Thoroughbred Daily News

Eleven of the most memorable events from Thoroughbred racing in North America last year have been nominated for the 2025 FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year, a distinction determined by fan voting and recognized at the annual Eclipse Awards.

Voting is now open on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) website, www.NTRA.com, and via X (formerly Twitter), where every retweet or use of the official hashtag for the moments as presented on the @NTRA account will be counted as one vote.

The FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year will be recognized during the 55th annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards Presented by John Deere, The Jockey Club, and the NTRA at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Jan. 22, 2026.

Fans are permitted to vote for multiple moments but there is a limit of one vote per moment for each X account. Subsequent votes from an account will be disqualified. Votes for the poll must be submitted by Jan. 15 at 11:59 p.m. (ET).

The eligible 2025 moments were selected to demonstrate the various equine and human achievements, as well as human emotions, exhibited throughout the year.

• May 2 #cheeroaks – Godolphin homebred Good Cheer wins the Kentucky Oaks to remain undefeated through the Oaks in seven lifetime starts.

• May 3 #sovereigntyderby – Godolphin homebred Sovereignty rallies late to win the Kentucky Derby and gives owner/breeder Godolphin the elusive Kentucky Oaks-Kentucky Derby double.

• May 17 #journalismpreakness – Journalism takes the 150th Preakness Stakes in a dramatic stretch run where the Curlin colt exchanges bumps with two rivals.

• June 7 #sovereigntybelmont – Sovereignty bypasses the Preakness and claims the final jewel of the Triple Crown by defeating Journalism in the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.

• June 28 #dwayne – Legendary Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas (The Coach) dies at the age of 89.

• July 19 #journalismhaskell – Journalism uses a late kick to collect his third Grade I win of 2025 in the Haskell Stakes.
• Aug. 23 #sovereigntytravers – Sovereignty romps by 10 lengths in the Travers Stakes to solidify his spot at the top of the 3-year-old male division.

• Aug. 30 #fiercenesspacific – Champion Fierceness overcomes early race trouble to win the GI Pacific Classic.

• Oct. 31 #tedisperfect – Ted Noffey completes an undefeated campaign by winning the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

• Nov. 1 #foreverclassic – Forever Young (JPN) becomes the first Japanese bred and based horse to win the Breeders' Cup Classic.

• Nov. 2 #flavienwins7 – Flavien Prat sets a NYRA single card record when riding seven winners in 10 mounts on closing day of the Belmont at the Big A meet.

To cast a vote, click here.

The post Voting for the 2025 Moment of the Year Now Open appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

We're inside the 16-week mark for the May 2 GI Kentucky Derby. These initial rankings are largely based on 2-year-old form, but a speculative element is baked into the equation with an eye toward projecting how these still-developing contenders will blossom over the winter and early spring.

1) TED NOFFEY (c, Into Mischief–Streak of Luck) 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'. O-Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Aaron & Marie Jones LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. Sales history: $650,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: MGISW, 4-4-0-0, $1,657,963. Last start: WON Oct. 31 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Ted Noffey left little doubt that he will be the slam-dunk 2-year-old champ after a 4-for-4 campaign that included three Grade I wins capped by an exclamation-mark victory in the Breeders' Cup.

We still have the entire winter to debate whether this 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard can outrun history to become just the third winner in 42 runnings of the Juvenile to also add the Kentucky Derby.

As those daunting odds suggest, it can be extremely difficult to go from being the most dominant divisional force over 1 1/16 miles on the final Friday in October to wearing a blanket of roses after excelling at 10 furlongs on the first Saturday in May.

Even as he showed progression and increased prowess over three months of racing, all four of this Todd Pletcher trainee's races were stylistically similar, and Ted Noffey broke from the outermost post in each of his races.

In his Aug. 2 debut at Saratoga, this $650,000 KEESEP colt was urged along on the outside, chased in the four path, made a bid at the five-sixteenths pole, then took the lead under a drive in upper stretch to win by 1 1/2 lengths, earning an 86 Beyer Speed Figure in a 6 1/2-furlong sprint that yielded one next-out winner from five starters.

