EQUINE NEWS

Shisospicy is a finalist for three divisional honors: Champion 3-Year-Old Filly, Female Sprinter and Female Turf. [Photo courtesy Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company]

Five horses who are graduates of Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company auctions recently were announced as finalists for the 2025 Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards, which honors excellence in thoroughbred racing.

The Eclipse Awards are voted upon by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, represented by member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, National Turf Writers and Broadcasters and Daily Racing Form, and are produced by the NTRA, according to the OBS news release.

The NTRA website notes that winners in 17 horse and human categories will be announced on FanDuel TV and other outlets during the 55th annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards, presented by John Deere, The Jockey Club and the NTRA, on Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m. The evening will culminate with the announcement of the 2025 Horse of the Year. The ceremony will be held in Palm Beach.

The OBS graduates, according to its news release, are:

• Shisospicy – Morplay Racing’s Shisospicy (Mitole – Mischief Galore, by Into Mischief) is a finalist for three divisional honors: Champion 3-Year-Old Filly, Female Sprinter and Female Turf. The daughter of Mitole won three graded stakes in 2025 with the highlight coming when she became the first 3-year-old filly to win the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Trained by Jose D’Angelo, Shisospicy was offered at the 2024 OBS April Sale by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds where she was an RNA after breezing in :9 3/5.
• Nysos – Fellow OBS April grad Nysos (Nyquist – Zetta Z, by Bernardini) is also up for multiple honors as a finalist for Older Dirt Male and Male Sprinter. Trained by Bob Baffert for owner Baoma Corp and lessees Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael B. Tabor, Nysos earned four graded stakes victories in 2025, including his victory in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Del Mar. He was purchased for $550,000 out of the Best A Luck Farm consignment by Donato Lanni, agent for owner Baoma Corp, at the 2023 OBS April Sale after breezing in :9 4/5.
• Cy Fair – Swinbank Stables, Medallion Racing, Joey Platts, and Mark Stanton’s Cy Fair (Not This Time-Remarqued, by Arch), a graduate of the 2025 OBS April Sale, is a finalist for Champion 2-Year-Old Filly on the strength of her victory in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) Oct. 31 at Del Mar. Cy Fair became the second filly to win the race, joining Twilight Gleaming (IRE) in 2021. The daughter of Not This Time was purchased by Swinbank for $185,000 at this year’s OBS April Sale out of the Niall Brennan Stables consignment after breezing in :9 4/5.
• Bentornato – Leon King Stable Corp. and Julia and Michael Iavarone’s Bentornato (Valiant Minister-Her Special Way, by Put It Back), is a finalist for Champion Male Sprinter after scoring a 2 ¼-length victory in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) at Del Mar. He is a two-time OBS graduate, having been sold by Stuart Morris at the 2022 October Yearling Sale and then purchased by Champion Equine for $170,000 out of the Golden Rock Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2023 March Sale after breezing in :20 4/5.
• Brant – Zedan Racing Stables’ Brant (Gun Runner-Tynan, by Liam’s Map), who set an all-time OBS record when he sold for $3 million at the 2025 March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training, is a finalist for Champion 2-Year-Old Male following a three-race campaign that saw him earn a victory in the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Futurity Sept. 7 before finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). Brant was consigned to the OBS March Sale by Eddie Woods and lit up the board in record-setting fashion after breezing in :9 3/5, the fastest time of any horse in the March catalogue.

For the complete list of finalists, go to ntra.com/2025-eclipse-awards-finalists-announced

Cy Fair is a finalist for champion 2-Year-Old Filly. [Photo courtesy Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company]

Florida Coast Equipment has entered into a partnership agreement with the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association making Kubota the exclusive tractor, mower, utility vehicle and construction equipment sponsor of the Florida thoroughbred industry, starting this year.

The long-term agreement places the Florida Coast Equipment – Kubota brand front and center in the vast Florida thoroughbred industry, a $3.2 billion economic driver in the Sunshine State with more than 90,000 thoroughbreds and 33,500 jobs, according to the news release from FTBOA.

The FTBOA is the registered owner of the Horse Capital of the World trademark identifying the Ocala/Marion County area as an equine epicenter with more horses and ponies than any other single county in North America, the release noted.