MEDIA ECLIPSE AWARDS ANNOUNCED NBC Sports' coverage of the 1996 Breeders' Cup Championship has been selected to receive the 1996 Eclipse Award for National Television Achievement. It marks the second time the television network received an Eclipse Award for Breeders' Cup coverage, having won the award in 1984. The telecast featured 4 1-2 hours of coverage of the seven Breeders' Cup races and included pre- and post-race interviews. The show included features on Cigar's last race, the murder of jockey Corey Nakatani's sister Dawn and the unlikely story of Turf runner Rick's Natural Star.

The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Photographic Achievement went to Skip Dickstein, whose winning on photo of the Breeders' Cup Classic appeared on the cover of the Nov. 2 issue of 'The Blood-Horse' magazine. This is Dickstein's first Eclipse Award.

The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Radio Achievement went to Robin Dawson, a radio broadcaster and program producer in Toronto for 'The Whip in Horse Racing,' which examined the use or misuse of the whip in horse racing, which aired on CJCL Sports Radio, Toronto.

The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Local Television Achievement was won by 'Four Days in July,' a feature on the Select Summer Yearling Sales. The one-hour telecast focused on the amount of time and effort required to prepared yearlings for the major sales in Lexington, Ky. The piece was written, produced and hosted by Kenny Rice.

CIGAR AMONG S.I.'S TOP SPORTS STORIES

Cigar's 1996 season, during which he tied Citation's 46-year-old record of 16 consecutive victories, was ranked sixth among the top 10 sports stories of the year, according to Sports Illustrated On-Line. The top story was Michael Johnson's Olympic track and field feats, followed by Tiger Woods' move to pro golf, Evander Holyfield and the Chicago Bulls.

The current issue of 'Sports Illustrated' features a special section, titled 'Spirit of '96,' in which writers for the magazine tell of their choices for the most compelling people and most stirring moments of the year in sports. Contributor Bill Nack writes 'A Streak of Araby' about Cigar's odyssey to Dubai to run in the Dubai World Cup.

THIS WINNING JOCKEY RODE TWO HORSES

In a bizarre incident, Australian apprentice jockey Andrew Payne had the distinction of riding two horse in one race, according to a report from the Reuters news service. Payne's mount Hon Kwok Star was running near the rear of the field in the Christmas Handicap at Caulfield Race Course in Melbourne, when another horse, Cogitate, stumbled and threw his rider, Payne's brother-in-law Jason Patton.

The incident caused Hon Kwok Star to stumble. Payne fell sideways his saddle, with his arm eventually ending up across the other horse Cogitate, according to the report. Payne pulled himself up and finished the race aboard a well-beaten Cogitate. His brother-in-law was dazed but not injured.

HOLLYWOOD PARK PRESENTS NEARLY ONE-HALF MILLION DOLLARS TO CHARITIES

Hollywood Park Racing Charities, Inc., a non-profit corporation which has allocated more than $28 million to charity since its inception in 1944, recently presented 85 non-profit organization with donations of nearly $470,000. Among the largest racing industry endowments were: $25,000 to the Shoemaker Foundation, which provides medical assistance to racing industry personnel; $15,000 to the Winner's Foundation, a drug and alcohol abuse recovery program; and $10,000 to the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund which provides medical and financial aid to disabled riders.

AUSTRALIAN JOCKEYS THREATEN TO STRIKE

A threatened strike by Australia's jockeys, who, unlike their American counterparts, are unionized, could halt racing Down Under over the weekend. The jockeys are lobbying for an increase in their riding fee to $130 (AUS). If the country's racing clubs, which govern the sport in Australia, do not agree to the pay raise by Friday, the weekend's races would be in jeopardy.

The strike would not affect apprentice riders who are not bound by the National Jockeys Council to honor the walk-out. 'They would be called on to ride, but with just a handful of them to call on, it would be nearly impossible to stage a meeting,' said Victoria Racing Club Chief Steward, Des Gleeson.

