Relying heavily on the results of the Breeders’ Cup, voters went outside the box in some categories when selecting finalists for the Eclipse Awards, which honor the 2024 champions of Thoroughbred racing. Led by Distaff winner Thorpedo Anna and Classic winner Sierra Leone, 10 of the 14 Breeders’ Cup race winners were among the finalists in their respective divisions. Thorpedo Anna is expected to be a near-unanimous choice in the 3-year-old filly division, while Sierra Leone is expected to battle Fierceness, the 2023 champion 2-year-old male, for top honors in the 3-year-old male division. Three finalists for the Eclipse Awards in 11 equine and five human categories were announced Sunday. The award winners will be announced and presented Jan. 23 at a black-tie ceremony held at The Breakers Palm Beach, a luxury resort in Palm Beach, Fla. The Horse of the Year finalists will be announced during the course of that ceremony, the winner being crowned at night’s end. Thorpedo Anna, a five-time Grade 1 stakes winner, is considered the favorite for that award with Sierra Leone and Fierceness likely to be among the other finalists. The Eclipse Awards are voted on by members of Daily Racing Form, the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the latter group represented by member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel. Out of 240 eligible voters, 208 ballots were returned, according to the NTRA. Finalists are determined based on the top three vote-getters in each division. Horses accrue points on a 10-5-1 basis for a first-, second-, or third-place vote. However, champions are determined based solely on first-place votes. Thorpedo Anna, whose Grade 1 victories in 2024 included the Kentucky Oaks, Acorn, Coaching Club American Oaks, Cotillion, and BC Distaff, is joined as a finalist in the 3-year-old filly division by turf runners Cinderella’s Dream, the BC Filly and Mare Turf runner-up; and She Feels Pretty, a two-time Grade 1 stakes winner who did not compete in the Breeders’ Cup. Not among the finalists was Power Squeeze, who raced nine times in 2024, winning five stakes including the Grade 1 Alabama. :: Full list of 2024 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories The 3-year-old male division could be one of the most hotly contested battles between Sierra Leone and Fierceness, the one-two finishers in the BC Classic. Sierra Leone and Fierceness split four decisions last year though in the Kentucky Derby, Sierra Leone was second, beaten a nose, while Fierceness finished 15th. Fierceness defeated Sierra Leone in both the Jim Dandy and Travers, the latter being a race Thorpedo Anna finished second. Dornoch, the Belmont Stakes and Haskell winner, was the third finalist in the division. Perhaps, the most notable category in which Breeders’ Cup results helped determine the finalists was in the older dirt male division. Full Serrano, winner of the BC Dirt Mile, and Straight No Chaser, winner of the BC Sprint, were selected as finalists along with National Treasure, the only multiple Grade 1 winner in the division with victories in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and Metropolitan Handicap. National Treasure, due to injury, did not run in the Breeders’ Cup. The Dirt Mile was Full Serrano’s lone stakes win in two such races and just three overall starts in North America. Straight No Chaser raced just three times, winning a pair of graded events. Not selected as finalists were Highland Falls and Subsanador, both being multiple stakes winners with each winning one Grade 1. Naturally, Straight No Chaser is a finalist in the sprint division, where his competition includes the three-time graded stakes-winning turf sprinter Cogburn and The Chosen Vron. In addition to being finalists in the 3-year-old filly division, Cinderella’s Dream and She Feels Pretty are finalists in the female turf division along with Moira, who beat Cinderella’s Dream by a half-length in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf and who also won the Grade 2 Beverly D. Moira finished second in two other Grade 1 stakes. Rebel’s Romance, who won the Breeders’ Cup Turf in his lone start in North America, is a finalist in the male turf category. He is joined by two-time Grade 1 winner Carl Spackler along with Johannes, who won five graded stakes from six starts, his lone defeat coming by three-quarters of a length to More Than Looks in the BC Mile. More Than Looks and two-time Grade 1 winner Far Bridge were not finalists. Idiomatic, the 2023 older dirt female champion, is again a finalist in that category in 2024. She was a two-time Grade 1 winner, but missed the Breeders’ Cup due to injury. Adare Manor, also a two-time Grade 1 winner who didn’t race beyond Aug. 3, and Raging Sea, who beat Idiomatic in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign and was runner-up to Thorpedo Anna in the Distaff, are the other finalists. Soul of an Angel, who won the BC Filly and Mare Sprint and two other graded stakes as part of an 11-race campaign, heads the list of finalists in the female sprint category. Society, a Grade 1 winner who was second in the Filly and Mare Sprint from three starts, and Ways and Means, the Grade 1 Test winner, were the other finalists. Not voted as a finalist was Sweet Azteca, a three-time graded stakes winner. Citizen Bull, a two-time Grade 1 stakes winner including the BC Juvenile, heads the list of finalists in the 2-year-old male division, a category that includes his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Gaming, second in the Juvenile and a Grade 1 winner, and two-time Grade 1 winner Chancer McPatrick. Immersive, a three-time Grade 1 winner including the BC Juvenile Fillies, should be a near-unanimous choice in the 2-year-old filly division, a category that includes BC Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Lake Victoria and the undefeated Good Cheer. Snap Decision, runner-up in the voting in 2023, is again a finalist for champion steeplechase horse along with Carloun and L’Imperator. Chad Brown, Brad Cox, and Kenny McPeek are the finalists in the trainer category. Brown, a four-time Eclipse Award winner who led all trainers in purse money won in 2024, and Cox each won 65 stakes, though Brown won 47 graded stakes, including 15 Grade 1s, compared to 33 graded wins, six Grade 1s, for Cox, a two-time Eclipse winner. Brown had five horses named as Eclipse finalists. McPeek, who has not yet won an Eclipse Award, became the first trainer in 72 years to win the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Bob Baffert, who won 11 Grade 1 stakes, has four Eclipse finalists, and likely two champions, did not make it as a finalist. Flavien Prat is expected to win his first Eclipse Award as champion jockey, unseating five-time winner Irad Ortiz Jr., both of whom are finalists in the category along with Tyler Gaffalione for a second straight year. Prat set single-year records for stakes wins (82), graded stakes wins (56) – including 16 Grade 1s – and led all jockeys in earnings with $37,274,176.  Erik Asmussen, son of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, is among the finalists for apprentice jockey along with Gabriel Maldonado and J.G. Torrealba. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Godolphin operation is looking to sweep the owner and breeder categories for a fourth straight year. Godolphin campaigned 22 North American graded stakes winners and set a single-season record for earnings as owner. Other finalists in the owner category are Klaravich Stables and Juddmonte.  Calumet Farm and Judy Hicks, the latter being the breeder of Thorpedo Anna, are other finalists in the breeder category. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.