

Wow Dray me and you can finally agree on something! This is a momentous occasion, we should celebrate! Just joking but it is great we can find at least one thing we agree on. Benny the Bull shoud get the award, winning in Dubai the way he did, then coming back and dominating was very impressive. Midnight lute is an absolutley great sprinter, probably one of the greater ones, but benny did much more. Many of you will argue that you could draw a line through the POB, but even with that, he only won one race. Benny's body work for the season has much more volume and flare, you can't ignore that. Benny should get Champion Sprinter.

I agree with the thought that one great race doesn't make for a championship season. I think Street Boss deserves consideration and give my pretend vote to him.

MIDNITE LUTE IS THE BEST SPRINTER IN THE LAST 50 YEARS PERIOD... HE JUST RAN 1:07. THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH SAID!

oh but I thought 2 or 3 did? Hmmm,

consistency Draynay.. Your credibility (that you never had) is suffering.

Lute pulled half his foot off, not just a small piece, came back and won the biggest Sprint race of the year.

Ventura Indian Blessing or Lute.

Lute because wasn't it all the fans so amazed at Michael Dickinson bringing Da Hoss back to win the BC after one race in two years?

Benny The Bull failed to win Grade I in U.S. Beat lack luster group in Dubai. Midnight Lute put on a show when he won Sprint on a differant surface. He is a rare breed of horse flesh. Indian Blessing got beat by a very good grass horse that loved the poly.

J,

You know how I feel about using the entire year for awards and not just half or a couple of races. If we are voting the champion "best visual and emotional experience" or "most hoped for repeat winner" Then Lute gets it hands down. My emotional tendency would be to give it to the repeat winner, but I choose to look at Jan to Dec, and in that regard might throw in the filly for consideration, but much as I love the Lute, we must as you say be fair and not be swayed by emotion. The Bull gets the nod.

Alex... since you want to start something let me say this for the record 4 spectacular performances should win you something.  Considering no horse could match those 4 performances this year. But like I said one or two wins nothing. No problem with consistency here.

BENNY BENNY BENNY !

Jason, I agree with you completely!  All year end championships are supposed to be based on the overall performance for the year - not one race.  It seems that people are losing sight of that!  I notice some people comparing the Breeder's Cup to the Super Bowl/World Series, etc. but there is really no comparison between the two. "The World Championships" is a marketing tool only, meant to draw people in, but it is not a "championship" in itself like the above mentioned sports have.  Now, we could do it that way if we ran these same horses against each other multiple times and the best 8 out of 10 or whatever wins the championship.  But until that happens - it needs to be the CURRENT whole year of racing (and by US based horses only) that determines who wins. If championships are decided on one race I believe they will lose a lot of their meaning & importance.

Draynay, I guess you are right, Zen did have 7 spectacular races.

If you're talking about your pet, no maybe 3, if you define spectacular in your terms.

Sprinters are overrated.  The breeders cup sprint usually is made up of a weak field of horses or Classic rejects.  When a good (some have been great some were only good) classic horse runs in it hes shown his superiority over hapless sprinters, for example Precisionist, Gulch, Dancing Spree, Artax, Orientate.  And if history has tought us, just to refresh minds Forego destroyed Mr. Prospector, Dr. Fager destroyed In Reality, Unbridled destroyed Housebuster. Secretariat,Affirmed, Spectacular Bid, Seattle Slew, Ancient Title ate sprinters for breakfast at sprint distances prepping for bigger races.  Most recently we had the likes of Congaree, The Rock , Ghostzapper, Lava Man and Hard Spun (Some of these horses wouldve won the sprint instead opted for the classic), destroyed their sprinting opposition at shorter distances. Just look what Ventura did to Indian Blessing.  I mean Lute and Benny wouldve been dusted away by Curlin at any distance under a mile. Sprinting is a lost art.

Make mine Midnight Lute. Love Benny but....

Just to clarify my earlier question about a single win, I meant a single win period, not just in a U.S. race.  Cannot imagine a foreign horse getting an Eclipse for a BC win if they did not have other wins outside the U.S. during the year.

Yes, Midnight Lute was awesome and super talented.  But as I wrote on another blog, he would not be the first deserving animal to lose out on an award due to the injury factor.  It's tough luck but you just have to have more of a body of work.

Benny. He's done the most this year. And,although he did not win the BC,you can't put that against him. He was injured and there was nothing people could do about it. Lute is a spectacular horse,and I love him,but he hasn't done as much as Benny. As you said,people seems to forget the whole year and just focus in on who won the BC races.

