The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Horse of the Year" is not an official national award. The Champion award is a designation given to a horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year was deemed the most outstanding. The list below is a Champion's history compilation beginning with the year 1887 published by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association's The Blood-Horse magazine (founded 1961), described by ESPN as "the Thoroughbred industry's most-respected trade publication". In 1936 a Horse of the Year award was created by a poll of the staff of The New York Morning Telegraph and its sister newspaper, the Daily Racing Form (DRF), a tabloid founded in 1894 that was focused on statistical information for bettors. At the same time a rival poll was organised by the Baltimore-based Turf and Sport Digest magazine. Formed in 1942 as an advocacy group, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA) inaugurated a competing award in 1950, selecting its winners from votes by racing secretaries from member tracks across the United States. The three systems resulted in different opinions as to "Horse of the Year" Champions in 1949, 1952, 1957, 1965, and 1970. In 1971, the DRF and TRA made an agreement with the National Turf Writers Association to merge into one set of awards, called the Eclipse Awards. (en)
Американская лошадь года США (англ. American Horse of the Year) — самое престижное звание для лучших чистокровных верховых скаковых лошадей в США. Присваивается с 1887 года. (ru)
American Horse of the Year är en utmärkelse inom nordamerikansk galoppsport, som delas ut årligen av . Champion-utmärkelsen är en beteckning som ges till en häst, oavsett ålder, vars prestation under tävlingsåret ansågs vara den mest framstående. Listan nedan är en sammanställning av hästar som fått utmärkelsen från 1887, publicerad av The Blood-Horse magazine (grundad 1961). (sv)
Американская лошадь года США (англ. American Horse of the Year) — самое престижное звание для лучших чистокровных верховых скаковых лошадей в США. Присваивается с 1887 года. (ru)
American Horse of the Year är en utmärkelse inom nordamerikansk galoppsport, som delas ut årligen av . Champion-utmärkelsen är en beteckning som ges till en häst, oavsett ålder, vars prestation under tävlingsåret ansågs vara den mest framstående. Listan nedan är en sammanställning av hästar som fått utmärkelsen från 1887, publicerad av The Blood-Horse magazine (grundad 1961). (sv)
The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Horse of the Year" is not an official national award. (en)