Voting open for NTRA Moment of the Year * The Racing Biz

Voting open for NTRA Moment of the Year

Press Release
January 6, 2026

Eleven of the most memorable, massive, and momentous events from Thoroughbred racing in North America last year have been nominated for the 2025 FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year, a distinction determined by fan voting and recognized at the annual Eclipse Awards. Voting is now open on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) website, NTRA.com, and via X (formerly Twitter), where every retweet or use of the official hashtag for the moments as presented on the @NTRA account will be counted as one vote. The FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year will be recognized during the 55th annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards Presented by John Deere, The Jockey Club, and the NTRA at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on January 22, 2026.

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To vote on the NTRA website, go HERE. Fans are permitted to vote for multiple moments but there is a limit of one vote per moment for each X account. Subsequent votes from an account will be disqualified. Votes for the poll must be submitted by January 15 at 11:59 p.m. (ET).

The eligible 2025 moments were selected to demonstrate the various equine and human achievements, as well as human emotions, exhibited throughout the year. Events that fans can choose from are listed as follows, along with the designated hashtag which can be used to vote:

May 2 #cheeroaks – Godolphin homebred Good Cheer wins the Kentucky Oaks to remain undefeated through the Oaks in seven lifetime starts. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro won these races by a combined 44 ½ lengths.
May 3 #sovereigntyderby – Godolphin homebred Sovereignty rallies late to win the Kentucky Derby and gives owner/breeder Godolphin the elusive Kentucky Oaks-Kentucky Derby double. Sovereignty is Godolphin’s first Kentucky Derby winner.
May 17 #journalismpreakness – Journalism takes the 150th Preakness Stakes in a dramatic stretch run where the Curlin colt exchanges bumps with two rivals. This was the final running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico before a new grandstand/clubhouse structure is built there in time for the 2027 running. Laurel Park will host the 2026 Preakness Stakes.
June 7 #sovereigntybelmont – Sovereignty bypasses the Preakness and claims the final jewel of the Triple Crown by defeating Journalism in the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The Belmont Stakes is scheduled to be run again at the Spa in 2026 before moving back to Belmont Park in 2027.
June 28 #dwayne – Legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas (“Coach”) dies at the age of 89. The basketball coach turned Hall of Fame horse trainer won 15 Triple Crown races, including his most recent in the 2024 Preakness Stakes with Seize the Grey, and 20 Breeders’ Cup races.
July 19 #journalismhaskell – Journalism uses a late kick to collect his third Grade 1 win of 2025 in the Haskell Stakes. The Preakness winner also won the Santa Anita Derby.
August 23 #sovereigntytravers – Sovereignty romps by 10 lengths in the Travers Stakes to solidify his spot at the top of the 3-year-old male division. The Travers was the son of Into Mischief’s fourth straight graded stakes win, including three Grade 1s.
August 30 #fiercenesspacific – Champion Fierceness overcomes early race trouble to win the Pacific Classic. The 2023 Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old male ducked in towards the temporary rail just after the start, but Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez perfectly piloted the City of Light colt from there.
October 31 #tedisperfect – Ted Noffey completes an undefeated campaign by winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. The 2-year-old Into Mischief colt, “named” after owner Spendthrift Farm’s general manager Ned Toffey, ended the year perfect in four starts.
November 1 #foreverclassic – Forever Young (JPN) becomes the first Japanese bred and based horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The 4-year-old colt defeated last year’s winner, 2024 Eclipse Award champion 3-year-old male Sierra Leone, by half a length and boosted his career earnings to more than $19.3 million.
November 2 #flavienwins7 – Flavien Prat sets a NYRA single card record when riding 7 winners in 10 mounts on closing day of the Belmont at the Big A meet. Six of his wins were consecutive and Prat’s mounts finished 2nd three times, for a 10-7-3-0 ledger on the day.