To get to the Super Bowl you play a 16 game schedule and advance through the play-offs.

To get to the World Series you play 162 games and advance through the play-offs.

Midnight Lute ran a horrid prep then won the BC. Only in the dysfunctional world of horse racing would he be considered a Champ.

Even Benny with only 4 wins seems absurd until you look at a horse with only one.

Hey, Skip Away won the BC Classic by 5 in a tour de force and got jobbed. It is Benny in my mind as his 3 quality wins top anything else. Midnight just didn't run enough. Horse of the Month? Maybe.

Benny the Bull? Seriously?  It's almost laughable.  No G1s in the US, kind of a stinker.  If anything Indian Blessing should be in there.  Benny's hope is to make top 3 at best.  I adore Midnight Lute so while I'll be happy for him, I don't blame anyone for being upset about the low number of races this year.  Of course had he been healthy there'd be no question.  I don't think Big Brown's gonna be getting the most interest of incoming stallions--sounds like people are climbing over each other to book to Midnight Lute.  There's a reason.

No way it goes to Ventura.  She couldn't even dominate filly sprinters.  That last race was impressive, but unlike Midnight Lute who had an excuses like nobody's business before, she lost more than she won this year.  Indian Blessing was the one they thought about putting in the BC Sprint.  She only lost one race under a mile and that was on the synthetic. She's got 2 G1s, 2G2s, 1 G1 place, 1 G2 place, and a G3.  To me the only thing that good beat Midnight Lute is a girl, and it's not Ventura. Ya know it's a shame Big Brown didn't try older horses in a sprint in the fall.  Might've been spectacular.

About the forgetting the first half of the year, why is it that everyone seems to be a 'it's horse of the year' with infamous on the 'year' part and then are willing to toss out the idea in any category where their horse would otherwise be tossed out?  I'm actually a huge Midnight Lute fan but if we're playing by them rules, Indian Blessing beats both ML and Benny.  Not that I'll cry when ML gets it.

Benny The Bull did enough to earn the eclipse award but Midnight Lute's breeders cup sprinting was indeed sensational and was not a flash-in-the-pan since he was just as spectacular last year in the mud.  The arguments are strong on both sides but campaigning throughout the year should be an advantage for Benny The Bull.

Emelio P I DO agree with you about Pico Central...And Jason I agree to a point about Benny The BULL--He certainly had a good year---And I wouldn't want to give it to a horse that raced only once---BUT--Midnite Lute ran twice, and his BC was as good as any I've seen, including Very Subtle...AND he WAS the champ after all...But I can see it going to Benny, and I wouldn't be dissapointed...

Jason,

I wish I had a leg to stand on with Fabulous Strike.

The horse is tremendous and has an explosive style,

but, once again, this year, lacks the resume to get it done.

Just not enough graded wins.

Thanks, Jason, for the opportunity to discuss.

