ECLIPSE AWARDS WINNERS NAMED

The Eclipse Awards, given annually since 1971 to recognize the best in U.S. racing, were announced Thursday, Jan. 9, with few surprises. Repeating their triumphs of a year ago were the Cigar team: Cigar (Older Male); Bill Mott (Trainer); Jerry Bailey (Jockey); and Allen Paulson (Owner). Three Breeders' Cup champions won Eclipse Awards: Boston Harbor (Two-Year-Old Colt); Storm Song (Two-Year-Old Filly); and Jewel Princess (Older Female). Other winners were: Skip Away (Three-Year-Old Colt); Yanks Music (Three-Year-Old Filly); Singspiel (IRE) (Male Turf Horse); Wandesta (GB) (Female Turf Horse); Lit de Justice (IRE) (Sprinter); and Correggio (Steeplechaser). The other human winners were Neil Poznansky (Apprentice Jockey) and Farnsworth Farms (Breeder).

Tom Keyser of The Baltimore Sun and Don Clippinger have won 1996 Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Newspaper Writing and Outstanding Achievement in Magazine Writing, respectively. Keyser's submission included a piece on horse intelligence, racing at Saratoga and Cigar's farewell appearance at Churchill Downs, while Clippinger's winning entry was a story titled 'Focusing on the Big Picture: How TV Relates to Racing,' which appeared in the March-April issue of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred.

The 26th Annual Eclipse Awards Dinner will be held Tuesday, Feb. 4, at the Sheraton Bal Harbour Beach Resort in Miami.

DUBAI WORLD CUP WILL MISS CIGAR

Kevin Greely, racing secretary for the March 29 Dubai World Cup, thanked Cigar for making the inaugural running of the $4 million race a smashing success. 'Cigar winning last year helped enormously, as you can't beat a world champion who's just won 14 races in a row for dazzling publicity.' Committee chairman Michael Osborne said the second running of the international event will miss Cigar. 'There won't be that fairy tale this year,' he said. 'There isn't another horse like Cigar.'

The race has been switched from a Wednesday to a Saturday, to generate greater television exposure. There have been 94 horses nominated to the race, with the next entry deadline set for Feb. 5. The 14 runners will be announced Feb. 12. Post time for the World Cup will be 11:15 a.m. (EST).

FIRST MID-SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP ON FOX

FOX Sports Southwest will televise the inaugural running of the Mid-South Championship, which will match horses from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, Jan. 11, at the New Orleans Fair Grounds. The event will rotate each year between tracks in the four states. Dan Kenny and John Asher will host the show, which will air at 4:30 p.m. (CST). 'We view horse racing as an important part of our programming mix,' said FOX Sports Southwest general manager Jon Heidtke. 'We are pleased to be able to showcase some of the top talent in horse racing, specifically from this region of the country.'

The telecast will be made available by FOX Sports Southwest to all other FOX Sports Net affiliates across the country.

CAMPAIGN UNDERWAY TO KEEP CALUMET TROPHIES AT HORSE PARK

Ted Bassett, chairman of the Keeneland Association, announced a fund-raising campaign to keep the 540 trophies and 35 paintings from Calumet Farm on display at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. A motion is scheduled to be filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court so that an offer of at least $1.2 million can be made for the trophies. Tax-deductible contributions can be made to: Save the Calumet Trophies, c-o The Kentucky Horse Park Foundation, 4089 Iron Works Pike, Lexington, KY 40511.

CRIST RESIGNS FROM NYRA

The New York Racing Associations' Vice President of Communications and Development Steven Crist resigned from his position, Wednesday, Jan. 8, effective immediately, to pursue other interests. 'I think Steve and I worked together very well,' said NYRA Chairman Kenny Noe Jr. 'I certainly wish him well in the future.'

WORLD JOCKEYS' CHAMPIONSHIP CANCELED

The World Jockeys' Championship, to be held in Australia starting Jan. 18, has been canceled due to a strike by Australian riders, who are demanding a 100 percent increase in riding fees. The Australian Jockey Club felt it would be unfair to bring foreign jockeys into the dispute. Jockeys have been heavily fined for not riding their scheduled mounts.

CLASS AND PACE RATINGS ENHANCE EQUIBASE PROGRAMS

Equibase Company, the Thoroughbred industry's central database of racing information, has signed an agreement with Thoroughbred Sports Network (TSN), a leading provider of value-added products and services to the Thoroughbred industry, that allows racetracks to include TSN's average class and early pace ratings in Equibase-supplied past performance programs.

These powerful ratings previously were available only in selected track programs and to TSN clients. Their availability to all Equibase partner racetracks, according to Company president Alan Marzelli, exemplifies the mutual commitment of both organizations to improving the informational content of live and simulcast racing programs.

'Since its inception, Equibase's mission has been to provide the Thoroughbred industry with its own accurate past performance database that it could use without restriction,' he said. 'Having successfully achieved that goal, we are taking that mission to the next logical level by teaming up with trusted business partners like TSN president Happy Broadbent to turn the data into valuable information. In so doing, we hope to help the racing industry to demystify the handicapping process for its patrons and in turn generate additional handle.'