PHR SIGN NEW SPONSOR

The Performance Horse Registry, the newly created sport-horse registry for Thoroughbreds and part Thoroughbreds, has signed a new sponsor for its Silver Stirrup Awards. Cromwell Insurance Agency, working with Markel Insurance Company, has joined State Line Tack in promoting the registry's awards programs.

'Our association with companies of their integrity and industry dedication will further enhance the PHR's ongoing commitment to those who have registered or recorded their horses with us,' said Roger Shook, PHR president.

RACING ON THE AIR

RACING TO HISTORY

Dec. 27, 1982: English trainer Michael Dickinson saddled 12 winners, a record.

Dec. 27, 1987: D. Wayne Lukas set a single-season record for stakes wins by a trainer, 92, when he saddled High Brite to win the Palos Verdes Handicap at Santa Anita Park.

Dec. 29, 1946: Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. was born in Panama City, Panama.

Dec. 31, 1966: Ogden Phipps' Buckpasser, trained by Eddie Neloy, won the 13th consecutive race of his three-year-old season after taking the Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita Park. He was voted Horse of the Year and also took top three-year-old and handicap horse honors for 1966.

Dec. 31, 1982: After a year-long battle for leading rider honors, Pat Day edged Angel Cordero Jr. by two races, which he won after chartering a plane to fly to Vinton, La., where he rode Dana's Woof Woof and Miltons Magic to victory during the evening program at Delta Downs. Day won the title-his first-with 399 wins to Cordero's 397.

Dec. 31, 1989: Jockey Kent Desormeaux set the world record for most number of wins in a single season, 598, when he rode two-year-old East Royalty, trained by Phil Thomas Jr., to victory in the tenth race, the Inner Harbor Stakes, at Laurel. He surpassed the old record, set by Chris McCarron, by 52.

Jan. 1, 1942: Racing in California was officially canceled. On Dec. 16, the West Coast military authorities had requested that Santa Anita Park postpone its meeting indefinitely due to war conditions.

Jan. 1, 1975: Secretariat was represented by his first Thoroughbred foal, a filly named Miss Secretariat, born in Kentucky to the mare My Card.

Jan. 2, 1945: As World War II approached its climactic finish, racing throughout the U.S. was banned indefinitely at the request of James F. Byrnes, War Mobilization Director. While Thoroughbreds could not be transported in the U.S. for racing purposes, the Office of Defense Transportation subsequently approved the shipment of racehorses to tracks that were more than 300 miles beyond U.S. borders. The ban was not lifted until May, causing the rescheduling of the Triple Crown races.

Jan. 3, 1992: Equibase Company, a partnership between The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Associations that was formed to establish an industry-owned data base of complete racing information, published its first past-performances, at Beulah Park.

Jan. 4, 1946: Canadian-born jockey George Woolf, known as 'The Iceman' for his coolness in the saddle, died after falling head first from his mount, Please Me, during a race at Santa Anita Park the previous day. He was 35. During his career (1928-1946) Woolf had 3,784 mounts, 721 wins, 589 seconds and 468 thirds, with earnings of $2,856,125. Since 1950, Santa Anita Park has annually presented the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award to a rider who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.

Jan. 5, 1944: A bill permitting off-track betting was introduced in the New York State Assembly. Over the next several decades, a series of bills would be introduced in favor of OTB, which finally gained legal sanction in New York in 1970.

Jan. 5, 1980: Spectacular Bid began his undefeated four-year-old season, winning the Malibu Stakes by five lengths at Santa Anita. The gray colt finished his 1980 campaign a perfect nine-for-nine.

California Breeders' Champion Stakes, 2yo, $100,000, 7 Furlongs, Santa Anita

Gallant Fox Handicap, 3&up, $100,000, 1 5-8 Miles, Grade III, Aqueduct

La Brea Stakes, 3yo fillies, $125,000, 7F, Santa Anita

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