Arcangelo, Cody’s Wish Among 2023 Nominees For Secretariat Vox Populi Award

Online voting is now open to select the winner of the 14th annual Secretariat Vox Populi Award. Created by Secretariat's late owner Penny Chenery, the Vox Populi, or “Voice of the People,” Award annually recognizes the racehorse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the public and gained recognition for the sport.

Through online voting at Secretariat.com, fans can vote for one of the five candidates selected by the Vox Populi nominating committee, or write in their own favorite. The poll is open through Dec. 3, with the winner to be announced in December. The Vox Populi trophy presentation is planned for January 13, 2024 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

The nominees for the 2023 award are: Arcangelo, winner of the 2023 Belmont and Travers Stakes and the first horse to win a Triple Crown race with a female trainer; Casa Creed, the seasoned turf veteran and winner of the Kelso Stakes and Fourstardave Handicap, who at the age of seven continued to thrill fans and demonstrate his heart and resilience; Cody's Wish, 2022 Secretariat Vox Populi recipient whose four wins in five starts this year as a five-year-old included the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, and who shared an endearing and enduring connection with his namesake, the late Cody Dorman; Echo Zulu, the courageous 2021 champion juvenile filly and former Secretariat Vox Populi nominee who battled back to form in 2023 with impressive victories in each of her three stakes starts before suffering a career-ending injury, from which she battles back once again on her road to recovery; and White Abarrio, the eye-catching gray four-year-old comeback colt who capped off a remarkable racing resurrection with scintillating victories in the 2023 Whitney Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic.

“Just as Mom envisioned, the Secretariat Vox Populi Award continues to celebrate horses who have excited and inspired fans throughout the year, and it's wonderful to see that the 2023 candidates include both familiar favorites and engaging new nominees,” said Kate Chenery Tweedy, daughter of Secretariat's late owner Penny Chenery. “In this 50th anniversary year of Secretariat's Triple Crown, it has been especially heartwarming to see that his popularity remains so strong, and his legacy continues to thrive through this award named in his honor.”

The list of previous Vox Populi winners reads as a who's who among the sport's contemporary superstars and beloved equine heroes: Cody's Wish (2022), Hot Rod Charlie (2021), Authentic (2020), Bricks and Mortar (2019), Winx (2018), Ben's Cat (2017), California Chrome (2016 and 2014), American Pharoah (2015), Mucho Macho Man (2013), Paynter (2012), Rapid Redux (2011) and 2010 inaugural winner Zenyatta.

For more information on candidates view “Strong Group of Vox Populi Nominees” by Steve Haskin