Sovereignty’s Horse of the Year title isn’t an end result

Thoroughbred racing’s Eclipse Awards didn’t just toast the best of 2025. They also whetted fans’ appetite for 2026.

Sovereignty, named North American Horse of the Year as well as champion 3-year-old male in one-sided votes by racing journalists and executives, is one of an unusual number of champions expected to continue competing this year after being crowned Thursday at a dinner televised from Palm Beach, Fla.

Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner, received 201 first-place votes for Horse of the Year to 17 for Forever Young and two for Ted Noffey.

Forever Young, the Japan-based Breeders’ Cup Classic winner at Del Mar who was named outstanding older male on dirt, is being pointed for a 5-year-old racing schedule, and Ted Noffey, the unbeaten Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner who ran away with 2-year-old male honors, is a clear-cut early favorite for the May 2 Kentucky Derby.

“We are humbled, we are grateful and we are hopeful for more to come,” Eric Gustavson, head of Spendthrift Farm, owner of Ted Noffey, said in accepting the award, a sentiment many owners could have expressed.

Journalism and Baeza, the California horses who received only second- and third-place votes in Sovereignty’s unanimous triumph for champion 3-year-old, also will be seen on the track again.

Coming after 2024 Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna, who was named 2025 champion older female on dirt, Sovereignty makes it back-to-back Horses of the Year looking at full racing schedules the following season. This would be the first time that’s happened since 2013 Horse of the Year Wise Dan and 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome raced on. (California Chrome and Gun Runner, the sport’s grand champions in 2016 and 2017, each ran only once early the following year before being retired.)

The three top vote-getters for top 3-year-old male all staying in action this year would be the first time for that since West Coast, Always Dreaming and Battle of Midway did it in 2017-18.

California earned one Eclipse Award when Super Corredora, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner for trainer John Sadler, was voted outstanding 2-year-old filly by a comfortable margin over Cy Fair, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner. That’s fewer than California barns won in 2024 (three) but more than they won in 2023 (zero).

A much-debated race for champion jockey saw Flavien Prat prevail for the second year in a row by a solid margin over five-time winner Irad Ortiz Jr.

A closer vote gave Sovereignty trainer Bill Mott his fifth outstanding-trainer Eclipse, topping 85 ballots to Brad Cox’s 50. Sovereignty also helped Godolphin dominate voting for outstanding owner (its ninth win) and breeder (its sixth).

The closest vote saw Book’em Danno win in the male sprinter division with 115 votes to Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Bentornato’s 82.

Godolphin announced in late December that Sovereignty would return to training with Mott. His first start of 2026 is to be determined.

Sovereignty missed the Breeders’ Cup Classic after running a temperature, but five Grade I and II victories under jockey Junior Alvarado in six starts were enough to make the son of Into Mischief the Horse of the Year.

Forever Young’s one race in the United States in 2025 was enough to give him the older-males title.

“He’s still in good condition. I always want to be a rival to American horses,” said trainer Yoshito Yahagi, indicating Forever Young will start the 2026 racing season in the Middle East, presumably seeking a repeat victory in the Saudi Cup on Feb. 14.

Retired Southern California race-caller Trevor Denman was honored with an Eclipse Award for career excellence. Accepting on Denman’s behalf, longtime Del Mar executive Craig Fravel called attention to Denman’s work to promote thoroughbred aftercare and whipping restrictions.

“There’s no doubt that his advocacy of those horses helped us along the road in the progress that we are rightly proud of tonight,” Fravel said.

Here are all of the Eclipse Award winners:

Horse of the Year: Sovereignty

Older male on dirt: Forever Young

Older female on dirt: Thorpedo Anna

3-year-old male: Sovereignty

3-year-old female: Nitrogen

2-year-old male: Ted Noffey

2-year-old female: Super Corredora

Male sprinter: Book’em Danno

Female sprinter: Shisospicy

Male on turf: Notable Speech

Female on turf: She Feels Pretty

Steeplechase horse: Cool Jet

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Apprentice jockey: Pietro Moran

Trainer: Bill Mott

Owner: Godolphin

Breeder: Godolphin

Kevin Modesti reported from Los Angeles.