NEW YORK CITY (Thursday, January 15, 2015) – Saturday night’s Eclipse Awards will mark the fourth straight year Daily Racing Form has partnered with the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) as a presenting sponsor of the ceremony. The 44th Annual Eclipse Awards, presented by Daily Racing Form, Breeders’ Cup, and The Stronach Group will be held at Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino in Hallandale Beach, Fla., on Jan. 17.
Daily Racing Form was an original voting bloc when the Eclipse Awards were formed in 1971 and today showcases the event across its print and digital channels, including live streaming of the event on DRF.com beginning at 8 pm ET. DRF also publishes the event program and administers the fan voting contest.
DRF Breeding continues to expand in 2015, introducing an exclusive, new SirePowered Results App™ which enables industry participants and horseplayers alike to sort results by sire and horses by a variety of criteria as each race becomes official. This one-of-a-kind app has results updated continuously throughout the day. Daily Racing Form dialed-up its service of the Breeding and Sales marketplace 2012 dedicating significant coverage of the market that includes unique live coverage of public auctions, including live streaming of Fasig-Tipton and other key sales via DRFLive!.
Pedigree expert John Sparkman’s bloodstock columns run every Sunday in Daily Racing Form and regular Beyer Speed Figure stats in the DRF Breeding newsletter have become a must-read. The most in-depth sales coverage through DRFLive! has attracted thousands of visitors along with breaking news updates and live streaming.
“We are encouraged by upward trends we saw at the sales in 2014. There is increased interest in owning racehorses and breeding stock,” said John Hartig, Chairman & CEO of Daily Racing Form. “DRF recognizes that attracting and retaining owners and breeders is of paramount importance and we are committed to continuing expanding our coverage with DRF Breeding.
“We also congratulate Barbara Livingston, our chief photographer, for being awarded the Eclipse Award for outstanding photography,” Hartig continued. “Her work celebrates the passion and excitement of Thoroughbred racing and adds a spell-binding dimension to the sport that we appreciate every day.”
“We are grateful for DRF’s continued support of the Eclipse Awards, as well as for their exceptional coverage of the event and Thoroughbred racing throughout the year,” said Keith Chamblin, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Industry Relations for the NTRA.
The Eclipse Awards, presented by the Daily Racing Form, Breeders’ Cup, and The Stronach Group, are bestowed upon horses and individuals whose outstanding achievements in North America have earned them the title of Champion in their respective categories. Awards also are given to recognize members of the media for outstanding coverage of Thoroughbred racing.
Eclipse Awards voting is conducted by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), and Daily Racing Form. The Eclipse Awards ceremony is produced by the NTRA.
The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.
About the NTRA
The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of more than 80 horse racing interests consisting of leading Thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers, horseplayers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic conditions for industry participants. The NTRA has offices in Lexington, Ky., and New York City. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter (@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).