- Paul

Jason,  my argument is not weak.  If we want to go for the horse that did the most for the year then lets grade them.  Theres only about a handful of Grade 1 sprinting races in the U.S., Benny the Bull didnt win any of them.  If we have to go by best sprinter for the year due to races won then it should be Street Boss declared the champ since he is the only sprinter who won 2 Grade 1 races, which is supposed to be the highest grade of competition, unfortunately that has not been the case for many years as a Grade 1 race these days consists of only one Grade 1 caliber horse taking on a bunch of Grade 3 and allowence horses. And unfortunately for Street Boss, he got beat by Midnight Lute in the BC sprint so that automatically puts him out of contention for the title.  Now you say the Breeders Cup World Championships are a Marketing Scheme, well isnt the World Series and Super Bowl and NBA Finals a marketing scheme, like are the Philadelphia Phillies really the World Champions of baseball when they never faced a team from Japan or Mexico or China, and dont say the leagues over there are inferior, as far as I know in the only World Cup of Baseball ever played, Japan won it and Mexico eliminated our U.S. National team.  At least in Horse racing we do get to see the best of our horses take on some of the best from all over the world.  All I want is to come to a bottom line to these end of the year awards.  Jason I dont have a vote, you do.  So its guys like you who have a vote, that have to start putting up a set of rules. Ill give you an example, over 15 years ago they came up with the American Racing Series.  The concept was great, the only problem was that it was pointed towards only the classic horses.  There was no series for fillies and mares, or turf horses, sprinters, 3 year olds, juveniles etc.  That was the first problem.  Now there were a total of ten races, and the horse that performed the best (accumulated the most points) was declared the winner of the series.  Now the concept was great, rivalries were starting to generate because of the series, we were seeing almost 3 sometimes 5 or more of the same horses competing in each race.  We had Farma Way, Festin, Marquetry, Unbridled, Summer Squall, Jolies Halo, In Excess, all of them going at it against eachother.  At the end i believe Farma Way had the most points over Festin.  The problem was The Breeders Cup was not part of the series.  The other problem was Festin, Farma Way and some of the others were pretty much done for the year by the time the breeders cup came along due to the tough races they had against eachother.  So by Breeders Cup time the series was an afterthought, because horse of the year came down to a showdown between In Excess and Tight Spot in the Breeders Cup Mile.  Why did In Excess run in the mile? because it seemed the only way to win horse of the year was going head to head with Tight Spot  and beating him.  In Excess had been destroying his classic opposition from coast to Coast.  In the end they both dead-heated out of the money, and Horse of the Year went to Black Tie Affair, whose only other G1 win came in the Iselin handicap which was his only appearance in the racing series. In Excess won 4 G1s that year, was a shoe in in the classic, but his connections opted for the mile because it was his only chance for the HOY title, now was that fair Jason?; So the series failed mainly because of that.  My idea is that we should give points to the first 5 finishers of each graded race, and only give points to the winner of an ungraded stakes.  Of course more points should be given to the participants in G1 races, Then G2 and G3 and so forth.  At the end of the year the horses with the most points win the title.  The same should be done with trainers, jockeys, breeders and owners.  Year end awards should be a competition not a popularity contest.  Jason did Speightstown deserve the sprint title over Pico Central, given Pico Central won 3 G1 races and beat speightstown easily in their only matchup, while Speightstown only G1 win was The BC Sprint, and Pico Central seemed to be penalized for skipping the cup, due to his owner not paying the nomination.  Did Charismatic deserve HOY in 1999? Did Prairie Bayou deserve the 3 year old title in 1993, given Sea Hero won the Derby and the Travers.  Or when will this east coast-west cost-midwest bias end.  Or will any jockey not represented by Ron Anderson win any eclipse awards?,  Horse Racing needs to shape up, needs to modernize.   It needs to have its Major Leagues and its Minor Leagues.  You cant have a guy like Russel Baze, whose a great rider, but never made a huge impact in the "big Leagues" like Pincay and Shoemaker, be called the winningest rider, in that case lets strip baseball's home run king crown away from Barry Bonds(although I still consider Hank Aaron the legitimate owner of that title) and give it to Joshua Jackson who hit over 900 HRs in the Negro and Caribbean Leagues(No way MLB allows that).  Even Pat Day for the longest time held a monopoly in the midwest until he started venturing to the big leagues in the east.  Jason, tell your writing buddies to take a look at soccer.  They have a world cup, where each nation takes on eachother and 1 comes out a champion every 4 years.  What many people in the U.S. dont know is that FIFA(Soccer's World Governing Body) stages a world cup every year  the best league clubs from North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Middle East play in december of every year to determine the worlds best.  To get to the tournament, each continent hosts tournaments from the countries who have leagues authorized by FIFA which is mainly every country in the world.  Racing needs a FIFA badly, it needs a governing body, it needs divisions, it needs to keep score by points or wins or how ever you want to call it, it needs it bad and it needs it now, or we will keep losing fans, and TV ratings will keep on dropping to the point where no mainstream Broadcasting Company will play a horse race that is not one from the triple crown.  Think about Jason the American Racing Series was not a bad idea, it was just executed wrong, now its the time to go look at that model and make it right, and maybe then the end of the year awards can be called legitimate.  

If people can argue for Curlin's case then Benny is a shoe in for Top Sprinter Award, he was flawless!

Has to go to Midnight Lute.. Im sorry but alot of horses have one championships on one win.. and that is why we run CHAMPIONSHIP races now... Sorry but No for Benny

EmilioP--RIGHT ON! You are most logical! I too agree that if we go by "rest of the year" stats, it's Street Boss in a runaway! But I think Midnight Lute's Tour D Force was stunningly good! The only other race I'd compare it too was Indyanne at Calder---she was much better than Benny The Bull that day, and had the splits to prove it! Again, I wouldn't be dissapointed in Benny The Bull but there were others...Like you Emilio my vote is cast for 'Lute....