Next out in the Sept. 1 GI Hopeful Stakes over seven furlongs, Ted Noffey broke on top, conceded the lead, pressed outside, then retook command on the turn before fighting off two challengers in stretch, including the 6-5 favorite, quickening nicely through the final sixteenth to romp by 8 1/2 lengths (98 Beyer).

In both the Oct. 4 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity Stakes and the Juvenile, Ted Noffey shadowed the pacemaker while outside, took over in hand on the far turn while the leader was under urging, cracked the race open in mid-stretch, then repulsed only a mild late bid from a belated closer. He won by 2 3/4 lengths and one length respectively, earning 97 Beyers in each effort.

The GII Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Feb. 28 is a possible first sophomore start.

2) DESERT GATE (c, Omaha Beach–Theogony, by Curlin) O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman; B-Twin Oaks Bloodstock (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $125,000 Wlg '23 KEENOV; $100,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP; $260,000 2yo '25 OBSMAR. Lifetime record: GSW, 4-2-2-0, $246,000. Last start: 2nd Oct. 4 GI American Pharoah Stakes.

Desert Gate (Omaha Beach) missed the Breeders' Cup because of a hock infection and he hasn't won since blasting home 8 3/4 lengths in front of the GII Best Pal Stakes field at Del Mar Aug. 9.

The betting public more or less dismissed him at 68-1 in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, but that could end up being a sizable “recency bias” mistake.

This Bob Baffert trainee is now four works into gearing up for his sophomore campaign. He raced four times as a 2-year-old, including once around two turns and twice at the Grade I level, and has a speed-centric style but has shown he doesn't need to be in front to be effective.

Desert Gate (125,000 KEENOV; $100,000 KEESEP; $260,000 OBSMAR) broke his maiden at first asking at Santa Anita June 13 sprinting five furlongs, pressing the pace and inching away from the front-runner under strong handling. It was only a field of four, but the second- and third-place horses both came back to win their next starts.

His Best Pal blowout over six furlongs was accomplished by breaking well, conceding the lead, and assertively pressuring the pacemaker. He took over in hand at the three-eighths pole and never was truly asked for another gear while widening at each subsequent call.

Desert Gate was second in the Sept. 7 GI Del Mar Futurity, finishing one length behind his $3-million stablemate and 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Brant (Gun Runner) in a useful learning experience.

After breaking on top he stumbled back to fifth, recovered fluidly to close the gap with an inside rush, continued to gain ground while covered up near the rail, then tipped outside to make up good ground through the stretch, finishing 3 1/4 lengths ahead of the rest of the pack.

In the Oct. 4 GI American Pharoah Stakes, Desert Gate uncorked another second-place performance that might have been better than the winner's effort. This time he led from the get-go as the 9-10 favorite, took mild pressure from the second fave, came back on that rival when headed, repulsed a stretch bid from a new foe, then got nailed at the wire by 8-1 Intrepido (Maximus Mischief)–himself a 'Rising Star'–losing by three-quarters of a length.

3) PALADIN (c, Gun Runner–Secret Sigh, by Tapit) O-Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter M. Brant, Brook T. Smith, and Summer Wind Equine, LLC; B-Summer Wind Equine LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. Sales history: $1,900,000 Ylg '24 FTSAUG. Lifetime record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $184,250. Last start: WON Dec. 6 GII Remsen Stakes.

This $1.9 million FTSAUG son of Gun Runner broke his maiden at first asking via disqualification in an Aqueduct one-turn mile Oct. 17 (87 Beyer), then won the nine-furlong Remsen Stakes by two lengths (85 Beyer).

There should be no hand-wringing about that two-point regression considering Paladin's finish in the Remsen represented improvement from a “how he did it” perspective, and also because trainer Chad Brown revealed post-win that this colt lost his right front shoe at some point during the Remsen while also sustaining a hind-leg cut.

Favored at 1.88-1, Paladin  broke alertly from post two in that 11-horse stakes, but opted not to hook up with dueling 53-1 and 29-1 longshots. He settled in third along the inside under Flavien Prat and was always a pace-pressing threat, incrementally edging closer starting at the half-mile marker.

Prat did have to scrub on Paladin for run 2 1/2 furlongs out, then edge him out to the five path in search of clear running room into the lane.

But once set down for the drive, Paladin finished straight and with purpose, opening up under the wire from the same rival (Renegade, a $975,000 Into Mischief colt from Todd Pletcher's barn) who had finished a head in front of him in that previous maiden tilt.

