Finalists revealed for 2011 Eclipse Awards

Horseracing Betting Lines

01/05/2012 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Breeders' Cup race winners Hansen, Caleb's Posse and Royal Delta have been announced as finalists for 2011 Eclipse Awards.

The 41st Eclipse Awards program will be held Monday, January 16 at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, California. The awards are voted on by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), National Turf Writers And Broadcasters (NTWAB) and Daily Racing Form.

Hansen, winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, is one of three finalists for champion two-year-old male. He is joined by Juvenile runner-up Union Rags and Creative Cause.

Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile champ Caleb's Posse is a finalist in two categories -- three-year-old male and male sprinter. The other finalists for champion three- year-old male are Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom and Preakness victor Shackleford. Joining Caleb's Posse as finalists for champion male sprinter are Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Amazombie and Regally Ready.

Royal Delta, winner of the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic, is a finalist for three-year-old female honors. The filly is joined by Ladies' Classic runner-up It's Tricky and Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty.

Finalists for Horse of the Year will be announced on the night of the ceremony.

The 2011 Eclipse Awards finalists are:

Horse of the Year: TBA

Two-Year-Old Male: Creative Cause, Hansen, Union Rags

Two-Year-Old Filly: Grace Hall, My Miss Aurelia, Stephanie's Kitten

Three-Year-Old Male: Animal Kingdom, Caleb's Posse, Shackleford

Three-Year-Old Filly: It's Tricky, Plum Pretty, Royal Delta

Older Male: Acclamation, Game on Dude, Tizway

Older Female: Awesome Maria, Blind Luck, Havre de Grace

Male Sprinter: Amazombie, Caleb's Posse, Regally Ready

Female Sprinter: Hilda's Passion, Musical Romance, Sassy Image

Male Turf Horse: Acclamation, Cape Blanco (IRE), St Nicholas Abbey (IRE)

Female Turf Horse: Dubawi Heights (GB), Perfect Shirl, Stacelita (FR)

Steeplechase: Black Jack Blues (IRE), Decoy Daddy (IRE), Tax Ruling (IRE)

Owner: Midwest Thoroughbreds, Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, Team Valor

Breeder: Adena Springs, Brereton C. Jones, Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey

Trainer: Bob Baffert, Bill Mott, Todd Pletcher

Jockey: Javier Castellano, Ramon Dominguez, John Velazquez

Apprentice Jockey: Ryan Curatolo, Kyle Frey, Rosario Montanez

The Eclipse Awards are presented by the NTRA, NTWAB and Daily Racing Form in recognition of excellence in thoroughbred racing.

Eclipse Awards are bestowed upon horses and individuals whose outstanding achievements 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.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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