How can you award a Championship to a horse that DIDN't have a GR.1 win in the U.S?..seems silly to me.

If anything,Street Boss should get it because of his Important wins/consistency this year.

By the way:  I thought the Breeders Cup races were Designed to determine end of the year Championships?..Jason?..

The Breeders Cup races cannot be compared to other sporting events where by process of elimination a winner is crowned.  The BC races do provide a venue whereby champions could be crowned by virtue of completing their solid racing season with a win in their division.  That said, it will be unfortunate if Midnite Lute does win the Eclipse award off of one win.  This is not what the BC series was created for and most disturbingly it rewards what all of us as fans don't want to see: uber-short racing campaigns.  Now, I realize Lute's an older horse who by virtue of some bad luck didn't run but once this year. I know his story. However, an Eclipse award should be based on the horse with the best overall campaign.  Unfortunately, there is really no one that stands out beyond Benny the Bull's own short campaign.  But in my book 4 good races beat 1 good one, regardless of if they are Grade 1 or Grade 2.

Hey now, we can't forget Indian Blessing!

Agree with Slew.em.All. Any discussion of a Sprint Champion must include Street Boss.  He like Curlin, just happened to loose the wrong race.  If we are to look at a "body of work" (like the Curlin camp would like) he stands out above the rest.

Yeah Jason.... Slew em all is right!!!  Why did Big Brown win all those G1 races when all he had to do is just win the Classic to get HOY ?

Lute wins it because he leaves an impressionable image in my mind when he runs.  I watched all of Benny's races and quite frankly nothing really stands out to me accept for the True North and I feel like his level of competition in that race was weak.  My favorite horse to watch all year has to be Ventura.  This filly is simply amazing to watch.  She looked the best of any horse warming up in the Breeders Cup.  And her race in the Cashcall mile was the stretch duel that I'll take away with me from 08 even though she ran 2nd.  She deserves some sort of award, I just don't know which one she will get.

Another vote here for Benny-his victory in Dubai was breathtaking!

I like Midnight Lute but I think Benny the Bull deserves it. He was obviously the best sprinter this year, and it shouldnt be held against him that his season was cut short due to injury. Midnight Lute only ran twice this year, winning once but that wasnt his fault. But it will most likely go to him based on the fact of him winning the sprint.

Indian Blessing and Ventura...no question, if it HAS to be a male to satisfy you sports guys, then, Benny the Bull.

I have to agree with Street Boss even though for some ignorant reason I think Midnight Lute will bag this one.

Hats off to EmilioP for stating it so well.  I really like his idea for giving the points.....

Ventura? No way.

Benny The Bull? Nice horse but I alway's think to myself if you put all the contender's in a match race, who's gonna come out first?  My answer would not be Benny.

Midnight Lute? I'd like to see more from this horse then what he has given us.

An award is a statement from a voting body that tell's of ones accomplishment's.  It states that one met the requirements to acheive the said recognition.

With that being said..... What is the industry requirements?  Why are they not set in stone?  

As alway's too many iron's in the fire and too many screw's.  Yep, I said screw's.  I had an old timer tell me one time "You know why they dont bury politicians when they die?" "Because their too crooked, you have to screw'em in the ground."  This story come to mind when we discuss these awards. POLITICS-POLITICS-POLITICS.  

At some point, we should have some interesting discussions about Forever Together vs. Goldikova and about somebody or other as best male turf horse.

Does Kip Deville get the Eclipse off a Gr. 1, a Gr. 3, and a second in the Mile? If so--and I'd say he does--then Midnight Lute is a defensible choice off a sensational win against a strong field.

Street Boss was on a 5 race winning streak entering the BC Sprint (Gr.I) which he finished 3rd in.  Let's review.  Won Bing Crosby (GR.I) in track record time (108.67).  Won Triple Bend (Gr.I).  Won Los Angeles Handicap (GR.III) in track record time (107.55).  Finished second in Ancient Title (GR I). And set track record at Santa Anita for 5 1/2 furlongs (101.27).  My argument is the same for those who say (mistakenly) that Zenyatta has never left California.  The Eclipse award runs straight though California and Street Boss has one impressive resume.  Horses that have not campained in California need to be looked at carefully.

I think Fatal Bullet was the best 2nd place finisher in BC History (well Dayjur might have a say in that!) But Midnight Lute! The best BC Sprint I've seen! And YES, because of that--he gets my "vote"!

