Bricks and Mortar propelled longtime partners Seth Klarman and William Lawrence to the top of the North American owners’ standings with an undefeated season that netted $6,723,650 and earned them an Eclipse Award as Outstanding Owner of 2019.

Bloom Racing Stable, Madaket Stables, and Allen Racing’s Midnight Bisou went on a tear in 2019. She won seven consecutive graded stakes and raced eight times at six tracks between January and November.

A decision to be patient proved key in Vino Rosso’s development, as the son of Curlin reached new heights at 4, capped by a victory in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) to nail down champion older dirt male honors.

In addition to being named Horse of the Year over his fellow finalists Maximum Security and Mitole, Bricks and Mortar was also voted champion turf male in a landslide.

A filly is the first foal by the popular New York stallion Redesdale out of the stakes-winning, graded stakes-placed mare Rgirldoesn’tbluff, by Pine Bluff.

Prominent Thoroughbred owner and breeder Ahmed Zayat said he was caught off-guard by an emergency hearing Jan. 22 in which a judge ordered a receiver to oversee Zayat Stables in connection with a lawsuit filed by a New York investment firm.

Back-to-back scores at the biggest meet of the summer put Hudson River Farms’ Winston C over the last hurdle Jan. 23, earning the Eclipse Award for top Steeplechaser for the year. 

Covfefe, the small filly with the big blaze, was clearly the top sprinter of her generation in 2019 and when she defeated the best older female sprinters in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), she cemented her Eclipse Award-winning campaign.

Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt’s Mitole closed his career with a flourish with a thrilling victory in the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) at Santa Anita Park. 

George Strawbridge Jr. certainly has had the depth of quality over the years required to be considered for top breeder honors, but often it takes a superstar to close the deal. He got that standout in 2019 with Bricks and Mortar.

In the final chapter of an unforgettable year filled with a wild mix of success, turbulence, and controversy, Maximum Security was named champion 3-year-old male Jan. 23 at the 49th annual Eclipse Awards.

The special ones only come around so often, and Covfefe is special. The small filly with the big blaze proved to be one of a kind in 2019 by being named champion 3-year-old filly and champion female sprinter.

Kazushi Kimura added another piece of hardware to the mantel when he was named outstanding apprentice jockey Jan. 23 at the Eclipse Awards. 

Back-to-back wins in two-turn grade 1 races were more than enough to separate her from the rest of the pack, and British Idiom was an easy pick to earn the Eclipse Award as top juvenile filly.

Dual European champion Cracksman has become the latest young stallion to sire his first foal, with a chestnut filly arriving Jan. 22 at Newsells Park Stud.

The Democratic governor released his 2020 state budget plan for New York Jan. 21 and it is silent—to the disappointment of some lawmakers—on the issue of online sports betting.

When Indiana Grand opens April 14, one person will be noticeably missing. Jon Schuster, longtime vice president and general manager, died in late 2019 and Indiana Grand will hold several tributes to him.

Dean Reeves has a different perspective on winning the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes Presented by Runhappy (G1) than virtually all of the other owners involved in the Jan. 25 stakes.