NEW YORK, N.Y. – America’s Best Racing (ABR) announced today the launch of its second annual America’s Best Racing Fan Choice Awards in partnership with the Secretariat Vox Populi Award. The 2020 Fan Choice Awards will open to fans for online voting on AmericasBestRacing.net on Thursday, Nov. 12, and be open through Nov. 30. Three new categories have been added to the lineup for the 2020 Fan Choice Awards, which will feature a total of 10 award categories.
“After such a successful inaugural launch last year, we are excited to bring back the Fan Choice Awards,” said Penelope Miller, senior manager of digital media for TJC Media Venture. “This has certainly been one of the more challenging years for the global racing community, and as we reflect on the ways in which the sport of racing has been a welcome distraction and offered moments of pure elation, the Fan Choice Awards are the perfect opportunity for fans to express their enthusiasm and gratitude for the horses, personalities, and racing outlets that entertained us this past year.”
The awards are designed to be interactive and give fans a voice in determining their favorites for 2020. At the conclusion of the open fan voting period on Monday, Nov. 30, four lucky voters will be randomly selected and each awarded a $1,000 Amazon gift card. Voting will be limited to one vote per email address.
The categories for the 2020 Fan Choice Awards are the following:
• Secretariat Vox Populi Horse of 2020
• Favorite Race of 2020
• Favorite Jockey of 2020
• Favorite Racetrack to Bet
• Favorite Racing Radio Show or Podcast of 2020
• Favorite Racing Analyst of 2020
• Favorite Race Call of 2020
• Favorite Betting Site (New Category)
• Favorite “Horse Country” Experience (New Category)
• Favorite OTTB in Equine-Assisted Therapy (New Category)
For the new Favorite “Horse Country Experience” Award, finalists were determined by fan feedback and a social media campaign conducted by Visit Horse Country, a group of Thoroughbred farms, veterinary clinics, and other racing-related entities in central Kentucky that has opened its gates for fans to experience the sport up close. The Thoroughbred Incentive Program aided in compiling the finalists for Favorite OTTB in Equine Assisted Therapy, while the Vox Populi finalists will be determined by a separate and independent eight-person committee overseen by Secretariat.com. The remaining seven award category finalists were selected independent from ABR and determined by an impartial and diverse nine-person committee geographically located across all major racing jurisdictions in the United States, representing media, consumer products, fans, and horseplayers.
“We are so excited our member locations have been included as a new category of the 2020 ABR Fan Choice Awards,” said Anne Sabatino Hardy, Executive Director of Visit Horse Country. “We know fans get passionate about the experiences and their favorite guides, and we always love hearing from them, so we can’t wait to see results.”
ABR will again partner with the esteemed Secretariat Vox Populi Award and fold it into the America’s Best Racing Fan Choice Awards as it specifically relates to the most popular horse of 2020. The Secretariat Vox Populi Award was inaugurated in 2010 and annually recognizes the horse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the general public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing.
“Secretariat Vox Populi Award winners have represented some of the past decade’s most uplifting and thrilling stories in the sport. While their achievements were noteworthy, this award has celebrated their personal connection to the fans,” said Kate Chenery Tweedy, family historian and daughter of Penny Chenery. “We’ll let industry insiders figure out which horse was the best, but Vox Populi voters again will choose the horse who captures their hearts.”
Voting for the Vox Populi Horse of 2020 will be jointly available at both AmericasBestRacing.net and Secretariat.com, while voting for the nine remaining categories will be exclusively hosted at AmericasBestRacing.net. Winners for all 10 award categories will be announced on ABR’s website and social media channels on Thursday, Dec. 3.
Press Release
