A Look at the 2018 Eclipse Awards Voting

Justify  delivered a dominating performance in earning Eclipse Awards as champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year, but racing's 13th Triple Crown winner didn't have the coattails when it came to most of his human connections.

Justify was the lone unanimous 2018 Eclipse Award winner Jan. 24, receiving all 249 votes for 3-year-old male. There were no unanimous choices in 2017 after Classic Empire  (2-year-old male), Songbird (3-year-old female), and California Chrome  (older male) each earned unanimous divisional Eclipse Awards for 2016.

After quite a bit of debate going into this year's awards, Justify also ultimately enjoyed a comfortable victory in the Horse of the Year voting, outpacing Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Accelerate  191-54.

Although Justify dominated the voting, his owners (WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing, and Head of Plains Partners), trainer (Bob Baffert), and jockey (Mike Smith) had to settle for being finalists. 

Justify's owners finished third in their category as Accelerate's owner, Hronis Racing, took the top honor by a wide margin, 141-27 over Peter Brant, with the Justify partnership receiving 25 votes. Baffert was edged by Chad Brown 137-94, and Mike Smith was second by a wide margin to Irad Ortiz Jr., 173-40. 

Voters did give Justify's breeder the nod as John Gunther secured the outstanding breeder award 102-68 over runner-up WinStar Farm.

After Justify, the most decisive divisional winners were Game Winner for 2-year-old male and Monomoy Girl for 3-year-old filly; both secured 247 out of 249 votes. Accelerate received 245 votes in earning older dirt male honors.

The closest category was the female turf horse division, where the four North American grade 1 wins by Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) winner Sistercharlie proved just enough to get the nod over Enable, who defeated males in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) less than four weeks after winning the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), by a 130-119 vote.

The three Eclipse Awards voting entities are NTRA, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. Of 271 eligible voters, 249 participated (91.88%).

2018 Eclipse Award voting

HORSE OF THE YEAR

Justify 191; Accelerate 54; Monomoy Girl 2; Enable 1; Voter Abstention 1.

2-Year-Old Male

Game Winner 247; Bulletin 1; Knicks Go 1. 

2-Year-Old Filly 

Jaywalk 214; Newspaperofrecord 31; Bellafina 4.

3-Year-Old Male 

Justify 249. 

3-Year-Old Filly 

Monomoy Girl 247; Magical 1; Rushing Fall 1.

Older Dirt Male

Accelerate 245; Gun Runner 2; Discreet Lover 1; Roy H 1.

Older Dirt Female 

Unique Bella 182; Abel Tasman 34; Marley's Freedom 14; Blue Prize 9; Wow Cat 9; Voter Abstention 1.

Male Sprinter

Roy H 234; City of Light 9; Imperial Hint 3; Stormy Liberal 2; Mind Your Biscuits 1.

Female Sprinter

Shamrock Rose 136; Marley's Freedom 113.

Male Turf Horse

Stormy Liberal 85; Expert Eye 66; Glorious Empire 43; Catholic Boy 14; Heart to Heart 12; Catapult 8; Channel Maker 7; Raging Bull 7; Robert Bruce 2; Funtastic 1; Oscar Performance 1; Yoshida 1; Voter Abstentions 2. 

Female Turf Horse

Sistercharlie 130; Enable 119.

Steeplechase Horse

Zanjabeel 176; Optimus Prime 22; Jury Duty 12; Iranistan 4; Balance the Budget 1; Voter Abstentions 34.

Owner

Hronis Racing 141; Peter Brant 27; WinStar Farm, China Horse Club Intl., Starlight Racing, Head of Plains Partners 25; Calumet Farm 8; Klaravich Stables 8; Godolphin Racing 6; End Zone Athletics 5; WinStar Farm 5; Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen, 4; Sol Kumin 3; Michael Dubb, Monomoy Stables, The Elkstone Group, Bethlehem Stables 2; China Horse Club 1; China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners 1; Juddmonte Farms 1; Loooch Racing Stables 1; Voter Abstentions 10.  

Breeder

John D. Gunther 102; WinStar Farm 68; Mike Abraham 21; Calumet Farm 14; Fred Hertrich III & John D. Fielding 13; Juddmonte Farms 8; Summer Wind Equine 5; Kenneth & Sarah Ramsey 3; Brereton C. Jones 2; Besilu Stables 1; FPF & Highfield Ranch 1; Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings 1; Spendthrift Farm 1; Voter Abstentions 9.

Trainer

Chad Brown 137; Bob Baffert 94; Steve Asmussen 6; Brad Cox 4; John Sadler 2; Karl Broberg 2; Jason Servis 1; Jerry Hollendorfer 1; Voter Abstentions 2.

Jockey

Irad Ortiz Jr. 173; Mike Smith 40; Jose Ortiz 25; Joel Rosario 8; Florent Geroux 1; Javier Castellano 1; Voter Abstentions 1.

Apprentice Jockey

Weston Hamilton 115; Edgar Morales 87; Reylu Gutierrez 11; Heriberto Figueroa 7; Kazushi Kimura 3; Assael Espinoza 2; Evin Roman 1; Johan Rosado 1; Voter Abstentions 22.