Paladin is wintering in Florida at Brown's Payson Park training base, and resumed breezing three weeks after his Remsen score. He's being pointed toward the GII Risen Star Stakes Feb. 14 at Fair Grounds.

4) CANNONEER (c, Into Mischief–Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon) 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'. O-St. Elias Stable & Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $1,750,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: 2-1-0-1, $81,300. Last start: WON Nov. 29 Churchill Downs MSW.

Cannoneer is a half-brother to two horses who started in the Kentucky Derby (Midnight Bourbon, fifth in 2021, and Girvin, 13th in 2017). He demolished a seven-furlong maiden field in the nightcap of the Stars of Tomorrow card for juveniles at Churchill Downs on Thanksgiving weekend when favored at 1.77-1 odds.

This son of Into Mischief earned a 90 Beyer in that blowout, exhibiting sharp early speed, poise for having to deal with a riderless horse directly to his outside for half the race, and a powerful finishing kick that left 11 rivals 7 1/4 lengths behind his widening wake.

That win came nearly six months after his 0.45-1 debut June 1 (also at Churchill), in which Cannoneer could do no better than third after breaking a step slow and weakening after an inside duel.

“He made the races early in the spring,” trainer Brad Cox said on the Dec. 2 TDN Writers' Room podcast. “After his first race I wasn't quite happy with the way he was moving, so we gave him the time. There could have been something maybe bothering him that day. We just didn't get the performance we were looking for.

“We backed off of him, gave him the time. He came back into Keeneland on the first of October and immediately, as soon as we worked him, we saw that the talent was still there. It never went anywhere. I had a pretty good feeling he was going to get ready quick, and he did,” Cox said.

Cannoneer's two-turn debut looms as the next logical step. He resumed breezing at Payson Park Dec. 24.

Cannoneer | Coady Media

5) INCREDIBOLT (c, Bolt d'Oro–Sapphire Spitfire, by Awesome Again) O-Pin Oak Stud LLC; B-Deann Baer & Greg Baer DVM (KY); T-Riley Mott. Sales history: $75,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: GSW, 3-2-0-0, $196,181. Last start: WON Oct. 26 GIII Street Sense Stakes.

After a bit of freshening on the farm, Incredibolt is training at Palm Meadows for trainer Riley Mott. The winner of the Oct. 26 GIII Street Sense Stakes at Churchill is possible for the Jan. 31 GIII Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

This $75,000 KEESEP son of Bolt d'Oro was fourth as the 5-2 beaten favorite in his Ellis Park debut when sprinting six furlongs Aug. 22, breaking toward the back from post 11 and gaining mild ground while widest for most of the trip.

Stretched to a one-turn mile Sept. 28 at Churchill and sent off as the 2-1 second choice, Incredibolt drew the rail and popped out of the gate alertly. Although initially rated back leaving the chute, he was intent on pulling himself into contention before settling into a covered-up stalking spot third at the fence. He was pushed on for run around the turn and responded, then shifted off the heels of the leader three-sixteenths out and sparked into a headlong drive that had him two lengths clear at the wire.

In the Street Sense four weeks later, Incredibolt was the 4-1 third choice from the outermost seven draw and gave up four and then three paths of real estate on the turns while trailing about six lengths off the action.

Under a rating hold until the 3 1/2-furlong marker, he built decent momentum through the far bend and had clear sailing into the lane, never hesitating despite brushing with an inner rival in mid-stretch before opening up past tiring leaders with no true competition firing at him late. The 1 3/4-length score yielded an 82 Beyer.

6) NEARLY (c, Not This Time–Ib Prospecting, by Mineshaft) O-Centennial Farms; B-Wind Hill Farm (FL); T-Todd A. Pletcher. Sales history: $350,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: 3-2-0-0, $78,950. Last start: WON Jan. 2 Gulfstream Park AOC.

Nearly, a $350,0000 KEESEP son of Not This time from Todd Pletcher's stable, has won two consecutive sprints at Gulfstream by a combined 14 1/4 lengths.

After a puzzler of a last-place finish in a mildly trip-troubled Oct. 26 Aqueduct debut, Nearly took down a Florida-bred maiden race at Gulfstream as the 8-5 favorite Nov. 22.

