The Eclipse Award Trophy is presented annually to recognize those horses and individuals whose outstanding achievements have earned them the title of Champion in their respective categories. Presently there are twenty categories that include

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

, eleven Division Champions, five connection Champions and three miscellaneous awards. The Eclipse Awards are co-sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers Association. Prior to the start of the Eclipse Awards in 1971, the TRA and the Daily Racing Form separately honored racing's annual champions.Thoroughbred Racing Associations website; .

History

The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century English racehorse and sire,

Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

, who did not begin racing until age five. He was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, three of his get winning the Epsom Derby. The Eclipse Award Trophy was designed by acclaimed

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

artist

Adalin Wichman Adalin Wichman (1922 – March 10, 2013) was an American sculptor and artist from the U.S. state of Kentucky. Wichman designed the Eclipse Award Trophy in 1971, which are awarded to horses and individuals who have made outstanding contributions ...

in 1971. Wichman based her bronze trophy on an 18th-century painting of

. Her husband, architect William Wichman, designed the award's walnut base. Ms. Wichman holds the Eclipse copyright and has produced each sculpture, working only with a few small selected American foundries with expertise in studio bronze casting by the lost wax method. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each of eleven horse divisions that include; American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt,

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

, American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse, American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly,

American Champion Older Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of ...

, American Champion Older Female Horse,

American Champion Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1947, in 1971 it became part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to the top horse in sprint races (usually those run at a distance ...

American Champion Female Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Female Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to the top female horse in sprint races usually run at a distance of 6 or 7 furlongs. This category honoring female sprinters became par ...

, American Champion Male Turf Horse, American Champion Female Turf Horse and Outstanding Steeplechase horse. The winner of the Eclipse Award allows the horse in each of the eleven categories to be designated as a "Champion" for the rest of their racing and breeding careers. Five Eclipse Awards Trophies are presented to humans based on their affiliations to their horses. Those five categories are; Outstanding Owner, Outstanding Breeder, Outstanding Trainer, Outstanding Jockey and Outstanding Apprentice Jockey. At the end of the Eclipse Award evening the coveted select solid gold Eclipse Award trophy is presented to the

. Each statue is hand finished, following the casting, by cleaning, patching, colouring and waxing using classical bronze sculpture finishing techniques by the artist to its final form and luster. It is then mounted on the hand crafted, native Kentucky walnut base to comprise the Eclipse Award on which a brass plate names the award winner.

References

* {{Eclipse Awards Horse racing in the United States Horse racing awards American horse racing trophies