Bricks and Mortar, Mitole, Maximum Security Up for Horse of the Year

Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Bricks and Mortar, Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Mitole and Haskell winner Maximum Security were announced Saturday as the finalists for the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year.

Bricks and Mortar is also a finalist for the Eclipse Award for top male turf horse following a 2019 campaign in which he won all six of his starts, including the Arlington Million, Manhattan Stakes and Pegasus World Cup Turf.

                              Mitole

Mitole was also named as a finalist for top older dirt male and top male sprinter after winning six of his seven starts last year, including the Forego and the Metropolitan Mile.

                  Maximum Security

Along with being a finalist for Horse of the Year, Maximum Security is also in the running for top 3-year-old male. Maximum Security won six of his eight starts in 2019, and was disqualified for interference and placed 17th in the Kentucky Derby after crossing the finish line first.

The filly Covfefe is also a finalist in two categories — top 3-year-old filly and top female sprinter — after winning five of her six starts last year, including the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

The awards will be presented Jan. 23 at the 49th annual Eclipse Awards dinner and ceremony at Gulfstream Park.

The full list of nominees follows:

Horse of the Year: Bricks and Mortar, Maximum Security, Mitole

Two-Year-Old Male: Maxfield, Storm the Court, Structor

Two-Year-Old Filly: Bast, British Idiom, Sharing

Three-Year-Old Male: Code of Honor, Maximum Security, Omaha Beach

Three-Year-Old Filly: Covfefe, Guarana, Serengeti Empress

Older Dirt Male: McKinzie, Mitole, Vino Rosso

Older Dirt Female: Blue Prize, Elate, Midnight Bisou

Male Sprinter: Imperial Hint, Mitole, World of Trouble

Female Sprinter: Belvoir Bay, Come Dancing, Covfefe

Male Turf Horse: Bricks and Mortar, Mo Forza, World of Trouble

Female Turf Horse: Got Stormy, Sistercharlie, Uni

Steeplechase Horse: Brain Power, Scorpiancer, Winston C

Owner: Gary Barber, Peter Brant, Klaravich Stales Inc. and William H. Lawrence

Breeder: Calumet Farm, Godolphin, George Strawbridge Jr.

Trainer: Steve Asmussen, Chad Brown, Brad Cox

Jockey: Javier Castellano, Irad Ortiz Jr., Jose Ortiz

Apprentice Jockey: Julio Correa, Angel Diaz, Kazushi Kimura