Stretched from six to seven furlongs in a scratch-depleted allowance/optional claimer Jan. 2, Nearly absorbed a body blow at the break from the 7-10 favorite, but what stood out was how unfazed the colt was by the contact.

John Velazquez regrouped at the back of the pack, and Nearly quickly tagged on behind dueling leaders without expending much effort. He hooked up with the favored pacemaker under a hand ride around the turn, and as the cadence quickened, Nearly maintained a non-nonsense rhythm and drew away at will, besting his three rivals by five lengths.

His Beyer number came back as 96, but figure-making at Gulfstream was tough last Friday, with only two dirt races on the card to use for comparison.

Pletcher indicated post-win that Nearly could stretch out in the Holy Bull Stakes Jan. 31.

7) BUETANE (c, Tiz the Law–Taboo, by Forestry) 'TDN Rising Star,'presented by Hagyard. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Merriebelle Stable, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $150,000 Ylg '24 FTSAUG; $1,150,000 2yo '25 OBSAPR. Lifetime record: 2-1-1-0, $108,000. Last start: 2nd Sept. 1 GI Hopeful Stakes.

Buetane, a Tiz the Law colt from Bob Baffert's barn, sold for $150,000 as an FTSAUG yearling, then hammered for 10 times that auction price at the OBSAPR sale.

As the 3-10 fave in his 3 1/2-length debut victory at Del Mar Aug. 2, Buetane pressed the leader, took over under light hand encouragement just prior to the quarter pole, then finished well with no one closing late to challenge him. The race came back as an 83 on the Beyer scale and yielded one next-out winner from the five other starters.

Shipped cross-country for the closing-day Hopeful Stakes at the Spa, Buetane was favored at 6-5 over Ted Noffey. He shadowed that eventual winner while outside for most of the race, but Buetane was hard-ridden off the turn while Ted Noffey kicked away in hand, and Buetane had to settle for a best-of-the rest second (82 Beyer), 8 1/2 lengths behind Ted Noffey.

Buetane has been working at Santa Anita without interruption since late October. He'll start there this Saturday as the favorite in the GII San Vicente Stakes over seven furlongs.

8) COMMANDMENT (c, Into Mischief–Sippican Harbor, by Orb) O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $485,000 RNA Wlg '23 FTKNOV; $475,000 RNA Ylg '24 FTSAUG; $500,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: SW, 3-2-0-0, $165,459. Last start: WON Jan. 3 Mucho Macho Man Stakes.

Commandment has started favored every time out, and over the course of three races while stretching from six to seven to eight furlongs, this Brad Cox trainee has exhibited the makings of a colt who can handle the load of increasing distances.

In his 82 Beyer debut at Keeneland, this son of Into Mischief ($485,000 RNA FTKNOV; $475,000 RNA FTSAUG; $500,000 KEESEP) rallied from 11th to get fourth while inside before tipping out to the five path at the eighth pole.

Drawing the rail in start number two at Churchill Nov. 1, Commandment again broke toward the back, knifed between foes, and won going away by 5 1/2 lengths, although his Beyer number decreased by one point.

Coming off a two-month break in this past Saturday's Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream, Commandment again was tasked with a rail draw and was again lackadaisical from the gate.

For part of his confidently handled trip around the far turn, it looked like Irad Ortiz, Jr.'s commitment to a ground-saving go might cost the colt, as this 1-2 fave was blocked behind a wall of four horses battling for the lead.

But Commandment pulsed through a top-of-the-lane gap when the opening presented itself, powering away to win by 6 3/4 lengths while upping his Beyer to 90.

While the repeated tardiness from the stalls is not desirable, in Commandment's case that fault is mitigated by the fact that he has shown no qualms about handling covered-up trips at the fence, nor has he shown any hesitation when asked to split rivals.

Commandment | Coglianese

9) IRON HONOR (c, Nyquist–Orenica, by Blame) O-St. Elias Stable, William H. Lawrence and Cathi Glassman; B-Mike Freeny and Pat Freeny; T-Chad C. Brown. Sales history: $230,000 Ylg '24 KEEJAN; $475,000 Ylg KEESEP. Lifetime record 1-1-0-0, $46,750. Last start: WON Dec. 13 Aqueduct MSW.

