NTRA ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR ECLIPSE AWARDS

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), National Turf Writers Association (NTWA) and Daily Racing Form (DRF) today announced the finalists for the 2001 Eclipse Awards, voted on and presented by the three organizations in recognition of excellence in Thoroughbred racing. 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.

For tickets to the Eclipse Awards dinner, contact Debbie Blair at the NTRA, (800) 792-6872, ext. 1040, or e-mail dblair@ntra.com. Tickets are $300 per person or $3,000 per table of 10.

The finalists for each Eclipse Award category are listed below in alphabetical order. Detailed past performance information on equine nominees is available online at the NTRA Web site, ntra.com, or the Daily Racing Form Web site, drf.com.

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

The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.

The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of horseracing interests, including the American Quarter Horse Association, charged with increasing popularity of horseracing and improving economic conditions for industry participants. The NTRA and Breeders' Cup Limited also conduct the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, Thoroughbred racing's year-end Championships consisting of eight races and $13 million in purses and awards, and the Breeders' Cup Stakes Program, both of which are funded by the industry's owners and breeders. The NTRA has offices in Lexington, Ky., and New York City. NTRA press releases appear on the NTRA Web site, www.ntra.com, and at the Web site for the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, breederscup.com. Contact the NTRA at ntra@ntra.com.