PIETRO MORAN did Canadian and Ontario racing proud as he was voted the 2025 Eclipse Award Outstanding Apprentice Jockey at a ceremony in Florida on January 22. The well-liked 20-year-old collected 128 first-place votes and was one of three riders who received first-place nods. Moran, who was a close second in the Woodbine jockey standings just behind Rafael Hernandez, follows Mickey Walls, Neil Poznansky, Omar Moreno, Emma-Jayne Wilson and Kazushi Kimura, who were previous Woodbine-based Eclipse/Apprentice winners.
Irish-born and Canadian-raised by his parents jockeys David and Maria Moran, Pietro won 140 races last year from 863 mounts. The most special of all of those was the King’s Plate win on Mansetti, who upset the 1 1/4 mile Canadian classic aboard Al and Bill Ulwelling’s colt, trained by Kevin Attard.
“I thank all the owners and trainers for the mounts and for giving me the opportunities every day,” said Moran. “I always try to put my best foot forward, work hard, and to my family for all the cards and well wishes.”
Moran thanked grooms, hotwalkers, assistant trainers and everyone who “brought the horses over for me to ride” and thanked the horses: “They are a special animal and I am so lucky to be a part of it.” Among those who accompanied Pietro to the awards was David, who appeared quite emotional during his son’s speech.
Pietro is one of nine Moran children. His brother, Will, who gallops horses at Woodbine, is also an outrider.
Canada’s Champion 2-Year-Old Filly of 2024, NITROGEN, trained by Woodbine’s perennial leading trainer Mark Casse, was voted Eclipse Award Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.
Nitrogen, who was a maiden following three starts as a juvenile, was named the Sovereign Award-winning juvenile filly based on her third-place finishes in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Natalma Stakes. Owned and bred by D.J. Stables, who race a lot at Woodbine, Nitrogen began her three-year-old season in Florida, won five straight graded stakes before she missed by inches in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks. She then won the prestigious Alabama Stakes (G1) at Saratoga and ended a gritty campaign with runner-up placings in the Spinster and Breeders’ Cup Distaff, both Grade 1’s.
Casse, when asked at the Eclipse Awards red-carpet function about his highlight of Nitrogen’s campaign said, “The Alabama. That race was around when I was a little boy. I don’t get nervous very often, but I was nervous for the Alabama because I really thought we could win it and she didn’t let us down.”
Len and Jonathan Green own D.J. Stable. Nitrogen is by Medaglia d’Oro from Tiffany Case by Uncle Mo.
Canada’s leading owner BRUNO SCHICKEDANZ tied for third with Eclipse Thoroughbreds with two first-place votes for Outstanding Owner.
55th ECLIPSE AWARDS
Voter participation rate: 220/240 = 92%
In voting that concluded on Jan. 1, 2026, Eclipse Awards voters cast their ballots to rank the top three horses and individuals in each Championship division on a 10-5-1 point system.
This voting established the top three finalists in each division, whose names were released on Jan. 4, 2026.
The tallies below represent only first-place votes from members of the consolidated voting entities, NTRA, Daily Racing Form, and National Turf Writers And Broadcasters.
(Name, First-Place Votes)
Two-Year-Old Male
Ted Noffey, 218; Further Ado, 1; Gstaad (GB), 1.
Two-Year-Old Filly
Super Corredora, 146; Cy Fair, 49; Explora, 10; Tommy Jo, 4; Mythical, 3; Bella Ballerina, 2; Percy’s Bar, 2; Zany, 2; Balantina (IRE), 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Three-Year-Old Male
Sovereignty, 219; Voter Abstention, 1.
Three-Year-Old Filly
Nitrogen, 183; Shisospicy, 24; Gezora (FR), 5; Fionn, 2; La Cara, 2; Clicquot, 1; Good Cheer, 1; Kilwin, 1; Lush Lips (GB), 1.
Older Dirt Male
Forever Young, 117; Sierra Leone, 50; Nysos, 24; Mindframe, 9; Fierceness, 6; Book’em Danno, 1; Touchuponastar, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Older Dirt Female
Thorpedo Anna, 171; Scylla, 33; Splendora, 9; Cavalieri, 2; Hope Road, 1; Kopion, 1; Seismic Beauty, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Male Sprinter
Book’em Danno, 115; Bentornato, 82; Nysos, 14; Patch Adams, 5; Mindframe, 1; Troubleshooting, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Female Sprinter
Shisospicy, 113; Splendora, 68; Kopion, 34; Ag Bullet, 1; Hope Road, 1; Positano Sunset, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Male Turf Horse
Notable Speech (GB), 115; Rebel’s Romance (IRE), 59; Ethical Diamond, 23; Deterministic, 17; Zulu Kingdom (IRE), 2; Carl Spackler (IRE), 1; Formidable Man, 1; Troubleshooting, 1; World Beater, 1.
Female Turf Horse
She Feels Pretty, 151; Gezora (FR), 36; Shisopicy, 22, Lush Lips (GB), 4; Nitrogen, 4; Ag Bullet, 2; Excellent Truth (IRE), 1.
Steeplechase Horse
Cool Jet (IRE), 119; Zanahiyr (IRE), 51; Swore, 14; Proven Innocent, 8; Abaan, 6; Fil Dor (FR), 1; Historic Heart (IRE), 1; Voter Abstentions, 20.
Owner
Godolphin, 206; Spendthrift Farm LLC, 7; Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, 2; Bruno Schickedanz, 2; Susumu Fujita, 1; Klaravich Stables, Inc., 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Breeder
Godolphin, 212; WinStar Farm, LLC, 2; Aaron and Marie Jones, 1; Calumet Farm, 1; Don Alberto Corporation, 1; Northern Racing, 1; Tanma Corporation, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Trainer
Bill Mott, 85; Brad Cox, 50; Chad Brown, 40; Todd Pletcher, 21; Bob Baffert, 13; Steve Asmussen, 3; Jamie Ness, 2; Mark Casse, 1; Christophe Clement, 1; Michael Maker, 1; Brendan Walsh, 1; Henry Walters, 1; Voter Abstention, 1.
Jockey
Flavien Prat, 152; Irad Ortiz Jr., 52; John Velazquez, 6; Junior Alvarado, 5; Jose Ortiz, 3; Kendrick Carmouche, 1; Tyler Gaffalione, 1.
Apprentice Jockey
Pietro Moran, 128; Yedsit Hazlewood, 55; Christopher Elliott, 26; Voter Abstentions, 11.
Media Eclipse Awards also are given in the categories of photography, multimedia, news/enterprise writing, feature/commentary writing, television–-feature, and television–live racing programming to recognize members of the media for outstanding coverage of Thoroughbred racing. The 2025 Media Eclipse Awards winners, determined by a judges’ panel for each category and previously announced, are:
Live Television Programming – FOX Sports, “The Belmont Stakes,” Michael Mulvihill, President – Insight & Analytics, June 7, 2025
Feature Television – FOX Sports, “The Healing Ride,” Michael Mulvihill President – Insight & Analytics, June 7, 2025
Writing – News/Enterprise – Natalie Voss, Paulick Report – “Doom Scroll: Thoroughbreds, Bail Pens, And Horse Traders,” December 2024
Writing – Feature/Commentary – Jay Privman, DRF.com and Daily Racing Form, “Lukas Morphed from Caustic to Avuncular,” June 29, 2025
Photography – Skip Dickstein, “Unseated,” The Albany Times-Union and BloodHorse, Aug. 31, 2025
Multimedia – Augusta Chapman and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics Radio “The Horse is Us: Inside the Horse-Industrial Complex,” Oct. 31, 2025.
More News
