Columnist Ralph Siraco: Eclipse Awards televised tonight from Beverly Hills

Ralph Siraco

Monday, Jan. 24, 2005 | 9:39 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

Tonight the 34th annual Eclipse Awards will be presented at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. It has finally arrived: Thoroughbred racing's Oscars will be televised. Live. In the never-ending string of award shows, the Eclipse Awards becomes the latest entry, on the TVG horse racing cable network --Channel 324 on the Cox Cable system -- starting at 6 p.m. The 4 1/2-hour program will start with a 90-minute "red carpet" show, followed by the 2 1/2-hour presentation show and a 30-minute wrapup show.

This year there is drama and anticipation for the top award of the evening, the Horse of the Year for 2004. It comes down to the people's favorite, Smarty Jones, and the horse that achieved the most on the track, Ghostzapper. And although voting for the Eclipse is restricted to members of the Daily Racing Form, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and the National Turf Writers Association, there are sentiments among the many casting experts that make passing the envelope more than just a phrase for the top trophy.

As we've done in this corner for some years now, as a voting member, here is my ballot for the Eclipse Awards. You can take this scorecard and compare while ordering a pizza and watching the show tonight. In true Las Vegas fashion we offer odds on the outcome, although they are for entertainment purposes only. John Avello of Bally's, who hung numbers for the Survivor shows, the Academy Awards, the Emmys and even the American Dream Derby series, took time to pencil the odds, which are in parentheses.

Enjoy the telecast.