The above photo is of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra. This years Eclipse Awards are every bit as exciting as last year when she took the top spot. I didn’t get a vote, but if I did here are the horses I would’ve selected. Let’s take a look!

Two-Year-Old Male: Uncle Mo wins this in an open and shut case. The son of Indian Charlie only raced three times, but won emphatically in each start. His Breeders Cup Juvenile victory is one of the most incredible I’ve ever seen. It will be exciting to see how he fares in 2011.

Two-Year-Old Female: Awesome Feather did everything asked of her in 6 starts this year. She capped it with a Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies win. Other interesting horses include Position Limit and Turbulent Descent. All three will be strong contenders in 2011, but the Breeders Cup winner gets the nod for the Eclipse Award.

Three-Year-Old Male: Lookin At Lucky has to take this on virtue of his wins in the Preakness Stakes and Haskell Invitational. The son of Smart Strike has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever seen. The other horse here is Eskendereya. He only raced 3 times before retiring due to injury, but his win in the Wood Memorial was one of the most impressive performances I’ve ever seen by a sophomore runner.

Three-Year-Old Female: Blind Luck seems to know where the wire is. She won three races by a nose and another by a neck this year. Her best wins came in the Las Virgenes, Kentucky Oaks and Alabama Stakes. She was purchased for a measly $11k in 2008. Her rival, Havre de Grace, gets an honorable mention.

Older Horse: This division is another open and shut case in favor of Blame. He is the only horse to ever beat the legendary Zenyatta and he did so in the Breeders Cup Classic. I love his style of galloping horses down. He is a truly a throwback.

Older Female: Zenyatta gets this one for the third consecutive year. Relax ladies, she won’t be around to win it next year. You will get your chance.

Male Sprinter: This division is the first one with some room for debate. Even though I picked Breeders Cup Sprint winner Big Drama to win that race, I do think others deserve consideration. My selection for this award is Majesticperfection. He won the head to head matchup with Big Drama and won twice as many races in total. He is one of the best sprinters I’ve seen in many years and its a damn shame he was injured and forced to retire. Smiling Tiger had a great year winning two Grade 1 races and missing a third by a nose.

Female Sprinter: This was a tough pick, but I went with Dubai Majesty over Franny Freud. The latter had her season ended by an injury after taking the Prioress. Dubai Majesty finished her year with a win in the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. That put her over the top.

Male Turf Horse: It was a pretty sorry year for this division. I’ll give the nod to Champ Pegasus on virtue of his runner up performance in the Breeders Cup Turf. Rosario was bold to put him on the lead as this horse closed from 19 back to win a race earlier this year. His best win came in the Clement L. Hirsch. Most will probably go with Gio Ponti here and he deserves a look after running behind Goldikova in the Breeders Cup Mile.

Female Turf Horse: This is an easy pick. Although Goldikova only raced once in North America she deserves the award. The filly looked like she had a rocket in her rear end as she vaulted past them all in the Breeders Cup Mile. It was one of the best efforts all year and by FAR the best from this division. The ill fated Tuscan Evening gets an honorable mention for going a perfect 6 for 6.

Horse of the Year: Please refer to this post.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher wins this one in a rout. He took the Kentucky Derby and won much more money than any other trainer. He also took more Grade 1 races and more graded races overall. Bob Baffert, John Sadler, John Sheriffs and Steve Asmussen deserve mentions. Among the lower tier trainers Jamie Ness and Joe Woodard both had great years. Pletcher is the reigning king though.

Jockey: Although he didn’t win as many graded races as some, Ramon Dominguez is very deserving of this award. He rides circles around most of the New York colony and won more money than any other jockey this year. Dominguez is a great tactician and extremely underrated.

Apprentice: I don’t have a very strong opinion here, but I’ll go with top money earner and wins leader Omar Moreno. The young rider’s life is finally looking up after living through a civil war as a child. Click here to read more.

Owner: Jerry and Ann Moss deserve this one for keeping Zenyatta around. They did what was good for the game and we owe them a debt that can never be repaid. This award would be a good start though.

Stallion: I don’t have an opinion in this category, but Malibu Moon and Distorted Humor were 1-2 in wins earnings.

So there you have it, my picks for the 2010 Eclipse Awards. Official results will be released on January 17, 2011. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts. I’d love to discuss the topic  and hear what you think!