The 2016 Eclipse Award finalists recently were revealed. The winners in each category will be announced this Saturday at the 46th annual Eclipse Awards dinner in Florida at Gulfstream Park. The first year I made Eclipse Award predictions in this column was for racing in 2011. My Eclipse Award predictions have been correct 91.7% of […]

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Horseplayers routinely ‘review as preview.’ That is they analyze what’s happened in the past in order to predict what might happen in the future. Prognostication is so at the heart of the game–for owners, trainers and jockeys, too– that along with racing licenses they ought to hand out crystal balls. Perhaps, the game’s only contributors […]

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Now that it is 2017, it’s time for my 13th annual ranking of the Top 10 performances of the year. Keep in mind this is not a list of the Top 10 “races” of the year (the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Distaff, with Beholder nosing out Songbird at the end of a fantastic stretch battle, […]

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I just voted for the second time in 2016. Once in November—for the office of President of the United States and for assorted governmental positions and referendums. This time, I helped to determine winners of Eclipse Awards, to be presented Jan. 21 at Gulfstream Park. In November I considered myself reasonably informed about candidates, platforms […]

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Below is how I plan to fill out my official Eclipse Award ballot for 2016, with the caveat that my decisions will not be absolutely final until the entire year is over. That is why I will not be submitting my ballot before until after racing this Saturday (Dec. 31) is completed. TWO-YEAR-OLD MALE: 1. […]

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2016 is nearly out of gas. Needle’s on ‘E.’ Between now and January 1 we’ll run on fumes. No worries. We’ll make it. We always do. Move on. Turn the page. Gas up. Proceed. Toward what? #Whoknows Guess that’s an advantage the past has over the future. Hindshight. 20/20 vision. We know where we’ve been, […]

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Travers Day 2016 didn’t have to be special. The stage was set for a memorable afternoon, but, as we all know, hype often outraces performance. The NFL’s Super Bowl is a national obsession, theoretically matching the two best football teams in the world. That, however, doesn’t guarantee an entertaining game. How many times in history […]

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