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No, it was an article put out by NZB, with all the good news. It failed to mention what the clearance rate was and how that compared to previous years, as done with the good news. That is spin -
By Chief Stipe · Posted
Come on @hesi you can do better than that. All the detail is on the website. At the end of Day 1 the clearance rate was 77%. Only 1% below the final clearance rate for the last 2 years. I expect that the clearance figure will increase. So 100-77 = 23% passed in. -
Come on Chief, an article is spin when you only publish the good news. It does not contain any info about the % passed in and how that compares with previous years
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By paleface adios · Posted
Here was me thinking Brodster answer would be sweet lou lol -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
There are no rules, no guidelines, nothing of the kind, when it comes to Eclipse Award voting. You can vote for whomever you want for whatever reason you want. But I always was of the belief that there was an unwritten rule, or at least an understanding, that the Eclipse Awards were all about recognizing year-round excellence, that champions were the ones who most excelled throughout the year. Maybe that's because I became a racing fan and later a racing journalist when horses really did race more than four or five times a year, ran throughout much of the calendar and no one had ever heard of the Breeders' Cup, which is now recognized as a year-end championship event. So maybe I'm just a curmudgeon and I just haven't caught up with the times. If so, guilty as charged. But I still believe the Eclipse Awards have lost their way and veered far away from their original purpose. That was evident again this year when Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) was named the Eclipse Award winner in the older dirt male category. He even got 17 votes for Horse of the Year, a category in which Sovereignty (Into Mischief) should have been a unanimous choice. It's not that Forever Young isn't a spectacular horse. He won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic and the G1 Saudi Cup, along with a stakes race on his home turf in Japan. You can make a solid argument that he had one of the very best campaigns of any horse in the world, but this was never supposed to be an honor bestowed on horses because of what they did outside of North America or in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Japan or Europe. With my votes, I take into account only what a horse accomplished in the U.S. and Canada. So, I boiled down Forever Young's Eclipse-worthy accomplishment to just one race, the Breeders' Cup Classic. And, circling back to my prior point, a one-race campaign does not, and should not, be considered enough to earn a horse an Eclipse Award. To be fair to Forever Young and his supporters, he probably wouldn't have won the Eclipse if it weren't for the fact that his competition in the Older Dirt Male category was so weak. Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), who was second in the voting, won only one race the entire year and finished second behind Forever Young in the Classic. Nysos (Nyquist), who was third in the voting, did win three races during the year, but one was a sprint and his lone Grade I win came in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. I was one of nine people who voted for Mindframe (Constitution) in this category. He didn't exactly light up the racetrack in 2025 either, but he at least won two Grade I races on U.S. soil, something no other horse in the category accomplished. That Forever Young was named the Older Dirt Male champion was hardly a surprise. With his victory, he joined a long list of horses who won Eclipse Awards in a year in which they ran only once in North America. According to stats provided by Equibase, 24 horses have won Eclipse Awards despite only making one start during their award-winning year in the U.S. or Canada. The list starts with Pebbles (GB) in 1985. All 24 were Breeders' Cup winners. The list also includes some spectacular horses like Miesque and Goldikova (Ire). Even I probably voted for them. I'd have to look back. But Miesque won her titles 1987 and 1988, and Goldikova was a champion in 2009 and 2010. That's a long time ago. Since then, I have changed and have instituted my own rule. In my one-man, probably hopeless, campaign to return some sanity to the Eclipse Awards, I no longer vote for any horse that has not had at least two starts in North America. That's why I had no problem voting for Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) for Champion Male Turf Horse. Based in the U.K. with Charlie Appleby, the Godolphin star not only won the GI Breeders' Cup Mile, but also the GI Woodbine Mile at Woodbine. With these one-and-done winners, the situation is getting out of hand, and it's time for whoever decides these things to institute a rule that requires a minimum number of starts in North America in order to be eligible. I say it should be two. In Canada, they are even stricter. In order to be eligible for a Sovereign Award, which is their version of the Eclipse Awards, a horse has to have made three starts in Canada. That's why Notable Speech, who won Canada's most prestigious grass race, isn't even on the ballot for a Sovereign Award. I suppose I am fighting a losing battle and I know that many will disagree with my take. But the voters and this industry have defied what I believe is the spirit of the Eclipse Awards. Champions aren't supposed to be made in one race. Instituting a rule is the only way to reel things in. In California, Follow the Money Good for Santa Anita and The Stronach Group for their efforts to bring in a much-needed source of alternative revenue in the form of Racing on Demand machines. But no one should be surprised that they lasted all of two days before they were hauled out of the track by Department of Justice law enforcement officers. Their removal was directed by the state's Attorney General Rob Bonta. The fight is between Santa Anita and the state's Indian tribes, which have tremendous political clout, much of it because the tribes have been contributing millions to the state's politicians for years. They have always had what amounts to a lock on casino gaming in the state. And they've taken good care of Bonta. According to CalMatters, a non-profit, non-partisan news organization, since 2021 Native American tribes have donated at least $220,000 to Bonta. According to Politico, right before he issued an opinion that paid daily fantasy sports constitute illegal, unlicensed gambling, he received a $101,000 donation from the Indian tribes. In a development unrelated to racing, Bonta showed his true colors. According to SFist.com, Bonta took a $16,000 donation from a card club, the Bicycle Hotel and Casino. This occurred at the same time his office was investigating the Bicycle club for money laundering. The money laundering charges were dropped. Wonder why? I could not find any record of Santa Anita, the Los Angeles Turf Club, The Stronach Group or 1/ST Racing making any donations to Bonta. Maybe that has been a mistake, but outspending the Indian tribes when it comes to political contributions is a daunting task. The fight to legalize the machines and have them permanently installed at Santa Anita has just begun. But in the state's Attorney General, California racing is clearly facing a roadblock. Six Speed Takes Step Toward Kentucky Derby It looks like Jake Ballis and his partners uncovered a serious prospect with the purchase of Six Speed (Not This Time). Making his first start for his new, American-based, connections he romped by five lengths in Friday's G3 UAE Two Thousand Guineas at Meydan. The G2 UAE Derby will be next, and a win there will punch his ticket for the GI Kentucky Derby. Horses coming out of the UAE Derby haven't shown much in the Kentucky Derby, but this one has the talent and the breeding to break through. Keep an eye on him. The post The Week in Review: Time for Eclipse Awards to Institute Some Much-Needed Rules appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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