Voting now underway in Eclipse Horse of the Year Sweepstakes

Voting now underway in Eclipse Horse of the Year

Sweepstakes

Daily Racing Form (DRF), Breeders' Cup and the National

Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced Wednesday the launch of the 2012

Eclipse Horse of the Year Fan Vote Sweepstakes.

The free-to-enter sweepstakes

requires fans to select the horse they feel deserves to win the 2012 Horse of

the Year Award, which will be announced January 19 at the 42nd

annual Eclipse Awards ceremony at Gulfstream Park in

Hallandale Beach, Florida. Fans are also encouraged to cast their votes in a host

of other Eclipse Award categories. All voters will be entered in a random

drawing for a trip for two -- including airfare, hotel accommodations, ground

transportation and event tickets -- to January's Eclipse Awards ceremony, plus

reserved seats and VIP access for a day of racing at Gulfstream Park.

Voting is available at

drf.com/eclipse and will continue until 3 p.m. (EST) on January 3. The prize winner will be drawn on or about January 4. Following the close

of voting, but prior to the Eclipse Awards, DRF, Breeders' Cup and the NTRA will

release the fans' top choices in each Eclipse Award category, including Horse of

the Year. The sweepstakes is open to U.S. and Canadian (excluding those in the

province of Quebec) residents. For official rules, please visit

drf.com/eclipse.

Actual Eclipse Award voting takes place among designated

representatives of the NTRA, DRF and the National Turf Writers and

Broadcasters. 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.

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.

Tickets to the Eclipse Awards are available for $375 each. Order forms for

tickets are available by clicking

here. Hotel reservations

at the Westin Diplomat may be made by clicking

here.

For additional information, please contact Michele Ravencraft of the NTRA at

mravencraft@ntra.com.

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