This is a speculative selection because I'm generally disinclined to project Top 12 placement upon one-start sprint maiden winners. But hey, it's early January, and Iron Honor's 95-Beyer debut at Aqueduct was a strong foundational first start.

Plus, based upon that effort, trainer Chad Brown has opted to send this colt to Florida to avoid conflicts running against other, more seasoned prospects in his stable who are targeting stakes in New York and New Orleans.

This son of 2016 Derby champ Nyquist ($230,000 KEEJAN; $475,000 KEESEP) assertively tracked and engaged a favored speedster, then edged away to a 1 1/2-length score without being fully roused over six furlongs Dec. 13.

The colt he beat, Crossingthechannel (Omaha Beach), came back to wire another Aqueduct MSW sprint with an 85 Beyer Jan. 4.

Iron Honor is a May 1 foal, and Brown told the Aqueduct press office over the weekend that he believes the colt will handle longer races.

“He trains that way,” Brown said. “He's a horse that mentally needed time to come around but now I'm seeing the best of him. If he keeps doing what he's been doing, he should turn out to be a nice prospect. I did move him down to my South Florida base here at Payson Park in an effort to separate some of these horses. I'll point him to a developmental campaign down here and stretch him out.”

10) LITMUS TEST (c, Nyquist–Study Hard, by Malibu Moon) O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Bashor, Dianne, Determined Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Donovan, Catherine; B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $875,000 Ylg '24 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: GSW, 5-2-0-1, $350,188. Last start: WON Dec. 13 GII Los Alamitos Futurity.

I have to admit up front that in recent years, I've had difficulty properly assessing the winners of the GII Los Alamitos Futurity.

I don't know whether it's the annually short fields or the long (1,380 feet) stretch over which they run that distorts my perceptions. But in 2023 I passed on including Practical Move in my early-season Kentucky Derby prognostications after he won that stakes, and I likewise wasn't initially convinced about Journalism's chances last year after he, too, won over the retrofitted Quarter Horse oval.

In both seasons, I had to later recalibrate as those horses proved worthy of Top 12 inclusion. So it's with those misfires in mind that I'll give Litmus Test a shot in early 2026.

After all, this is a colt ($875,000 FTSAUG) who has an edge in experience (five lifetime races, three at two turns, two in Grade I stakes). He also hails from the barn of Bob Baffert, whose horses have crossed the Kentucky Derby finish wire first on seven occasions (with one DQ).

Litmus Test has been riding an ascending Beyer arc (78-82-89-95-96) that includes one third and one fourth behind divisional kingpin Ted Noffey, plus a 1 1/4-length score over five rivals in the Los Al Futurity.

Although his Breeders' Cup Juvenile fourth resonated as a no-impact effort, Litmus Test took advantage of fortuitous circumstances when favored at 3-5 against lesser foes at Los Al.

He broke well, tucked inside near the back, then inherited a sweet stalking spot in second, moving to the outside behind a too-fast leader when another rival bore out badly on the first turn and carried two other horses very wide.

Litmus Test prowled just off the shoulder of the pacemaker, seized the lead at will five-sixteenths out, then spun wide into the lane. Yet at the quarter pole, he gave up that top spot to the wilting front-runner he had just passed.

Litmus Test did manage to claw back the lead, finishing well enough but getting a minor scare from a maiden who was the only true threat through the final sixteenth.

Although it wasn't the most artful victory, the Los Al Futurity should serve Litmus Test well from a moving-forward standpoint.

11) MY WORLD (Essential Quality–Quebec, by Into Mischief) O-Robert V. LaPenta & Madaket Stables LLC; B-Cove Springs, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $350,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: MSW, 4-3-0-0, $217,750. Last start: WON Jan. 3 Jerome Stakes.

My World is a lighter-framed gray who has overachieved while winning back-to-back listed stakes at Aqueduct. While he doesn't yet appear to have things fully figured out mentally, he's a hard trier who doesn't seem to mind that horse racing can sometimes be a contact sport.

After breaking his maiden sprinting in his second lifetime start, this Brad Cox trainee scored a mild upset as the third choice in the five-horse Nashua Stakes at Aqueduct Nov. 1. He pressed the 11-1 pacemaker (a subsequent stakes winner at Penn National), took on that leader between the five-sixteenths and quarter poles, then bounced him into the fence coming off the turn while snatching the lead.