Jason, Please explain to Joan just WHO votes for the Eclipse winners.

The INDUSTRY, per se has little to do with it. Their representation is the NTRA and I don't think that includes those on the frontline, which in racings case is the backside so to speak.

Okay Jason, I nominate you to chair a committee to come up with a point system and specific criteria.

As far as Joan, I absolutely know for a fact that the horsemen in the industry do not always agree with the Eclipse winners and THEY would like more input. They aren't always in it just for their own horse, they know talent even if it isn't in their own barn.

I wasnt speaking of the Eclipse in general. However if you want to go there...

Someone said earlier that Year end awards should be a competition not a popularity contest.

Who do you think make it a popularity contest?

That is in fact what these end of the year awards are whether some of you want to admit it or not.

your telling me that is NOT politics?  

It has to be Benny the Bull. WOw did he run his heart out in Dubai. What a way to go BENNY.

Had a little trouble reading and following your post Joan.

But my comment was a response to you about the 'INDUSTRY' and the politics and voting.

And actually, we WERE talking about the Eclipse awards.

Not sure what else you could be referring to?????????? on a post about who the Eclipse award winners will be in the Sprint category??????

Most of the industry people DO think it's political, reference the trainers posts on here from a couple months ago.

Talk to the writers and the NTRA (aren't their voters racing secretaries and officials, or did I get that info wrong Jason?)

I agree with AJH, Jason. We nominate YOU as a voice of reason, keeping traditions as well as taking us into the future by change that is needed on all levels. Though we cannot affect much, I believe we (you) can be a voice for change in the way the awards are given at the very least. If we do have a single way of picking the winners..i.e all based on points, then we wouldn't need voters from all over. Only if there was a tie. You need help? Let us know what we, your loyal bloggers can do to help. (besides take out our frustrations on you) lol

Since when is a mile considered a sprint? When arguments are used citing performances in mile races as qualifications for a SPRINT championship, I'm left rather confused.

As for the Eclipse awards, I feel they should be revamped in 2 ways, using other awards as examples. 1- Have a minimum number of starts in North America requirement, like the 3 starts in Canada for the Sovereign awards. For the Eclipse awards, I personally would like to see a 5 start min, that would average out to 1 start every 8 weeks or so through the BC. Certainly that should be enough for even today's "softies", although for the juveniles, I'd probably go 4 starts, with their shorter season. Does this punish injured horses or those who go to Dubai? Yes, but for the former, well you can't do much about that, and for the latter, it's up to the owners what they want more. 2- Adopt a system like the Cartiers in Europe, a combo of points earned in pattern races, writers votes and I believe fans get a voting share too. I think such a system worked very well this year, Zarkava didn't have the most G1 wins (that was Duke of Maramalade, wasn't it?), but she won HOY, deservedly so IMHO. Such a system rewards both on-track performance and whatever else you want to call it, popularity, "wow" factor, feel good story etc. Now this system really wouldn't help settle the Bull-Lute debate, except to eliminate both of them.

One last thing, and I'm sorry for being long winded, but for those who want to compare horse racing to other sports, the closest thing you can come to is NASCAR. Their signature event, the one that even the non NASCAR fan could probably identify, is the Daytona 500. It's their FIRST race of the year! The seasonal championship is just that, a year long run not based on the results of the marquee event on the schedule.

Midnight Lute. He is the Champion Sprinter. Who is faster? It would be like giving a sprinter award to someone other than Yousain Bolt. People would laugh.

The "writers" sometimes can not reach a consensus regarding HOY either. The writers at the Daily Racing Form voted for Lure for HOY.  The "writers" at TRA and NTWA voted for Kotashaan.   I'm sure the same will happen this year. A point system sounds like a good plan but I can hear the naysayers already saying a Grade I Filly and Mare event, or a Grade I Spint, is not equal to a Grade I Handicap. There are some sprinters out there that racked up some Grade I and II events.  Should they be considered for HOY this year?

I voted for Kotashaan over the great Lure---Kotashaan was a real good horse in his own right, truly the world's best at 1 1/2 and THAT is the classic turf distance....Also thought that 3 yo who won BC Turf this year had one wicked kick---would vote for him as this years Turf Champ....

Voting and a point system.  It sounds a lot like the College Football BCS system.  Texas or Oklahoma...Curlin or Zenyatta?  What about Utah or Midnight Lute for HOY?  Neither will get their chance.