TSN average class and early pace ratings accurately gauge two of the most determinant factors in the outcome of a race and complement the TSN speed ratings currently included in Equibase programs nationwide. The average class rating is a statistical measure of the quality of competition against which a horse has run over its recent races. Early pace ratings gauge how fast a horse ran to the opening points of call in a race, providing an instant snapshot of how a race is likely to set up. The pace ratings are fully adjusted for daily variations in track condition and are comparable across all racetracks.

According to TSN president Happy Broadbent, the ratings, although based on complex mathematical algorithms, are designed for effective use by sophisticated and novice handicappers alike.

'Tracks will find our ratings to be invaluable in familiarizing newer patrons with the concepts of class and pace, both of which are crucial to successful handicapping,' said Broadbent. 'Their inclusion in Equibase programs will, for the first time, give all fans the information they need to quickly and consistently identify the top contenders and overlays in every race.'

RACING ON THE AIR

Jan. 11 Racehorse Digest 6:00-6:30 a.m. ESPN
Jan. 15 Racehorse Digest 3:30-4:00 p.m. ESPN
Jan. 16 Racehorse Digest 3:30-4:00 a.m. ESPN

RACING TO HISTORY

Jan. 11, 1950: Five-year-old Citation returned to racing at Santa Anita Park, having been sidelined by injury since December 1948. Sent off at odds of 3-20, he won easily over a sloppy surface to log his 16th consecutive victory. His winning margins for those races totaled 59 1-2 lengths.

Jan. 13, 1978: Seattle Slew, in training for his four-year-old seasonal debut at Hialeah, first displayed symptoms of the deadly virus Colitis X. The colt was sidelined until May 14, when he won an allowance race at Aqueduct Racetrack as the 1-10 favorite.

Jan. 14, 1932: Jockey Eddie Arcaro rode his first career winner, at Agua Caliente.

Jan. 14, 1989: Jockey Kent Desormeaux scored his 1,000th career win in the 10th race at Laurel Racecourse, aboard Eesee's Taw, in the Francis Scott Key Handicap.

Jan. 15, 1932: Australian champion Phar Lap arrived in San Francisco. He was shipped by steamship to the U.S., en route to Agua Caliente in Mexico, where he was to make his North American racing debut in the March 20 Agua Caliente Handicap, the continent's then-richest race.

Jan. 15, 1969: Barbara Jo Rubin was named to ride in a race at Tropical Park. Thirteen male riders subsequently boycotted the race rather than compete against a female, and were fined $100 each.

Broward Handicap, 3&up;, $75,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade III, Gulfstream
George Steinbrenner's Diligence, who hasn't raced since finishing second to Gold Fever in the NYRA Mile Nov. 30 at Aqueduct, heads the field for the Broward. He is expected to meet Come on Flip, who took the Grade II Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap, Nov. 16 at Hawthorne Race Course. Others scheduled to run are Knockadoon, Crafty Friend and Ghostly Moves.

San Fernando Stakes, 4yo, $300,000, 1 1-8 Miles, Grade II, Santa Anita
Many of the contenders from the Dec. 26 Malibu Stakes return for the second leg of the Strub Series. Malibu winner King of the Heap, third-place finisher Northern Afleet, as well as a pair from the barn of D. Wayne Lukas, Victory Speech and Dr. Caton. One possible new face in the San Fernando may be Zanferrier, who has an allowance victory and a second in the Grade III Lazaro Barrera Handicap since returning to the dirt.

Santa Ysabel Stakes, 3yo fillies, $100,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Santa Anita
With two wins and a second in three Grade I races, Sharp cat will be heavily favored here. She was a badly beaten ninth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, though. Guthrie has won two of her last three starts. Critical Factor has been facing, but not beating, the best in her division. Goodnight Irene is an allowance winner. Letthemoondancerap and Clever Pilot round out the field.

Mac Diarmida Stakes, 3&up;, $75,000, 1 3-8 Miles Turf, Gulfstream
Triple-Grade I winner Mecke is the probable favorite, and will face Awad, who hasn't won in 14 tries since taking the Grade I Arlington Million in 1995. Also expected is Lassigny, who was third in the W.L. McKnight Handicap at Calder in his last start.

San Pasqual Handicap, 4&up;, $200,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade II, Santa Anita
Breeders' Cup Classic winner Alphabet Soup gets his 1997 campaign underway against Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up Paying Dues and Kingdom Found. Paying Dues won the Grade III Vernon O. Underwood Handicap, Dec. 7, at Hollywood Park, while Kingdom Found took the On Trust Handicap at Hollywood, Nov. 24. Another possibility is Dramatic Gold, ninth in the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Aqueduct Handicap, 3&up;, $60,000, 1 1-16 Miles, Grade III, Aqueduct

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