Thirteen of the most unforgettable, exciting, and significant events from Thoroughbred racing in North America last year have been nominated for the 2023 FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year, a distinction determined by fan voting and recognized at the Eclipse Awards. Voting is now open on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) website, NTRA.com, and via Twitter, where every retweet or use of the official hashtag for the moments as presented on the @NTRA account will be counted as one vote.

To vote on the NTRA website, go HERE. Fans are permitted to vote for multiple moments but there is a limit of one vote per moment for each Twitter account. Subsequent votes from an account will be disqualified. Votes for the poll must be submitted by Jan. 16 at 11:59 p.m. (ET).

The FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year will be recognized during the 53rd Annual Eclipse Awards Presented by FanDuel, John Deere, Keeneland, and The Jockey Club at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Jan. 25, 2024.

The eligible 2023 moments were selected to illustrate the wide range of equine achievements and human emotions, as well as exceptional displays of athleticism. Events that fans can choose from are listed as follows, along with the designated hashtag that can be used to vote:

#FrankieHollywood – Frankie Dettori returns to California and had a very successful year at Santa Anita and on the West Coast in 2023, including a masterful win aboard Inspiral in the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The 53-year-old Italian rider had announced his retirement and a farewell tour earlier in the year but ultimately decided to permanently move to the United States and continue his career in 2024.

Secretariat after 1973 Preakness (BloodHorse Library/Sam Siciliano)

#BigRedTour – The “Secretariat: Larger Than Life” Traveling Tour celebrates the 50^th anniversary of Secretariat’s record-setting and historic Triple Crown sweep of 1973. The centerpiece of the yearlong Tour that started in early Spring was a 21-foot-long bronze monument of Secretariat, the largest monument of the great Virginia-born Thoroughbred.

#IradWins7 – Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. wins seven consecutive races at Gulfstream Park on Feb. 3 to equal the track’s record for most wins by a jockey on a card. Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey, Tyler Gaffalione, Luis Saez, and Paco Lopez share the record.

#MageDerby – Mage surprises the field in the 149^th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and wins the run for the roses at 15-1. The son of Good Magic won his first race in January and won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in just his fourth career start.

#TreasuredPreakness – National Treasure battles Blazing Sevens to the wire in a dramatic stretch duel to win the 148^th Preakness Stakes by a head under John Velazquez at Pimlico Race Course. The 2023 Preakness Stakes, producing the closest finish of the three Triple Crown races, gave trainer Bob Baffert a record eighth win in the 1 3/16-mile race at Old Hilltop.

#ArcangeloBelmont – Arcangelo takes the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, making trainer Jena Antonucci the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race. The son of Arrogate defeated Eclipse Award winner Forte.

#ArcangeloTravers – Arcangelo follows his historic win in the Belmont Stakes with a win in the prestigious Travers Stakes. His win in the “Mid-Summer Derby” in Saratoga was Arcangelo’s fourth in five 2023 starts and turned out to be the last race of his career before being added to Lane’s End’s stallion roster. 

#CodyThrills – Cody’s Wish thrills the Breeders’ Cup crowd and his namesake, Cody Dorman, by winning the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile for the second consecutive year. The 5-year-old son of Curlin edged Preakness winner National Treasure for owner-breeder Godolphin.

#OliveAgain – Eclipse Award Champion Goodnight Olive repeats as winner of the PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Favored in the field of nine, the Ghostzapper mare defeated longshots Yuugiri (26-1) and Three Witches (34-1).

White Abarrio winning Breeders’ Cup Classic (Eclipse Sportswire)

#ClassicWhite – Favored White Abarrio defeats Japan’s Derma Sotogake in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park for trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. Dutrow returned to training in February 2023 after a 10-year ban.

#EliteSprinter – Eclipse Award Champion Elite Power defeats familiar rival Gunite to collect his second consecutive Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Owner Juddmonte Farms retired the 5-year-old son of Curlin to its stallion roster after the Breeders’ Cup.

#RiceRecord – Trainer Linda Rice sets a record on the last day of the year with her 165^th training win on the New York Racing Association, Inc (NYRA) circuit in 2023. Rice topped the previous single-season NYRA record of 164 wins by trainer David Jacobson in 2013. 

#RussellOnTop – Trainer Brittany Russell makes history by becoming the first female trainer to lead the annual trainer standings in Maryland. Russell, who is married to jockey Sheldon Russell, accomplished the feat in just her fourth full season as a trainer.

Past Moments of the Year

The first-ever “NTRA Moment of the Year” was the touching scene between Charismatic and jockey Chris Antley following the 1999 Belmont Stakes. The next year’s winner was the stretch run of the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Classic, which saw Tiznow hold on for a dramatic victory against Giant’s Causeway. Tiznow won again the following year as fans selected his stirring repeat victory in the Classic over Sakhee. In 2002, fans cited the passing of the last living Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew. In 2003, the popular Kentucky Derby win by Funny Cide was selected. Birdstone’s upset win in the Belmont Stakes over Smarty Jones took down top honors for 2004. In 2005, fans selected Afleet Alex’s spectacular victory in the 2005 Preakness Stakes.

Voters in 2006 chose Barbaro’s gallant struggle to recover from his Preakness injury while at the New Bolton Center. The 2007 Moment of the Year was a historic victory by the filly Rags to Riches over Curlin in the Belmont Stakes. In 2008, it was Zenyatta’s win in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic. Zenyatta “repeated” in 2009 as fans selected her triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Blame (right) denies Zenyatta in 2010. (Eclipse Sportswire)

In 2010, fans selected Blame’s narrow Breeders’ Cup Classic victory over Zenyatta. Drosselmeyer’s hard-fought win over Game on Dude in the Breeders’ Cup Classic was the public’s choice for 2011. For 2012, the recovery of Paynter from near-deadly battles with laminitis and colitis captured the hearts of voters like no other story. In 2013, fans recognized Mucho Macho Man’s nose victory in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic for his popular connections. The 2014 award went to California Chrome’s dominant win in Kentucky Derby 140. In 2015 there was a landslide vote in favor of American Pharoah’s historic Triple Crown-clinching Belmont Stakes win. In 2016, California Chrome was again part of the winning moment – a dramatic Dubai World Cup victory that came as Victor Espinoza’s saddle slipped out from underneath him.

In 2017, the tragic fire at San Luis Rey and the industry’s response led the way among the votes cast while Justify’s sweep of the Classics to become just the 13^th Triple Crown winner was the clear pick the following year. In 2019, Maximum Security’s historic disqualification in the 145th Kentucky Derby – the first winner in Derby history to be demoted for a racing infraction— earned the distinction. In 2020, Authentic’s historic win in the 146^th Kentucky Derby, run in September and without fans due to the coronavirus pandemic, was voted as the FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year.

Breeders’ Cup success had eluded Japanese runners as evidenced by an 0-13 record heading into the 2021 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. That changed dramatically on Breeders’ Cup Saturday when Marche Lorraine (45-1/Distaff) and Loves Only You (4-1/Filly & Mare Turf) each won for trainer Yoshito Yahagi. The victories by the Japanese duo was voted the 2021 FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year.

Finally, in 2022, the uplifting story between a boy and a horse that swept across America had the ultimate ending when Cody’s Wish won the Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., on November 5, 2022 in dramatic fashion. With namesake Cody Dorman and family in attendance, Cody’s Wish gave a winning performance that continues to warm the hearts of all who watched in amazement. This story was voted the 2022 FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year.