1-22-2025 4:12am

MONKTON GROOM WINS

Jeff Barto Editor

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced that Jenna Elliott, a 31-year-old horsewoman from Monkton, Md., and the groom of 2025 Steeplechase Horse Eclipse Award finalist Snap Decision, has won the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards Sweepstakes. Elliott’s name was randomly selected from 340 entries.

Elliott, who works for Snap Decision’s trainer Jack Fisher, and a guest will be guests of the NTRA and Resolute Racing at the 54th Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards, presented by John Deere, Keeneland and The Jockey Club, on January 23 at The Breakers Palm Beach, Fla. The pair also will be guests of Resolute at the Pegasus World Cup on January 25 at Gulfstream Park Racing and Casino.

“It was such a surreal feeling to look down and see a missed call from the NTRA knowing today was the day for the drawing,” said Elliott, a groom for Fisher for the past five years. “Working with these racehorses every day and being able to witness them crowned for their achievements really pulls together everything we as horsemen and women strive for. This is an incredible opportunity. I’m very thankful for Resolute Racing and the NTRA for this weekend of a lifetime.”

As part of the promotion, Resolute Racing and the NTRA encouraged fans to enter either themselves or someone they feel would enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime weekend experience. Elliott saw the promotion on Facebook and wrote: “After years of waiting, this is finally the year where Snap Decision should get his crown… Once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to attend and witness in person. As his groom of four years, I would love to attend.”

About the Eclipse Awards

Owned and produced by the NTRA, the Eclipse Awards are sponsored by the NTRA, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB). The awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies. Eclipse Awards voting is conducted by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), Daily Racing Form, NTRA member racing officials and Equibase field personnel.

Snap Decision leads trio of finalists for Eclipse Award 2024 Grade 1 winners Snap Decision, Carloun, and L'Imperator have been named finalists for champion steeplechaser, at the 54th Annual Eclipse Awards, which take place on Jan. 23 at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla. The ceremonies begin at 7:30 p.m. The odds-on favorite to go home with the title is Bruton Street-US' Snap Decision, the only two-time Grade 1 winner in 2024, and the victor of the sport's most important race, the Grand National at Far Hills. Snap Decision, ridden by Graham Watters and trained by Jack Fisher, also captured the G1 Iroquois -- for the third time -- and G2 Temple Gwathmey at Middleburg. A star on the circuit for six years, the Eclipse Award has eluded the second-richest American steeplechaser of all time, and he is all but a lock to finally secure the crown.Paul and Molly Willis' Carloun went from maiden to Grade 1 winner in three months for trainer Keri Brion and jockey Stephen Mulqueen, his biggest moment coming in the inaugural William H. Allison stakes at the International Gold Cup Races in Middleburg in October.Hudson River Farms' L'Imperator, a graded stakes winner on the flat, earned his first Grade 1 in the inaugural Beverly R. Steinman stakes at Aqueduct in June with visiting Irish jockey Jordan Gainford in the saddle for trainer Arch Kingsley. Kingsley trained 2023 Eclipse Award winner Merry Maker. The Steinman was postponed from the final day of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Festival on June 9 when weather forced all races off the turf. L'Imperator wasn't originally going to contest the Steinman at Saratoga due to a foot abscess, but the extra time proved serendipitous.