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It's not really difficult to find a list of Eclipse Award winners, but often we forget who the runner-ups were. We think compiling a history of Eclipse voting is a trip down memory lane and a reminder of the 'almost' champions. The method of vote tabulation changed several times over the years. The three voting organizations--Daily Racing Form, Thoroughbred Racing Association and National Turf Writers Association--for a number of years each had one bloc vote. For awhile each groups first three choices in individual categories was counted on a 5-3-1 basis; later on a 10-5-1 basis. In a couple of years I failed to locate detail or had to rely on total point counts, although for the past several years the calculation has been based on total votes cast, eliminating the sometimes unfair bloc procedure. No matter how the calculation was made in a given year, the differences in comparing numerics offers a view of how strongly those horses were viewed at the time. If it offers you a sense of history and perhaps a little information, then the time compiling it was worthwhile. ---Ron Parker
2012 Awards Results with Vote Counts Horse of the Year Wise Dan 194; I'll Have Another 30; Fort Larned 12; Royal Delta 8; Little Mike 6; Frankel 1; Groupie Doll 1; Shanghai Bobby 1
Beholder 225; Executiveprivilege 27; Dreaming of Julia 1; So Many Ways 1
Three-Year-Old Male I'll Have Another 247; Bodemeister 3; Union Rags 1; Paynter 1; The Lumber Guy 1
Three-Year-Old Filly Questing 106; My Miss Aurelia 102; Believe You Can 17; Contested 13; Dance Card 6; Lady of Shamrock 5; In Lingerie 4, Zo Impressive 1
Older Male Wise Dan 139; Fort Larned 102; Little Mike 4; Game On Dude 1; Shackleford 1
Older Female Royal Delta 231; Groupie Doll 22; It's Tricky 1
Trinniberg 223; Shackleford 11; The Lumber Guy 8; Caixa Eletronica 2
Groupie Doll 250; Mizdirection 3; Contested 1
Male Turf Horse Wise Dan 170; Little Mike 78; Point of Entry 5
Female Turf Horse Zagora 242; Marketing Mix 5; Lady of Shamrock 4; Dayatthespa 2
Steeplechase Pierrot Lunaire 116; Demonstrative 99; Divine Fortune 1; Arcadius 1; Woodmont 1
Top 3 in Non-Horse Categories:
Owner Godolphin Racing LLC - 113; Midwest Thoroughbreds - 50; Reddam Racing - 26
Breeder Darley - 170; Adena Springs - 25; Brereton Jones - 15
Trainer Dale Romans - 119; Todd Pletcher - 57; Bob Baffert - 35
Jockey Ramon Dominguez - 201; John Velasquez - 37; Rosie Napravnik - 4
Apprentice Jockey Jose Montano - 127; Irad Ortiz Jr. - 34; Anhel Suarez - 25
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