Thorpedo Anna, trained by Lexington’s Kenny McPeek, voted 2024’s Horse of the Year
Thorpedo Anna, winner of last year’s Kentucky Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Distaff, was named 2024 Horse of the Year during Thursday night’s 54th annual presentation of the Eclipse Awards at Palm Beach, Florida.
Trained by Lexington native Kenny McPeek, Thorpedo Anna became only the second 3-year-old filly to ever earn the honor, joining 2009 champion Rachel Alexandra.
McPeek’s filly received 193 first-place votes for Horse of the Year, far outdistancing fellow 3-year-olds Sierra Leone (10) and Fierceness (5).
McPeek, who became the first trainer since 1952 to win the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby in the same year, finished second to Chad Brown in voting for the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer.
Brown, who led all North American trainers in purses with more than $30.8 million in 2024, received 101 first-place votes to McPeek’s 88 in winning the award for the fifth time. Next were Brad Cox (9), Steve Asmussen (8) and Bob Baffert (1).
Brown’s Sierra Leone, who won the Breeders’ Cup Classic last November, received the Eclipse for top 3-year-old male horse. Sierra Leone won the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and was runner-up to McPeek’s Mystik Dan in the Kentucky Derby.
Thorpedo Anna, owned by Brookdale Racing Inc., Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks and Magdalena Racing, won six of her seven races last year, including five Grade 1 victories. Her only defeat came against males in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, where she finished second by a head to Fierceness. She was also unanimously voted the Eclipse winner for top 3-year-old filly.
The Eclipse Awards, honoring excellence in North American Thoroughbred racing, are voted on by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, consisting of member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, the Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.
Flavien Prat, who rode Sierra Leone to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, was named 2024’s Outstanding Jockey.
Prat, a native of France, established records for most graded stakes wins by a jockey with 56 and most stakes wins overall at 82, while topping the jockeys earnings list with more than $37 million.
2024 Eclipse Award winners
Two-Year-Old Male: Citizen Bull
Two-Year-Old Filly: Immersive
Three-Year-Old Male: Sierra Leone
Three-Year-Old Filly: Thorpedo Anna
Older Dirt Male: National Treasure
Older Dirt Female: Idiomatic
Male Sprinter: Straight No Chaser
Female Sprinter: Soul of an Angel
Male Turf Horse: Rebel’s Romance
Female Turf Horse: Moira
Steeplechase Horse: Snap Decision
Owner: Godolphin
Breeder: Godolphin
Jockey: Flavien Prat
Apprentice Jockey: Erik Asmussen
Trainer: Chad Brown
Horse of the Year: Thorpedo Anna
This story was originally published January 24, 2025 at 11:12 AM.