The Envelope, Please...Eclipse Awards Announced Tonight

The wait is almost over and tonight we will find out if Tiznow successfully defended his Horse of the Year title when he won the Breeders' Cup Classic or if he will be dethroned by either Point Given or Johannesburg, the other two finalists as racing's best for 2001.

The Eclipse Awards for equine and human achievement will be announced tonight at the annual dinner at the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort in Miami Beach, Fla. The names of the winners will be released publicly at 9:15 p.m. (EST). bloodhorse.com will publish the complete list of winners and related stories on this Web site at 9:15 p.m.

Point Given, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner, was the sole unanimous winner as champion 3-year-old male when finalists in each category were announced earlier this year. Both Xtra Heat and Tranquility Lake are two category finalists. Xtra Heat is a finalist in both the 3-year-old filly category and the sprint category, while Tranquility Lake is a finalist for turf female honors as well as older filly or mare honors.

The Eclipse Awards are voted upon and presented by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the National Turf Writers Association, and the Daily Racing Form. Finalists in each category are:

HORSE OF THE YEAR
Johannesburg
Point Given
Tiznow

2-YEAR-OLD FILLY
Habibti
Tempera
You

2-YEAR-OLD COLT OR GELDING
Johannesburg
Officer
Siphonic

3-YEAR-OLD FILLY
Exogenous
Flute
Xtra Heat

3-YEAR-OLD COLT OR GELDING
Point Given (unanimous vote)

3-YEAR-OLD & UP TURF MALE
Fantastic Light
Val Royal (FR)
With Anticipation

3-YEAR-OLD & UP TURF FEMALE
Banks Hill (GB)
Lailani (GB)
Tranquility Lake

4-YEAR-OLD & UP MALE
Lido Palace (CHI)
Sakhee
Tiznow

4-YEAR-OLD & UP FEMALE
Gourmet Girl
Spain
Tranquility Lake

3-YEAR-OLD & UP SPRINT
Delaware Township
Squirtle Squirt
Xtra Heat

4-YEAR-OLD & UP STEEPLECHASE
Lord Zada
Pompeyo (CHI)
Praise the Prince (NZ)

OUTSTANDING OWNER
Richard A. Englander
Juddmonte Farms
The Thoroughbred Corp.

OUTSTANDING BREEDER
Juddmonte Farms
Harry T. Mangurian Jr./Mockingbird Farm
The Thoroughbred Corp.

OUTSTANDING TRAINER
Bob Baffert
Robert J. Frankel
Scott A. Lake

OUTSTANDING JOCKEY
Jerry Bailey
Ramon Dominguez
Laffit Pincay Jr.
John Velazquez

OUTSTANDING APPRENTICE JOCKEY
Julian Pimentel
Kris Prather
Hector Rosario Jr.
Jeremy Rose