HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Justify finished unbeaten, on and off the track.
The Triple Crown winner for 2018 added Horse of the Year to his resume, getting the nod over Accelerate for the biggest prize handed out at the Eclipse Awards on Thursday night. Justify didn't race as a 2-year-old, won all six of his starts last year and then was retired about a month after winning the Belmont Stakes because of an ankle injury.
So in a flash, he was gone.
But every Triple Crown winner since 1935 has also been declared Horse of the Year, and 2018 — even with Justify's lone year of racing not even lasting four months, technically — would be no different. He won by a wide margin, getting 191 votes out of a possible 249, while Accelerate got 54.
"I'm so proud of Justify and I'm happy to see he is being rewarded for his unbelievable accomplishments in his run up to the Triple Crown," said Bob Baffert, Justify's trainer. "I've had the great fortune to be around some of the most talented horses and what Justify was able to do in such a short amount of time still takes my breath away."
Justify — the third Horse of the Year trained by Baffert — also won the 3-year-old male Eclipse, unanimously, which was no surprise. Accelerate settled for the Eclipse as the top older dirt male, and the third Horse of the Year finalist Monomoy Girl was picked as the winner of the 3-year-old filly Eclipse.
Accelerate still has a chance for a huge win this weekend: He's the morning-line favorite for Saturday's $9 million Pegasus World Cup dirt race, which will be his last before beginning a stud career. Accelerate won six of his seven starts in 2018, including wins in his last four starts — all of them Grade 1 events, capped by the Breeders' Cup Classic.
"This horse had an unbelievable season," said Juan Leyva, the assistant trainer under John Sadler for Accelerate. "You can't take anything away from Justify. He's a Triple Crown winner. But the year this horse put up, I mean, any other year there's no question he's Horse of the Year. ... Obviously, my vote would be for Accelerate. You don't see years like this that often."
Accelerate's connections didn't leave with just one trophy. Hronis Racing LLC, Accelerate's owner, also won the Eclipse in that category — its first as the top owner in the sport.
"This is a little boy's dream come true," said Kosta Hronis, who shares the ownership of Hronis Racing with his brother, Peter.
Chad Brown won his third consecutive Eclipse Award as the top trainer, making him only the sixth person to win that many in a row and putting him alongside Baffert, Todd Pletcher, D. Wayne Lukas, Robert Frankel, Laz Barrera. Baffert was a finalist this year, after guiding Justify to the Triple Crown — Baffert's second.
Still, Brown got the nod again.
"It's a great honor and we take it very seriously," Brown said.
Irad Ortiz Jr. won his first Eclipse as the top jockey, keeping the award in the family — his younger brother, Jose Ortiz, won last year.
"I want to dedicate this trophy to a very special person," Irad Ortiz said. "My brother dedicated to me last year, and I want to dedicate it to him. Love you bro."
Other Eclipse winners included Weston Hamilton (apprentice jockey), Jaywalk (2-year-old filly), Game Winner (2-year-old male), Unique Bella (older dirt female), Roy H (male sprinter), Shamrock Rose (female sprinter), Stormy Liberal (male turf horse), Sistercharlie (female turf horse), Zenjabeel (steeplechase horse) and John D. Gunther (top breeder).
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