Top 20 Highlights For A 2025 For The Ages!

Published by Kelsey Marshall Hughes on January 9, 2026 • Eclipse News

The calendar has turned to 2026, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a look back on the year that was 2025 for the Eclipse stable, as it was certainly one for the ages and our annual Year in Review and Top Highlights of the season is always a much-anticipated edition of Total Eclipse.

While there are always transition periods, rebuilding phases with the retirement of stable stars and natural attrition associated with the operation of any major stable, 2025 was another banner year filled with milestones thanks to our loyal partner base, every horseman and woman responsible for caring for our equine athletes and the horses, the horses the horses!

SCOREBOARD

Since the company’s launch in late 2011, Eclipse has established itself as a perennial leader in the public partnership space in every meaningful statistical category and 2025 was a continuation of that trend, as the squad managed to further distance itself from the pack, racking up a robust 67 total wins, good for a lofty 19+% win clip and tacked on another 103 placings from 352 starters, which equates to a 48+% in-the-money rate.

It wasn’t just action galore and wins by the many that marked the season that was 2025, but the stable stayed true to our mission to compete and win at the very upper echelon of the sport, topping the Stakes standings among all partnerships by winning a whopping 20 Stakes races, 13 of which were Graded Stakes, 6 Grade 1’s, including notching our 2nd domestic Classic victory with Journalism’s dramatic tally in the Preakness Stakes (nominated as NTRA’s “Moment of the Year” along with his win in the Haskell) and placing 31 more times in high-level events, 25 of said Black Type placings which were of the Graded variety (including our 2nd Kentucky Derby placing and our 3rd Belmont Stakes placing to go along with a Belmont win). In the process of racking up these types of stats, Eclipse topped the charts in overall earnings with a $30,937 average earnings per start and seeing our runners bank well in excess of $10 million for the first time in the stable’s history!

This is some heady stuff and while the Eclipse Award voting is generally limited to individuals when it comes to nominations for Champion Owner, the stats delivered by Eclipse managed partnerships outperformed the Eclipse Award nominees for Champion Owner, with the exception of Godolphin again this year.

Speaking of which, another source of enhanced pride for Eclipse is that 214 partners won at least 1 race as Members of Eclipse partnerships in 2025, 129 of whom experienced Stakes success, 96 of whom basked in the glow of Graded Stakes glory and 66 of whom reveled in the taste of Grade 1 victory.

2025 ranked as the 6th consecutive year that the stable earned purses in excess of $5 million and it was the 7th straight year that we won at least 10 Stakes races. And, perhaps an even more staggering stat is that we kept our streak alive which dates back to the stable’s inception 14 years ago whereby we had at least 1 Breeders’ Cup competitor (a pair of 4th’s this year by Meaning in the Juvie Fillies and Journalism in the Classic) and sold at least 1 #EclipseFilly broodmare prospect for 7-figures (Candied rang the bell at $2 million and Velocity at $1.2 million).

Of particular interest was that while Eclipse has always maintained a significant presence in California, albeit a fraction of our East Coast and Midwest numbers, the stable was outright dominant on the gridiron in the Golden State in 2025.

Eclipse always operates under the notion that horse racing is “the ultimate what have you done for me lately?” game, so to be able to deliver top caliber results for our partners and to keep identifying the “big horses” year in and year out on a consistent basis is a heartfelt source of pride and drive for the Eclipse team.

Eclipse is never an operation to rest on our laurels and we remain hungrier than ever to deliver the Grade 1 results on and off the racetrack for our 1st class partners who bleed baby blue and black and #BelieveBig!

To see our 2025 North American stats and all historical stats for Eclipse check out this link on ownerview:

https://www.ownerview.com/syndicate/o6-1861482/eclipse-thoroughbred-partners

Historically, this edition of Total Eclipse will be composed of our Top 10 highlights of the prior year, but seeing as though we were so fortunate and blessed to have such a monumental season, we’re going to make it the Top 20 of 2025! So, without further ado:

TOP 20 HIGHLIGHTS OF 2025

The first 2 highlights ranking 20 and 19 will be team/human focused, as a couple of really important, life-changing events occurred this year for a few of our staff/family members.

20. ANDREW AQUINO has earned the role of Chief Financial Officer of Eclipse, taking the reins from BILL VICTOR, who has held the position since the Dogwood/Eclipse merger in 2013 and is considered to have been the man who invented the wheel when it comes to partnership accounting. Bill is not quite ready to sail off into the sunset and will remain an integral part of Eclipse’s team, now assuming the title of Vice President of Finance.

