Below I outline the rationale I used in approaching one of the more difficult decisions faced by Eclipse voters in 2018.
 

Some will inevitably argue that no horse is worthy of receiving this award in 2018. I disagree. The criteria for winning an Eclipse Award should not be conflated with that of a Hall of Fame induction. There is no minimum requirement for winning an Eclipse Award, and therefore I see no justification for refusing to award one. The mere fact that it’s difficult to make a decision does not mean that a decision should not be made.

Stormy Liberal will probably win. However, I cannot support a turf sprinter in this category for the exact same reason that I cannot rationalize a vote for Newspaperofrecord over Jaywalk as Two-Year-Old Filly. Just because a Breeders’ Cup race exists does not necessarily mean that its winner is worthy of a championship. It is my belief that there are simply not enough Grade 1 turf sprints in this country for it to be considered a championship division – at least not at this point in time. Therefore, I’m only willing to consider turf routers and milers for this award, as flawed as they may have been in 2018.

Among that group, I firmly believe that Glorious Empire is the best choice. He only won a single Grade 1 race in 2018, but the same is true for most other candidates for this award. Notably, his Grade 1 victory was achieved in a Sword Dancer that arguably featured the strongest assemblage of American turf horses outside of the Breeders’ Cup in 2018. Furthermore, Glorious Empire won 4 of his last 5 starts, three of them in Grade 1 or Grade 2 company, while contesting a variety of distances. In those victories he defeated numerous Grade 1 winners, including Channel Maker, Spring Quality, Sadler’s Joy (twice) and Hi Happy (3 times). Save for a Euro-dominated Breeders’ Cup Turf in which he was eased, not one of those aforementioned horses beat him during the rest of his campaign. In his final start of the year in the Fort Lauderdale, he exhibited versatility not displayed by other contenders for this award, beating a classy field over a distance short of his best. Glorious Empire did not compile a typical championship résumé, but I believe he is this year’s only candidate whose virtues distinctly overshadow his faults. That’s enough to earn my vote.

My votes: 1) Glorious Empire, 2) Catholic Boy, 3) Channel Maker