Sovereignty wins the Kentucky Derby, Credit Coady Media
NTRA Press Release
Lexington, Ky. ─ The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) announced tonight that Sovereignty, who won five races last year, including the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and the Belmont Stakes (G1), was named the 2025 Horse of the Year at the 55th Annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards ceremony, presented by John Deere, The Jockey Club, and the NTRA at The Breakers Palm Beach.
The Eclipse Awards, honoring excellence in North American Thoroughbred racing, are voted on by the NTRA, consisting of member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, Daily Racing Form (DRF), and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.
Owned by Godolphin and trained by Bill Mott, Sovereignty received 201 out of a possible 220 first-place votes for Horse of the Year. As a 3-year-old, Sovereignty won the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park, the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, the Belmont Stakes, the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2), and the DraftKings Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. He was ridden in all of his races by Junior Alvarado. In addition to capturing Horse of the Year, Sovereignty was also voted Champion Three-Year-Old Male.
Following Sovereignty in the Horse of the Year voting was Forever Young (JPN), winner of last year’s Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), with 17 votes, and Ted Noffey, winner of the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). Forever Young, based in Japan, was voted Champion Older Dirt Male and Ted Noffey, with two votes for Horse of the Year, was named Champion Two-Year-Old Male. Preakness Stakes winner Journalism was a finalist for both Champion Three-Year-Old Male and Horse of the Year.
It was a big night for Sovereignty’s connections, as Godolphin, his owner and breeder, swept the Outstanding Owner and Breeder Eclipse Awards, and Mott was voted Outstanding Trainer.
Godolphin, a preeminent international racing and breeding operation, was named Outstanding Owner for the ninth time, and Outstanding Breeder for the fifth consecutive year and sixth overall. Godolphin led all North American owners in earnings with a single-season record of $22,395,556 as its runners combined for eight Grade 1 victories, which included a sweep of the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) by Good Cheer and Sovereignty in the Kentucky Derby, a feat last accomplished by owner/breeder Calumet Farm in 1952. Godolphin also led all North American breeders in 2025 with progeny earnings of $27,288,066. In addition to Sovereignty, Godolphin’s Notable Speech (GB), a two-time Grade 1 winner in North America, was voted Champion Male Turf Horse for trainer Charlie Appleby.
Mott earned his fifth Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer, having previously won the trophy in 1995, 1996, 2011 and 2023. Mott won 13 graded stakes in 2025, which included Scylla capturing the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1). Mott has now trained winners in four Horse of the Year campaigns. In addition to Sovereignty, Mott trained Horses of the Year Cigar (1995, 1996) and Cody’s Wish (2023).
For the second consecutive year, Flavien Prat has won the Outstanding Jockey Eclipse Award. The French-born rider was second in total earnings with $40,496,178 and just $1,669 behind overall leader Irad Oritz Jr., but Prat led all jockeys with 46 graded stakes wins and 13 Grade 1 scores. Those wins included Breeders’ Cup triumphs aboard Nysos in the Dirt Mile (G1) and Splendora in the PNC Bank Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).
Shisopicy, a front-running winner of the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) clinched the Champion Female Sprinter award for owners Playmor Racing, LLC and Qatar Racing, LLC and trainer Jose D’Angelo. The Champion Male Sprinter was Atlanta Six Racing’s Book’em Danno, who won three graded stakes at Saratoga, culminating with the Grade 1 Forego for trainer Derek Ryan.
The 2024 Horse of the Year, Thorpedo Anna, had another successful season, taking the Apple Blossom (G1) at Oaklawn Park and the Personal Ensign (G1) at Saratoga to win the Older Dirt Female championship for Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings, Inc., Magdalena Racing, Mark Edwards, and Judy B. Hicks, and trainer Kenny McPeek.
The Female Turf honor went to She Feels Pretty, owned by Lael Stables and trained by Cherie DeVaux. During her 4-year-old season, She Feels Pretty won two Grade 1 races, taking the New York Stakes at Saratoga and the E.P. Taylor Stakes in Canada at Woodbine.
Another versatile female star last year was D.J. Stable’s Nitrogen, the Three-Year-Old Filly champion, who won six races in nine starts on dirt and turf, including the Alabama Stakes (G1) at Saratoga for trainer Mark Casse.
Susumu Fujita’s Forever Young gave Japan its second Eclipse Award. Trained by Yoshito Yahagi, Forever Young’s scintillating victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic earned him the Older Dirt Male Championship. Yahagi campaigned Japanese-based Loves Only You (JPN) to the 2021 Female Turf Eclipse Award.
In online voting by fans, Forever Young’s thrilling score in the Breeders’ Cup Classic was the 2025 FanDuel-NTRA Moment of the Year.
