Ten of the most thrilling, memorable, and momentous events from Thoroughbred racing in North America last year have been nominated for the 2024 NTRA moment of the year, a distinction determined by fan voting and recognized at the annual Eclipse Awards.

Voting is now open on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association website, and via X, where every retweet or use of the official hashtag for the moments as presented on the @NTRA account will be counted as one vote.

To vote on the NTRA website, click here. Fans are permitted to vote for multiple moments but there is a limit of one vote per moment for each X account. Subsequent votes from an account will be disqualified. Votes for the poll must be submitted by Jan. 15 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

The eligible 2024 moments were selected to demonstrate the various equine and human achievements, as well as human emotions, exhibited throughout the year. Events that fans can choose from are listed as follows, along with the designated hashtag which can be used to vote:

#frankie6straight. Frankie Dettori rode six straight winners on the Santa Anita Derby day card, including two stake races. The 54-year-old Italian rider had mounts in 11 of the 12 races that day, with his winners paying as much as $21.60.

#annaoaks. Thorpedo Anna won the Kentucky Oaks by 4 3/4 lengths in a strong wire-to-wire performance over a sloppy Churchill Downs main track. It was the first Kentucky Oaks win for both trainer Kenny McPeek and rider Brian Hernandez Jr.

#danderby. Mystik Dan and Hernandez made it a rail trip to win the 150th Kentucky Derby in a three-horse photo finish. Trained by McPeek, Mystik Dan’s win gave both the trainer and rider their first Kentucky Derby victories. In winning the Derby, McPeek became the third trainer to win both the Derby and Oaks in the same year.

#seizethepreakness. Seize the Grey gave 88-year-old legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas and innovative microshare ownership group MyRacehorse a front-running win in the Preakness Stakes. It was Lukas’s seventh Preakness win, and MyRacehorse’s 2,570 owners celebrated their first.

#dornochbelmont. Dornoch won the 156th Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, the first time the final jewel of the Triple Crown is run at the Spa. Trainer Danny Gargan won his first Belmont for a large ownership group that included former Major League Baseball All-Star and World Series champion Jayson Werth.

#emmajaynejockey. Emma-Jayne Wilson, a top Canadian jockey, broke the all-time female jockey lifetime purse earnings record held by Hall of Famer Julie Krone. With her win aboard Perfect Lady Bee, Wilson reached $90,153,109, surpassing Krone’s mark of $90,126,584.

#fiercetravers. Champion Fierceness and Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez held off filly Thorpedo Anna in a thrilling Travers Stakes finish. The 2023 Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old male had won Saratoga’s Jim Dandy Stakes in his prior start for owner Mike Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher.

#annabcdistaff. Thorpedo Anna dominated the Breeders’ Cup Distaff field at Del Mar and puts a cap on her 2024 campaign, which featured six wins in seven starts. In a year of firsts for her trainer, Thorpedo Anna gave McPeek yet another, as the Distaff win was his first in a Breeders’ Cup race.

#sierrabcclassic. Sierra Leone saved his best for last and won the Breeders’ Cup Classic to lead a 1-2-3 finish for 3-year-olds. The son of Gun Runner captured the Risen Star Stakes and Blue Grass Stakes to begin the year and placed in four consecutive graded stakes before his Classic triumph.

#flavienstakesrecord. Jockey Flavien Prat established a record 56 graded stakes-winning rides in a year when he won the Mathis Mile at Santa Anita aboard King of Gosford. Prat surpassed the previous record of 55 set by Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey in 2003.

Past moments of the year

The first NTRA moment of the year was the touching scene between Charismatic and jockey Chris Antley after the 1999 Belmont Stakes. The next year’s winner was the stretch run of the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Classic, which saw Tiznow hold on for a dramatic victory against Giant’s Causeway. Tiznow won again the following year as fans selected his stirring repeat victory in the Classic over Sakhee.

In 2002, fans cited the passing of the last living Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew. In 2003, the popular Kentucky Derby win by Funny Cide was selected. Birdstone’s upset win in the Belmont Stakes over Smarty Jones took down top honors for 2004. In 2005, fans selected Afleet Alex’s spectacular victory in the 2005 Preakness Stakes.

Voters in 2006 chose Barbaro’s gallant struggle to recover from his Preakness injury at the New Bolton Center. The 2007 moment of the year was a historic victory by the filly Rags to Riches over Curlin in the Belmont Stakes. In 2008, it was Zenyatta’s win in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic. Zenyatta repeated in 2009 as fans selected her triumph in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

In 2010, fans selected Blame’s narrow Breeders’ Cup Classic victory over Zenyatta. Drosselmeyer’s hard-fought win over Game on Dude in the Breeders’ Cup Classic was the public’s choice for 2011. For 2012, the recovery of Paynter from near-deadly battles with laminitis and colitis captured the hearts of voters like no other story. In 2013, fans recognized Mucho Macho Man’s nose victory in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic for his popular connections.

The 2014 award went to California Chrome’s dominant win in Kentucky Derby 140. In 2015 there was a landslide vote in favor of American Pharoah’s historic Triple Crown-clinching Belmont Stakes win. In 2016, California Chrome again was part of the winning moment, a dramatic Dubai World Cup victory that came as Victor Espinoza’s saddle slipped out from underneath him.

In 2017, the tragic fire at San Luis Rey and the industry’s response led the way among the votes cast, and Justify’s sweep of the classics to become the 13th Triple Crown winner was the clear pick the following year. In 2019, Maximum Security’s historic disqualification in the 145th Kentucky Derby, the first winner in Derby history to be demoted for a racing infraction,earned the distinction. In 2020, Authentic’s historic win in the 146th Kentucky Derby, run in September and without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic, was voted as the moment of the year.

Breeders’ Cup success had eluded Japanese runners as evidenced by an 0-13 record heading into the 2021 Breeders’ Cup. That changed dramatically on Breeders’ Cup Saturday when Marche Lorraine at 45-1 in the Distaff and Loves Only You at 4-1 in the Filly & Mare Turf each won for trainer Yoshito Yahagi. The victories by the Japanese duo were voted the 2021 moment of the year.

In 2022, the uplifting story between a boy and a horse that swept across America had the ultimate ending when Cody’s Wish won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland in dramatic fashion. With namesake Cody Dorman and family in attendance, Cody’s Wish gave a winning performance that continues to warm the hearts of all who watched in amazement. This story was voted the 2022 moment of the year.

Finally, in 2023, Cody’s Wish thrilled the Breeders’ Cup crowd and his namesake, Cody Dorman, again by winning the Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile for the second consecutive year. The 5-year-old son of Curlin edged Preakness winner National Treasure for owner-breeder Godolphin. With namesake Cody Dorman and family in attendance, Cody’s Wish gave a winning performance that continues to warm the hearts of all who watched in amazement.