ESPN Eclipse

No, ESPN and Bristol, Connecticut aren't passing between the Earth and the Sun. ESPN actually has been awarded an Eclipse Award For Live Racing Programming for their two-day coverage of the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Churchill Downs this November.

Quite a lot, of course, happened during the two days of racing, including the big upsets by Shared Account and Dakota Phone, the Life At Ten debacle involving her not being scratched as should have, Golidkova winning her third Breeders' Cup Mile in a row, Uncle Mo stamping himself as the favorite for the 2011 Kentucky Derby, the front-running triumph of Big Drama, the near-miss of Zenyatta and, of course, the brawl between bug-eyed Calvin Borel and Javier Castellano. ESPN was right on top of everything for the two days and they are to be congratulated for both their coverage and the honors that it received. Now, if only, they could expand that coverage to include more racing during the year, but I guess that is only wishful thinking. By the way, it is worth mentioning that ESPN won the same award in 2009 for their coverage of the Belmont Stakes.

HRTV also deserves some kudos for an Eclipse Award For Television Feature for their documentary of Swale, the 1984 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner, who tragically died within days of winning the 'Test Of Champions". This is third win for HRTV in this category, having notched the hardware in both 2006 and 2008.

Tune in again tomorrow for more from They Are Off. For right now, I am Gone... GOODBYE!