The 34th Annual Darley Award Categories were presented virtually by noted International Horse Racing Broadcasters
22 March 2021, USA ~ The Arabian Racing Cup (ARC) presented the 34th Annual Darley Awards on Friday, 19 March 2021, in Houston, Texas.This was also the second year in a row that the Awards were presented virtually, and this year they were streamed simultaneously on the ARC YouTube and Arabian Jockey Club Facebook channels.
The ARC Board of Stewards organized a team of presenters on four different continents who have broadcasted horse racing’s largest events – from the Kentucky Derby to the Epsom Derby to the Dubai World Cup to the Amir Sword Festival to the Darley Award Stakes – to recognize the best in Arabian horse racing in the United States through the 34th Annual Darley Awards.
List of presenters:
3 Year Old Colts/Geldings: Mark Johnson, commentator of five Kentucky Derbies, five Epsom Derbies, and five The Amir Sword Festivals
3 Year Old Fillies: Jim Byers, track announcer at Lone Star Park
4 Year Old Colts/Geldings: Chris Griffin, track announcer at Sam Houston Race Park
4 Year Old Fillies: Laura King, presenter for the Dubai Racing Channel and previous Sheikha Fatima Award recipient
Older Horses: Michael Wrona, race caller at Los Alamitos Race Course and previously called the Darley Award Stakes at Santa Anita Park
Older Mares: Victoria Shaw, race caller in Australia and previous Sheikha Fatima Award recipient
Owners: Greg Thompson, broadcaster for StallioneSearch and TABA
Breeders: Evie Tubbs Sweeney, Darley Awards event coordinator, Arabian Jockey Club Marketing Director, and previous Sheikha Fatima Award recipient
Jockeys: Joe Nevills, analyst for AJC TV and Eclipse Award-winning journalist for the Paulick Report
HORSE OF THE YEAR Presented by: Your Darley Award hosts, Jonathan & Ashley Horowitz
THE WINNERS:
3 yr old colts: First Classs
3 yr old fillies: Upton Lady Arabella
4 yr old colts: RB Rich Lyke Me
4 yr old fillies: RB Kineti
Older Horses: Paddys Day
Older Mares: Uptown Sandy Girl
Horse of the Year – Uptown Sandy Girl
Photo by Dustin Orona
Owner: Rosebrook Farm
Breeder: Jon and Krista Henningsgard
Jockey: Ernesto Valdez-Jimez
Trainers: The ARC Chief Steward has elected not to award a 2020 Trainer of the Year, and instead they have produced a special video compilation recognizing the accomplishments of each trainer who won races in 2020.
The evening also held the running of the Lufthansa Cargo Darley Distaff and Lufthansa Cargo Darley Sprint, both with purses of $30,000 added.
The 2020 Darley Awards Virtual Broadcast and Darley Race Coverage was Sponsored by the Texas Arabian Breeders Association (TABA).
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