b'THIrTEENTH wINNEr oF THE TrIplE CrowN HoNorED aS HorSE oF THE YEarI eredith daugherty By MIf there were one constant of the 2018 racing seasona year that saw the sports 13th Triple Crown winner first sail into histo-ry on the wettest Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) day in its 144-year historyit was rain. For many of the great races still fresh in everyones memories, rain was a constant companion, both trackside and backside. But just as Justify refused to let the rain stop him from making history, torrential rains did not stop the stars of the racing world from gathering Jan. 24 to celebrate the 48th annual Eclipse Awards in South Florida. Guests for the 2019 Eclipse Awards descended upon Gulfstream Park to eat, drink, commiserate, and celebrate the achievements of man and horse over the past year. By the end of the night, the controversy over who should earn Horse of the Year honorsJustify or Accel-eratewas answered, and a new set of champions reset the bar by which the industry defines excellence. Hosted for the seventh time by master of ceremonies Jeannine Edwards, the eve-ning began with a light-hearted reminder that acceptance speeches should be limited to one minutea rule designed to keep award recipients on task and the after-party in sight.First to the podium were Gary and Mary West, who accepted their Eclipse Award for the achievements of their talented Game Winner, named champion 2-year-old male and currently atop the list of prospects for the 2019 Kentucky Derby. LesLie MartinIve been admonished that if I screw this up and go over one minute, Im going to get demerits of some kind, joked Gary West at the start of his speech.6309_EclipseAwards_use.indd 63 3/21/19 2:55 PM'