Bill offered the following statement as the transition took place on January 1st:

“I have had a great run since 2013 with Eclipse and really since 1991 as a racehorse partnership accountant. I started with the originator of the concept, Dogwood Stable and Cot Campbell when I was 25 years old. In 1991 there were only a few companies doing this which forced me to develop systems and software to make it all work efficiently.

Sometime ago I hired Andrew Aquino to be a temporary tax season helper and I thank my wife Liz for finding Andrew and sending him my way. In a span of a couple days or maybe a week, I knew Andrew was a keeper and not someone to let go when tax season ended. Andrew brings knowledge of accounting as well as IT talent to the table. From the outset the plan was for Andrew to stay in the background and help me with the accounting, learn the systems, help us all with IT with the idea that one day Andrew would take the lead role and I’d be here for Andrew as an advisor and team member with the full knowledge of “what comes next”.

Now the time has come for the transition to happen. I laid the foundation, but there is zero doubt in my mind that Andrew is the right one to build upon it as Eclipse as a company goes from strength to strength. Andrew will be the CFO and I will be the VP of Finance. My plan is to be here for several more years and make sure we find the right person to replace me when the time comes. I will still be available to any of you who may wish to reach out to me.”

Andrew states:

“I remember the first day that I came to work at Eclipse. Tapwrit had recently won the Belmont, and the company had really begun to establish itself as the premier syndicate in the industry. Mr. Bill Victor, or his wife Liz, depending on who you ask, hired me for what was supposed to be a temporary engagement for the upcoming tax season. During this time, Bill saw potential in me and did something for me that no one had yet done in my professional career: he gave me a chance. My temporary involvement with Eclipse soon became permanent. Over the next almost 9 years, I had the immense honor of becoming a key part of the Eclipse team, with Bill mentoring me and teaching me every step of the way. I will always be eternally grateful for Bill’s support and guidance, which helped build my foundational knowledge of Eclipse, the partnership industry, and the intricacies of financial management for syndicates.

Now, the time has come for me to take the helm and serve as Chief Financial Officer of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. For the better part of a year, I have been thinking quite a bit about precisely what to write here, but “Thank You” might be the only two words I consistently come back to. So, in closing, I want simply to say thank you to Aron for allowing me to take on this role, to Bill for shaping me professionally, to the entire Eclipse team for becoming like a 2nd family, and to you, our partners, for putting your trust in me over the years as I’ve grown into this position. I promise to continue delivering the high level of excellence you expect from my department and to ensure that your trust and support are well placed. Here’s to a great 2026 and beyond together!”

19. KELSEY MARSHALL HUGHES, who has been with Eclipse from Day 1, and her husband, Byron, who also played an important role with Eclipse during his tenure as a main Assistant Trainer to Todd Pletcher, welcomed 2 beautiful twin baby girls to the world in January of 2025. Bennett and Merritt have no choice now but to be members of the baby blue and black brethren…even though they live on the historic Juddmonte Farm property due to Byron’s new position as the famed operation’s yearling manager and farm trainer! Despite carrying twins for 9 months and now having a pair of infants about to turn 1, Kelsey has maintained her true professionalism and unwavering commitment to Eclipse and our partners. Bennett and Merritt have only added to the Eclipse family and Kelsey remains the glue that holds our company together!

Alright, now onto the equine stars of the 2025 highlight reel!

18. MEANING running 4th in the Grade 1 $2 million Breeders’ Cup may not have made headlines, but it was a wonderful result for a filly who had run just 1 time in her career. And it was a sprint at Los Alamitos! To go from a sprint race at Los Al and provide her partners with a thrill deep into the stretch of the Breeders’ Cup against the best fillies of her generation and lose a bob for 3rd definitely deserves recognition. Meaning is training like a woman-possessed for her Sophomore campaign for Michael McCarthy and will target the Grade 3 Las Virgenes on February 1st at Santa Anita as Step #1 on the road to the Kentucky Oaks.

17. ROJA was just a $70,000 yearling buy for the stable, but she sure outran her purchase price when switched to the green to specialize in grass-dashing for Graham Motion. Romping in a MSW in May on the Laurel spinach, Roja got tagged on the wire in the Stormy Blues Stakes in June, but made amends with a Stakes score in the $100,000 Blue Sparkler at Monmouth in July, marking Eclipse’s 2nd win in the traditional Independence Day Stakes for sod sprinting Sophs. Roja has the green light to come back as a 4 year-old and is back in training at Fair Hill.