In the Juvenile Divisions, Spendthrift Farm’s Ted Noffey parlayed back-to-back wins in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar to finish 2025 undefeated in four starts, and taking Champion 2-Year-Old Male honors for trainer Todd Pletcher. Based on her dominant win in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), Super Corredora, owned by Spartan Equine Racing LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, Robert C. Gardiner, and Michael Olszewski, took home the Two-Year-Old Filly Eclipse Award. She is trained by John Sadler.
Riverdee Stables Cool Jet (IRE) won Champion Steeplechase Horse. Trained by Jack Fisher, the 9-year-old won three consecutive races, including the Grade 1 Commonwealth Cup Stakes at Great Meadow in Virginia.
Completing the human awards, Pietro Moran was voted Outstanding Apprentice Jockey. Based in Canada, Moran led all North American apprentice riders with 140 wins and earnings of more than $6 million.
The late Edward L. Bowen received the Eclipse Award of Merit for a lifetime of contributions to the industry. Trevor Denman, longtime track announcer in California, and Bob Duncan, longtime starter in New York, were honored with Special Eclipse Awards for career excellence. Dan Piazza, winner of the 2025 NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC), also received his Eclipse Award as the 2025 Horseplayer of the Year.
The complete list of 2025 Eclipse Award winners and vote totals appears below:
(Horse ages in parentheses where applicable; Country codes indicate a foreign breeding designation)
• Two-Year-Old Male: Ted Noffey
• Two-Year-Old Filly: Super Corredora
• Three-Year-Old Male: Sovereignty
• Three-Year-Old Filly: Nitrogen
• Older Dirt Male: Forever Young (JPN) (4)
• Older Dirt Female: Thorpedo Anna (4)
• Male Sprinter: Book’em Danno (4)
• Female Sprinter: Shisospicy (3)
• Male Turf Horse: Notable Speech (GB) (4)
• Female Turf Horse: She Feels Pretty (4)
• Steeplechase Horse: Cool Jet (9)
• Owner: Godolphin LLC
• Breeder: Godolphin
• Jockey: Flavien Prat
• Apprentice Jockey: Pietro Moran
• Trainer: Bill Mott
• Horse of the Year: Sovereignty
The Eclipse Awards
Eclipse Awards are bestowed upon the Thoroughbred horses and individuals whose outstanding achievements have earned them the title of Champion in their respective divisions. The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age 5 and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.
Photos of the 2025 Eclipse Awards are available here.
Voting Overview
In voting that concluded on Jan. 1, 2026, Eclipse Awards voters cast their ballots to rank the top three horses and individuals in each Championship division on a 10-5-1 point system.
This voting established the top three finalists in each division, whose names were released on Jan. 4, 2026.
The tallies below represent only first-place votes from members of the consolidated voting entities, NTRA, Daily Racing Form, and National Turf Writers And Broadcasters.
Voter participation rate: 220/240 = 92%
(Name, First-Place Votes)
Two-Year-Old Male
Ted Noffey, 218; Further Ado, 1; Gstaad (GB), 1.
Two-Year-Old Filly
Super Corredora, 146; Cy Fair, 49; Explora, 10; Tommy Jo, 4; Mythical, 3; Bella Ballerina, 2; Percy’s Bar, 2; Zany, 2; Balantina (IRE), 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Three-Year-Old Male
Sovereignty, 219; Voter Abstention, 1.
Three-Year-Old Filly
Nitrogen, 183; Shisospicy, 24; Gezora (FR), 5; Fionn, 2; La Cara, 2; Clicquot, 1; Good Cheer, 1; Kilwin, 1; Lush Lips (GB), 1.
Older Dirt Male
Forever Young, 127; Sierra Leone, 50; Nysos, 24; Mindframe, 9; Fierceness, 6; Book’em Danno, 1; Touchuponastar, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Older Dirt Female
Thorpedo Anna, 171; Scylla, 33; Splendora, 9; Cavalieri, 2; Hope Road, 1; Kopion, 1; Seismic Beauty, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Male Sprinter
Book’em Danno, 115; Bentornato, 82; Nysos, 14; Patch Adams, 5; Mindframe, 1; Troubleshooting, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Female Sprinter
Shisospicy, 113; Splendora, 68; Kopion, 34; Ag Bullet, 1; Hope Road, 1; Positano Sunset, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Male Turf Horse
Notable Speech (GB), 115; Rebel’s Romance (IRE), 59; Ethical Diamond, 23; Deterministic, 17; Zulu Kingdom (IRE), 2; Carl Spackler (IRE), 1; Formidable Man, 1; Troubleshooting, 1; World Beater, 1.
Female Turf Horse
She Feels Pretty, 151; Gezora (FR), 36; Shisopicy, 22, Lush Lips (GB), 4; Nitrogen, 4; Ag Bullet, 2; Excellent Truth (IRE), 1.
Steeplechase Horse
Cool Jet (IRE), 119; Zanahiyr (IRE), 51; Swore, 14; Proven Innocent, 8; Abaan, 6; Fil Dor (FR), 1; Historic Heart (IRE), 1; Voter Abstentions, 20.
