The winners of 2014’s six Grade 1 races–in alphabetical order, Demonstrative, Divine Fortune, and Makari–are the three finalists for the past season’s Eclipse Award as North America’s champion steeplechase horse. The winner will be announced Saturday, Jan. 17, at the annual Eclipse Awards dinner at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino in Hallandale Beach, Fla.
Jacqueline Ohrstrom’s Demonstrative won three Grade 1 races, the New York Turf Writers Cup, the Lonesome Glory Handicap, and the Grand National. Bill Pape’s Divine Fortune, the 2013 Eclipse winner, scored in the Calvin Houghland Iroquois and Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup. Merribelle Stable’s Makari won the A. P. Smithwick Memorial before sustaining a fatal injury in the New York Turf Writers.
A member of the American Steeplechase community, Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Editor Joe Clancy, will receive a media Eclipse Award for his report on California Chrome’s victory in the Preakness Stakes.