16. LA VILLE LUMIERE was a 2 year-old in-training purchase at OBS in the Spring of 2025 and had a remarkable year for a Freshman filly under the tutelage of Michael McCarthy. The City of Light filly launched her career sprinting on the sand in May, graduated on the turf in June, was Grade 2-placed going long on dirt in the Oak Leaf in October, ran respectably in the Breeders’ Cup, turned in a 3rd in a Grade 3 on the grass in November and polished off a 7-race season with an electrifying W in the $100,000 Blue Norther Stakes in December while stamping Eclipse with our 20th Black Type tally of the stand. What a talented, versatile and rugged filly! La Ville Lumiere will have options galore as she prepares to endeavor her Soph season.

15 and 14. CORRUPTION and SPEED SHOPPER will share recognition jointly as they are Co-Comeback Players of the Year for the squad in 2025. Corruption began his career with Todd Pletcher, racing just once and incurring a potentially career-ending injury in the process. Transferred to dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, Corruption underwent an extensive rehab process and made it back to the races 16-months after his dismal debut. He had a right to shake the rust off in that return to race action, but boy did he shine thereafter, reeling off a natural hat trick at Gulfstream Park before getting nailed on the line in the Grade 2 Pan American and then adding 2 more lucrative Allowance wins to his resume at Churchill Downs and Saratoga, after which he suffered a scary bout of heat stroke, yet still came back to place in the $2 million Kentucky Cup Invitational. Corruption raced 9 times this season, winning 5 of those outings with a duo of Graded placings and racking up $575,000 in purse dough! He’s getting a much-deserved freshening and will come back looking to kick butt and take names at age 5.

SPEED SHOPPER was not quite as prolific as Corruption was in 2025, but she too was an example of sheer perseverance by her partners, horsemen and women supporting her and her own courage. Speed Shopper was derailed by injury after 2 poor starts at the end of her 2 year-old year and early into her 3 year-old year and was transferred from McCarthy and Casse to rising star trainer, Will Walden. She returned off a 15-month hiatus to be 3rd and raced 5 more times, breaking her Maiden at The Spa in a romp, shipping cross-country as a 1-time winning 4 year-old to get beat a head in the Grade 2 “Win & You’re In” Rodeo Drive at Santa Anita and then providing the ultimate gratification with a Stakes score in the $125,000 Florence at Turfway Park. At Eclipse, we will always afford every horse in our stable the opportunity to maximize its potential and both Corruption and Speed Shopper are incredible cases in point. Their partners who stuck with them through thick and thin are equally deserving of these co-owned accolades!

13. CANDIED has now made our year-end highlight reel for the 3rd year in a row! A Grade 1-heroine at age 2 and a Stakes-winner at 3 while adding multiple Grade 1-placings to her resume, Candied came back at age 4 and made good on her promise to retain her top-shelf form with a resounding win in the historic Allaire DuPont Stakes on Black Eyed Susan Day at Pimlico. Candied provided partner Bobby Flay with a big weekend success and an emotional moment when Callie Sadler (daughter of Baltimore native and longtime VP of Operations for Eclipse, Jack Sadler) led the grand filly into the Winners’ Enclosure at Old Hilltop. Candied inevitably soured come summertime, but her illustrious career in which she transformed from a $165,000 yearling pluck by our VP of Bloodstock, SEAN TUGEL for Eclipse into a $1.3+ million purse earner was rewarded when she commanded $2 million from Stonestreet Farm at Fasig-Tipton’s “Night of the Stars.”

12. CLASSIC Q was an early season private purchase after breaking her Maiden for Mark Casse and boy did she ever make good on the promise we saw in her when making the acquisition! The Soph gal would race 9 more times for Eclipse in 2025, notching a pricey Allowance win at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby week, a super Stakes score in the $150,000 Wild Applause at Saratoga and placing in 3 other Graded events, including 1 at The Spa, 1 at Keeneland and another at Churchill Downs. A hearty campaigner of high-class, Classic Q is a couple weeks away from contesting the Grade 2, $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf, a race Eclipse captured a few years ago with Queen Goddess.

11. and 10. THERE GOES HARVARD and AIR FORCE RED will share Highlights #11 and 10 as the elder statesmen of the Eclipse roster in 2025, both of whom added Graded victories to their dockets at the age of 7 and both of whom have now been retired safely at age 8, the former to his original breeder’s farm in Nevada to be a pleasure horse and the latter who is getting a shot at stud at BG Farms in California. THERE GOES HARVARD was an exciting horse on his day and was he ever on his game for McCarthy in January when wiring the Grade 3 San Marcos field for $100-large under the legend himself, Frankie Dettori. Injured thereafter, Harvard retired with 5 wins, including a G1 in the Hollywood Gold Cup and over 3/4 of a million in the bank.

