America’s Best Racing Announces 2020 Fan Choice Awards

Pop Culture

Americas Best Racing, a multimedia fan-development and awareness-building platform designed to increase the profile and visibility of North Americas best Thoroughbred racing events with a primary focus on the sports lifestyle and competition, announced today the launch of its second-annual Americas Best Racing Fan Choice Awards” in partnership with the Secretariat Vox Populi Award.

The 2020 Fan Choice Awards will open to fans for online voting on AmericasBestRacing.net on Thursday, Nov. 12. The awards are designed to be fun, interactive, and fan-friendly, giving fans a voice in determining their favorites for 2020. At the conclusion of the open fan voting period on Monday, Nov. 30, four lucky voters will be randomly selected and each awarded a $1,000 Amazon Gift Card. Voting will be limited to one vote per email address.

Three new categories have been added to the lineup for the 2020 Fan Choice Awards, which will feature a total of 10 award categories. The finalists for most of the categories will be identified via scoring of votes from an independent, impartial, and diverse nine-person committee whose members are geographically located across all major racing jurisdictions in the United States.

The categories for the 2020 Fan Choice Awards are the following:

  • Secretariat Vox Populi Horse of 2020
  • Favorite Race of 2020
  • Favorite Jockey of 2020
  • Favorite Racetrack to Bet
  • Favorite Racing Radio Show or Podcast of 2020
  • Favorite Racing Analyst of 2020
  • Favorite Race Call of 2020
  • Favorite Betting Site (New Category)
  • Favorite “Horse Country” Experience (New Category)
  • Favorite OTTB in Equine-Assisted Therapy (New Category)

Included in the 2020 lineup are three new awards, including two that highlight the power of the Thoroughbred to move, heal, and inspire fans from all walks of life. ABR is excited to partner with Horse Country to recognize an experience that has thrilled fans and continued to engage with them in the face of challenges presented this year by COVID-19. The 2020 Fan Choice Awards will also for the first time give fans an opportunity to voice their support for their favorite Off-the-Track Thoroughbred (OTTB) who has excelled in a second career.

ABR will again partner with the esteemed Secretariat Vox Populi Award and fold it into the Americas Best Racing Fan Choice Awards as it specifically relates to the most popular horse of 2020. The Secretariat Vox Populi Award was inaugurated in 2010 by Secretariat’s owner Penny Chenery and annually recognizes the horse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the general public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing. “Vox Populi” is a Latin expression that means voice of the people,” indicative how this award has led the industry in engaging fans to acclaim their favorite equine stars.

As part of the agreement, voting for the Vox Populi Horse of 2020 will be jointly available at both AmericasBestRacing.net and Secretariat.com, while voting for the nine remaining categories will be exclusively hosted at AmericasBestRacing.net. Voting will open to fans on Nov. 12 and will remain open until Nov. 30. Winners for all 10 award categories also will be announced later that week on ABR’s website and social media channels on Thursday, Dec. 3.

After such a successful inaugural launch last year, we are so excited to be able to bring back the Fan Choice Awards to horse racing’s fans and bettors,” said Penelope Miller, senior manager of digital media for TJC Media Ventures. This has certainly been one of the more challenging years for the global racing community, as it has been for the world in general. As 2020 winds down, and as we reflect on the ways in which the sport of racing has been a welcome distraction and offered moments of pure elation, the Fan Choice Awards are the perfect opportunity for fans to express their enthusiasm and gratitude for the horses, personalities, and racing outlets that entertained us this past year.”

“Secretariat Vox Populi Award winners have represented some of the past decade’s most uplifting and thrilling stories in the sport. While their achievements were noteworthy, this award has celebrated their personal connection to the fans,” said Kate Chenery Tweedy, family historian and daughter of Penny Chenery. “We’ll let industry insiders figure out which horse was the best, but Vox Populi voters again will choose the horse who captures their hearts.”

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