Honestly, if you were sitting in the stands at Del Mar or watching the TV feed from a sportsbook in 2024, you felt it. That specific, electric hum that only happens when a "good" horse becomes a "generational" horse. We’re talking about the Horse of the Year—the crown jewel of the Eclipse Awards—and lately, the conversation has shifted from just "who won the most money" to "who actually captured the soul of the sport."
Right now, as we look back at the 2024 results and the 2025 season that followed, there’s one name that towers over everyone else: Thorpedo Anna.
She didn’t just win. She bullied the competition.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Horse of the Year
A lot of casual fans think the Horse of the Year is just given to the winner of the Kentucky Derby. Wrong. In fact, it’s often the opposite. Look at 2024. Mystik Dan won the Derby in a three-horse photo that we’ll be talking about for decades, but he wasn’t the Horse of the Year. Not even close.
The title is about a "body of work."
Thorpedo Anna, trained by the ever-vocal Kenny McPeek, put together a campaign so dominant it felt like a throwback to the 70s. She won the Kentucky Oaks (the "Derby for girls") by over four lengths. Then she went to Saratoga and crushed the Acorn. Then she won the Coaching Club American Oaks. By the time she hit the Breeders' Cup Distaff in November, it was basically a coronation.
She received 193 out of 240 first-place votes. That’s a landslide.
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You’ve got to appreciate the rarity here. She became only the second 3-year-old filly to ever win the title, joining the legendary Rachel Alexandra (2009). Think about the thousands of horses that run every year. Only two fillies at that age have ever been called the best in the land. That's insane.
The 2025 Power Shift: Forever Young and Sovereignty
As we moved into 2025, the landscape changed. If 2024 was the year of the "Grizzly" (Thorpedo Anna’s nickname), 2025 was the year the world finally realized that Japanese dirt horses aren't just coming—they're already here.
Forever Young is the name you need to know.
After that heartbreaking third-place finish in the 2024 Kentucky Derby—where he lost by a literal whisker after traveling halfway around the globe—he came back with a vengeance in 2025. His win in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar was a statement. He fended off Sierra Leone (the 2024 3-year-old Male Champion) and Fierceness in a finish that felt like a heavyweight boxing match.
But then you have Sovereignty.
This horse, a son of Constitution, basically owned the Triple Crown season in 2025. He romped in the Kentucky Derby on a sloppy track and then absolutely destroyed the field in the Travers Stakes. When people argue about the Horse of the Year for 2025, it’s a fierce debate between the "International Dominance" of Forever Young and the "American Classic" perfection of Sovereignty.
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How the Voting Actually Works (It's Kinda Messy)
People think there’s a secret room where a bunch of old guys in hats pick a winner. It’s actually a bit more democratic, though just as chaotic. The votes come from three distinct groups:
- The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA)
- The Daily Racing Form (DRF)
- The National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB)
They don't always agree. Sometimes you get "split" years where one horse is clearly better on paper, but another has the "heart" story.
In 2024, the "heart" story was arguably Cody's Wish, but the "performance" story was Thorpedo Anna. Usually, in the modern era, the voters lean toward the horse that showed up the most. Thorpedo Anna ran seven times in 2024. She won six of them. Her only loss? A second-place finish against the boys in the Travers Stakes. Even in defeat, she proved she was the best horse in training.
Why These Titles Actually Matter
You might think this is just for ego or trophies. It’s not. It’s about the "breeding shed," which is where the real money lives.
When a horse wins Horse of the Year, their value as a sire (if they’re male) or a broodmare (if they’re female) sky-rockets. We’re talking about the difference between a $10,000 stud fee and a $100,000 stud fee. One title can literally generate $50 million in extra revenue over the course of a horse's second career.
Take Flightline (2022 winner). He was so valuable after his Horse of the Year campaign that a 2.5% "fractional interest" in him sold for $4.6 million. That’s for 2.5%!
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The Underdogs Who Almost Made It
It’s worth mentioning the horses that got "snubbed" or just fell short. Sierra Leone is the ultimate bridesmaid of the 2024-2025 era. He lost the Derby by a nose. He lost the Travers by a head. He finally won the Breeders' Cup Classic in late 2024, but it wasn't enough to overtake the sheer brilliance of Thorpedo Anna.
Then there’s Idiomatic. She was the Older Dirt Female champion two years in a row (2023-2024). In any other era, she might have been Horse of the Year. But she ran at the same time as Thorpedo Anna. It’s like being a great basketball player during the Michael Jordan years—you're amazing, but you're not the King.
Actionable Insights for Racing Fans
If you're trying to spot the next Horse of the Year, don't just look at who wins the biggest race. Look at these three things:
- Versatility: Can the horse win on different tracks? Thorpedo Anna won at Churchill, Saratoga, Parx, and Del Mar. That matters to voters.
- The "Against the Boys" Factor: If a filly takes on males and holds her own (like Thorpedo Anna did in the Travers), she almost always wins the tie-breaker for the top title.
- The Breeders' Cup Finale: For better or worse, the voters have a short memory. A win in a Breeders' Cup race in November usually counts for double in the minds of the electorate compared to a win in May.
The 2025 season showed us that the sport is more global than ever. Whether it’s a filly like Thorpedo Anna or a Japanese superstar like Forever Young, the Horse of the Year remains the ultimate metric of greatness in a sport that never stops moving.
Keep an eye on the 3-year-old prep races starting this spring. That’s usually where the first whispers of the next champion begin.