AIR FORCE RED is also a 3-peater in the highlight reel and was considered the King of the Hill at Santa Anita for several seasons and added another hillside Graded Stakes trophy to his mantle when he flew home to take the Grade 3 San Simeon. Making the white-faced phenom’s triumph even that much more gratifying was that this win came just a week after he had a brutal trip in the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile. Old Guys Rule!

9. BUILT burst onto the Kentucky Derby scene in December of his Freshman year when bolting home in the Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds. That was the start of a wild ride for Built’s partners, who would go on the enjoy the Triple Crown Trail with Built running 2nd in the Grade 3 LeComte Stakes, 3rd in the Grade 2 Risen Star and 5th in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby while earning enough points to qualify for The Run For The Roses. Eclipse opted to bypass the Derby while factoring in Built’s best interest over the temptation of providing partners with the once-in-a-lifetime experience of running a horse in the most coveted race on the planet and the partners who supported that decision have been rewarded, as Built came back with a vengeance to win his return in December like a colt on a mission. Built is back for more in 2026 with a campaign focused on 1-turn events. Could he follow in Aloha West, his paternal bro’s footsteps, also trained by Wayne “Cat Man” Catalano, en route to a bid at the Breeders’ Cup Sprint?

8. WARMING is a filly who also required immense patience and expert horsemanship to get back to the races after she encountered a rare injury in the wake of her breathtaking win in her unveiling at age 2. Always thought highly of, Warming, thanks to incredible horsemen and women around her and patient partners who put this golden gal first always, made it back to the races 11-months subsequent to her sensational debut score, getting unsaddled in a Stakes at The Big A, then overcame a horrendous trip to prove superior in a Delaware Allowance, followed by a couple of unlucky runs in salty Graded events at Saratoga. Shifted out West by Motion to try the slalom course at The Great Race Place, Warming took to the So Cal sun, placing in a Grade 3 and then powering home to a decisive success in the Grade 3, $100,000 Autumn Miss. This was a massively rewarding happening for the partners who’d been through trying and concerning times with the $100,000 2 year-old in-training selection and she’s set to heat things back up back in So Flo when she essays the $100,000 South Beach Stakes on the Pegasus World Cup undercard to get her 4 year-old season started.

7. VIXEN was yet another star Soph sensation #EclipseFilly for the squad in 2025, joining Roja, Fondly and Velocity as major winners in the division. Vixen started the stand like a house on fire with back-to-back tallies at Gulfstream Park in the Sweetest Chant Stakes and then adding a Graded W to her Grade 1-placing at age 2 when she ran to the alter in the Herecomesthebride, the 2nd time Eclipse has won the fixture rooted deeply in So Flo lore. Vixen tacked on a trio of Graded-placings at Keeneland and Churchill, all to the tune of about $400,000 on the season. A supremely talented filly, Vixen is raring to go as a 4 year-old and should kick off her campaign within weeks for Casse.

6. FONDLY is one of several rags to riches stories for Eclipse in 2025, as she was a mere $50,000 yearling pluck turned into a multiple Oaks-victress, again from the keen eye and shrewd pedigree analysis of our VP of Bloodstock, SEAN TUGEL. Fondly didn’t make the gate until Valentine’s Day of her 3 year-old season, but she immediately validated the esteem in which we held her with a dominant tally at Tampa and we wasted no time throwing her to the wolves and she delivered with a game W in the $250,000 Virginia Oaks. If the VA Oaks was being thrown to the wolves, the next move to send Fondly to the Kentucky Oaks was throwing her to lions, tigers and bears and she floundered on the quagmire beneath the Twin Spires, spinning her wheels. It didn’t take the gifted Upstart filly long to find redemption, as she ran away and hid from her foes in the Grade 3, $300,000 Delaware Oaks and then capped off her year with a 2nd in the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks in which she was injured and sent to the sidelines. Graham Motion has done Hall of Fame caliber work with Fondly and she’ll be on the hunt for a G1 jewel to add to her dual Oaks crown in 2026.