Owner
Godolphin, 206; Spendthrift Farm LLC, 7; Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, 2; Bruno Schickedanz, 2; Susumu Fujita, 1; Klaravich Stables, Inc., 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Breeder
Godolphin, 212; WinStar Farm, LLC, 2; Aaron and Marie Jones, 1; Calumet Farm, 1; Don Alberto Corporation, 1; Northern Racing, 1; Tanma Corporation, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Trainer
Bill Mott, 85; Brad Cox, 50; Chad Brown, 40; Todd Pletcher, 21; Bob Baffert, 13; Steve Asmussen, 3; Jamie Ness, 2; Mark Casse, 1; Christophe Clement, 1; Michael Maker, 1; Brendan Walsh, 1; Henry Walters, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Jockey
Flavien Prat, 152; Irad Ortiz Jr., 52; John Velazquez, 6; Junior Alvarado, 5; Jose Ortiz, 3; Kendrick Carmouche, 1; Tyler Gaffalione, 1.
Apprentice Jockey
Pietro Moran, 128; Yedsit Hazlewood, 55; Christopher Elliott, 26; Voter Abstentions, 11.
Horse of the Year
Sovereignty, 201; Forever Young (JPN), 17; Ted Noffey, 2.
***
Award of Merit
Edward L. Bowen was posthumously honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit
Special Eclipse Awards for Career Excellence
Bob Duncan and Trevor Denman each received a Special Eclipse Award for Career Excellence.
Horseplayer of the Year
Dan Piazza was presented with an Eclipse Award as the 2025 Horseplayer of the Year.
Media Eclipse Awards
Media Eclipse Awards also are given in the categories of photography, multimedia, news/enterprise writing, feature/commentary writing, television–-feature, and television–live racing programming to recognize members of the media for outstanding coverage of Thoroughbred racing. The 2025 Media Eclipse Awards winners, determined by a judges’ panel for each category and previously announced, are:
Live Television Programming – FOX Sports, “The Belmont Stakes,” Michael Mulvihill, President – Insight & Analytics, June 7, 2025
Feature Television – FOX Sports, “The Healing Ride,” Michael Mulvihill President – Insight & Analytics, June 7, 2025
Writing – News/Enterprise – Natalie Voss, Paulick Report – “Doom Scroll: Thoroughbreds, Bail Pens, And Horse Traders,” December 2024
Writing – Feature/Commentary – Jay Privman, DRF.com and Daily Racing Form, “Lukas Morphed from Caustic to Avuncular,” June 29, 2025
Photography – Skip Dickstein, “Unseated,” The Albany Times-Union and BloodHorse, Aug. 31, 2025
Multimedia – Augusta Chapman and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics Radio “The Horse is Us: Inside the Horse-Industrial Complex,” Oct. 31, 2025
FanDuel Racing-NTRA 2025 Moment of the Year
The connections of Forever Young (JPN) were honored as the winner of the FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year, as voted on by fans. The 4-year-old colt, owned by Susumu Fujita and trained by Yoshito Yahagi, captured the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic. (G1).
About the Eclipse Awards
Produced by the NTRA, The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies. Eclipse Awards voting is conducted by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), Daily Racing Form, National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) member racing officials and Equibase field personnel. Each Eclipse Awards Finalist will be provided two complimentary tickets to the Awards show courtesy of The Jockey Club.
About Resolute Racing
Resolute Racing is committed to the highest standards of excellence and transparency in the horse racing industry. Driven by a passion for the sport and the welfare of every horse, we prioritize ethical practices and accountability across our operations. Founded by John Stewart, Resolute Racing is dedicated to ensuring that every racehorse has a secure future, fostering a culture of responsibility among owners, trainers, and all participants. With a focus on integrity and respect for the animals, we aim to set a new standard in the racing world, where success is measured not only by wins but by the long-term care and well-being of our thoroughbreds.
About The Breakers Palm Beach
Originally built in 1896, The Breakers remains one of America’s legendary resort destinations. Renowned for its seaside glamour and world-class service, the 538-room, Italian Renaissance-style hotel resides on 140 acres of oceanfront property in the heart of Palm Beach. With unapologetic luxury, Resort amenities feature a private beach, four oceanfront pools, five whirlpool spas, 25 luxury beach bungalows and a variety of watersports; a new luxury spa; indoor-outdoor Ocean Fitness center; 36 holes of championship golf, including the Ocean Course and The Breakers Rees Jones® Course; 10 Har-Tru tennis courts; a Family Entertainment Center; an array of on-site boutiques; and nine acclaimed restaurants, with settings ranging from casual beachfront to stylishly sophisticated.
Contact: Jim Gluckson, Eclipse Awards, Jim.gluckson@gmail.com
