It's a Slam Dunk for Point Given in Eclipse Voting

In a year without a lot of clear-cut favorites, Point Given is the lone unanimous choice in 2001 Eclipse Award balloting. The dual classic winner received top honors as champion 3-year-old male and is a finalist, along with Tiznow and Johannesburg, for Horse of the Year honors. Finalists in each of the Eclipse categories were announced Thursday.

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. Winners will be announced at the 31st annual Eclipse Awards dinner, to be held Monday, Feb. 18 at the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort in Miami Beach, Fla.

Winners in the Special Award and Award of Merit categories, which are determined by a committee composed of representatives from the presenting organizations, will be announced early next week.

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