5. ABAAN becomes the first ever 4-peat offender on our annual highlight edition of Total Eclipse! If you didn’t buy into the 2025 feel-good natured stories of Corruption, Speed Shopper, There Goes Harvard, Air Force Red and Warming, then Abaan is sure to capture your heart. His initial appearance as a highlight reel member came in the wake of a Graded Stakes-winning season on the flat in 2022. After souring as a top turf marathoner, Abaan was converted into a steeplechaser and he took to jumping over the timbers like a duck to water, capturing a Stakes in 2023, his initial season over jumps and again as a 7 year-old in 2024. In 2025, he outdid himself by conquering a Grade 1 in the prestigious Iroquois Stakes at Percy Warner in Nashville. He was unfortunately derailed from his bid at an Eclipse Award this season after that G1 glory, but he’s training out of his mind for Kate Dalton in South Carolina and is determined to get his due at age 9. What a story and what a horse!

4. VELOCITY was a $75,000 buy for Eclipse as a 2 year-old in-training at OBS. And yes, that $75,000 filly turned into the winner of the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks this past August. Yet another masterful training job by McCarthy, Velocity morphed rapidly from a grass-dash Maiden winner in the Spring into a Grade 1 success story in the summer. Velocity’s 15 minutes of fame were sadly short-lived, however, as she experienced a career-ending injury in a workout in the aftermath of her Oaks stunner, but she went out with a bang to the tune of $1.2 million alongside Candied at the Night of the Stars in Fasig’s Newtown Paddocks. Velocity was not only another bargain-basement buy turned superstar for Eclipse, but she also delivered to Eclipse our third, yes our third Del Mar Oaks trophy in the past 5 years, joining fellow Hall of Famers, Red Lark and Anisette.

3. LOCKED joins his stablemate of the fairer sex, Candied, as another to complete a natural hat trick of appearances in the annual highlight edition of Total Eclipse. A Grade 1-hero at age 2 and then conquering the Grade 2 Cigar Mile at age 3 after getting knocked off the Kentucky Derby Trail as the Future Book favorite, Locked was magnificent at age 4 in 2025. He began his campaign with a brave 2nd in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup after missing the break from an impossible Post Position. But, like so many of his Eclipse teammates, Locked shrugged off the defeat and roared back with an explosive win in the historic Grade 1 Santa Anita Big ‘Cap, crossing the wire 8 3/4-lengths to the good, a margin which registered as the largest in the 90 runnings of the prestigious staple on the So Cal circuit. Locked struggled mid-season, but capped off his stellar career with a jaw-dropping display in another historic event, the Grade 2 Woodward in New York. Conditioned by Todd Pletcher throughout his career, Locked went from a $435,000 yearling recruit into a multiple Grade 1 and Graded-winner of nearly $2 million. His partners not only enjoyed the ride Locked took them on the racetrack, but cashed in with a colossal payday from Gainesway who bought the majority of Locked’s breeding rights to stand at the legendary stallion station. Eclipse retained a minority interest in the son of Gun Runner, who we are banking on possibly being the heir apparent to his All-World sire. Locked is projected to breed approximately 200 mares in his initial season at stud with a fee of $35,000. Now, that’s how you crack the code!

2. JOURNALISM was the headliner all year for the stable and despite a monumental stallion deal cut during his Sophomore campaign for the ages, will return to race at age 4. An Eclipse Award Nominee in multiple categories and an outright model of every characteristic the true greats possess, we’ll simply allow Journalism’s 2025 story to be told by his Past Performances:

1. Health & Safety & Blue Moon. At the core of everything Eclipse stands for is pure horsemanship and a totally devoted appreciation for the equine athletes who are the heart of the Eclipse program. Therefore, the #1 highlight of the 2025 season is the fact that each and every one of the 352 horses and jockeys that Eclipse sent out onto the racetrack to compete in a race came home safe. Inevitably, the stable is frequently experiencing injuries to equine members of the roster during training or in other unfortunate ways, some minor, some crushing. This comes with the territory and Eclipse exercises every ounce of skill and effort to minimize this risk. We also recognize and appreciate the risk taken by horse and jockey every time they go to battle and this is something Eclipse never takes for granted and we take extreme pride in the care, attention and horsemanship that goes into every member of the stable. It is our wish that this can be our #1 highlight every single year and that all we have to do is cut and paste this paragraph year in and year out!

In addition, Eclipse has been very proud of the progress that has been made with our official 501(c)3 charitable organization, Blue Moon Aftercare, which was founded in 2018 by Eclipse’s VP of Partner Relations, Kelsey Marshall Hughes. Blue Moon funding contributed to several noble “rescue” missions and charitable initiatives in 2025, all of which were memorialized in Kelsey’s 2025 Blue Moon Happenings, which can be seen again here:

https://eclipsetbpartners.com/news/blue-moon-2025-happenings/

The 2025 Class of Hall of Fame inductees is an awesome one this year:

LOCKED

CANDIED

AIR FORCE RED
VELOCITY