Eclipse Awards Diaries: Fantasy Friday

Honestly, I am such a baby when it comes to the cold; so when I was packing up my bag on Thursday to head to the Eclipse Awards at Gulfstream Park, I could not have been more eager to escape the frozen tundra that is New York City in favor of the balmy oasis that is South Florida.
Thankfully, my plane left JFK in a fairly timely fashion, and when I arrived at my destination airport I was finally able to shed the million layers of sweaters, coats and scarves that were bundled around me like a cocoon.
I’m lucky that my parents live in South Florida, so I got to spend Thursday night in my own bed surrounded by dogs – pretty much my ideal scenario. Then, first thing on Friday morning, I was in my rental car and headed down the I-95 corridor to Gulfstream Park for a wonderful afternoon of racing in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Gulfstream Park has so much to offer fans who take advantage of the track’s beautiful weather and free admission. The horses are stunning, the facility is clean and modern, the pageantry of the afternoon is breathtaking and the racing action is fantastically competitive.
 

Live racing is just the start of the fun at Gulfstream! New this year is the jumbo-sized Pegasus statue welcoming fans to the park. It is massive, and Pegasus is fighting a dragon. If that doesn’t grab your attention, then I want to know more about your life. 

Plus, there are tons of fun things to do between races: not only is the track surrounded by shops, bars and restaurants as part of its facility, but if you look closely at the infield of the racecourse itself you’ll notice some amazing wildlife. For example, I noticed two pink flamingoes, a pair of black swans and ducks galore at the edge of the infield pond between races!

It doesn’t get much better than that in the middle of January.
I also ran into some pretty amazing people as I was wandering around the track today. Here’s Acacia Courtney, who is Miss Connecticut, trying on hats with her mom and milliner Christine A. Moore at Christine’s hat stand at Gulfstream!

Of course, any time I am in close proximity to Christine’s amazing millinery creations I immediately must put all of the hats on my head. My new obsession is this cornflower blue wide-brimmed confection, which I love very much:

So pretty!
After a day of running around the racetrack, it was time to get ready for an evening of excitement at the Eclipse Awards cocktail reception, which is held in Gulfstream Park’s paddock area. The track really pulls out all the stops for this shindig, and it’s an amazing chance to see and chat with some of horse racing’s biggest stars. Plus, the entire evening benefits retired racehorse charities, so it’s a can’t-miss night for lovers of the sport.
When the sun went down, the party started heating up, with revelers pouring into the Gulfstream paddock to take in the festivities. 

Oh, and check this out: there was an amazing spread for partygoers, which was so right up my alley. Carving station!

Raw bar!

Bonbon area complete with a lady wearing a skirt *made* from bonbons!

Heaven.
On top of the delectable food, there was also entertainment galore. I ran into my wonderful friend John Scheinman (who won this year’s Eclipse Award for the Feature/Commentary category! Go John!), and we headed over to this area where you could have your photo taken holding giant birds of paradise. Obviously, we jumped right in.

There was also a man at the party who was hand-rolling cigars. While I’m not a cigar smoker, I was so impressed with his obvious expertise as he showed off his craft.

There were also professional dancers galore, who were cutting a rug to the musical stylings of a killer Cuban band:

I also spotted some of racing’s brightest stars mingling with fans; here are Steve and Carolyn Coburn, co-owners of California Chrome:

Legendary track announcer Tom Durkin and Eclipse Award winner John Scheinman:

Team Sherman Racing, including California Chrome's trainer, Art Sherman (second from left), and assistant trainer Alan Sherman (far right):

As the stars of racing mingled under the darkening sky at Gulfstream Park, I reflected on what an amazing year we Thoroughbred fans were treated to in 2014. I am so excited to see who earns the high honors at Saturday night’s Eclipse Awards, and please let me know in the comments who you think will bring home year-end honors!