Despite having his head cocked out toward the grandstand, My World put away a new challenger, the second-favorite, and produced a renewed deep-stretch spurt to kick clear by 3 1/2 lengths (79 Beyer).

In another one-turn mile, the Jan. 3 Jerome Stakes, My World was (somewhat surprisingly) let go as the 2.62-1 third betting choice in a four-horse field. He wasn't affected by a mild bump at the break, then let the odds-on favorite duel with a 26-1 longshot.

Always within two lengths of those pacemakers for the long, half-mile run out of the chute and down the back straight, My World confronted the 0.74-1 choice when that fave cracked the long shot on the turn, dueled with him into upper stretch, then dropped back for several strides.

Resiliently, My World re-engaged when it looked like he'd be left behind, responding to judicious alternating stick work from Jaime Rodriguez.

My World lugged in, yet was emboldened when the two brushed in deep stretch. He then finished well to open up by two lengths, with Rodriguez reverting to hand urging under the wire (84 Beyer).

It's a nice ticket to have in your back pocket if you took a flyer on My World at 147-1 in Pool 2 of the Derby future wager.

12) LIBERTY NATIONAL (c, Maxfield–Virtuoso, by Awesome Again) 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard. O-Brookdale Racing, Inc. & Fern Circle Stables; B-Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. Sales history: $525,000 Ylg '24 KEESEP. Lifetime record: 3-1-1-0, $90,675. Last start: 2nd Dec. 20 Gun Runner Stakes.

Liberty National is a far more imposing physical specimen than trainer Kenny McPeek's 2024 Derby winner, Mystik Dan.

This $525,000 KEESEP colt, produced by an unraced full-sister to GISW Paynter, was most recently second over 1 1/16 miles in the slow-stretch Gun Runner Stakes (:7.48 final sixteenth) as the 13-10 favorite.

The more useful measuring stick might be Liberty National's maiden-breaking tally on the Nov. 29 Stars of Tomorrow card at Churchill, when his 1 1/16-miles win was clocked just 0.08 seconds off the final time for that afternoon's feature, the GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes.

This colt's sixth-place Oct. 16 debut over seven furlongs at Keeneland is also worth noting. That field of eight yielded four horses who came back to win their next races, and five altogether who have since broken their maidens, including one, Chip Honcho (Connect), who subsequently beat Liberty National in the Gun Runner Stakes.

The post TDN Derby Top 12: Dreams of Roses Take The Chill Out of January appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

According to the annual Thoroughbred Economic Indicators report released Monday by Equibase, the total figures for two of the sport's most important categories declined in 2025.

Thanks in part to handle being down 7.32% in December, handle for the year was down 2.10% when compared to 2024 figures. A total of $11,028,652,933 was wagered in the U.S. as compared to $11,265,666,064 in 2024. Handle peaked in 2003 at $15.18 billion. When factoring in inflation, betting handle has fallen about 57% over the last 22 years.

The year 2025 marked the sixth time in the last seven years that handle has fallen. The outlier was 2021, when handle figures rose by 11.8%. This was expected because the 2021 numbers were being compared to 2020 figures, a year in which COVID caused the sport to lose a multitude of racing dates.

“There are two ways of looking at it, one of which is certainly worrisome,” said Marshall Gramm, an economics professor at Rhodes College and a professional horseplayer. “The increased competition with other gambling ventures is hurting the sport. The fact that many tracks have not resolved the issues with the odds fluctuations and the computer wagering is another factor. The way we price our sport for the recreational player in a way that is not comparable to other gambling options is, I believe, another reason this is happening. We don't know any more than what they reported in those raw numbers, but, anecdotally, I would guess we are losing more from recreational players and the real meat-and-potatoes horseplayers. They are disappearing from our game, and that is a problem.”

Gramm continued: “The flip side is that purses are more and more funded by alternative gambling. The industry seems to be content to spend more lobbying politicians than focusing on their core customers. Maybe if they can finance a sport without needing horseplayers, they will continue to go on and do so.”

The figure for “Wagering on U.S. Races” includes worldwide commingled wagering on U.S. races.

In the category of “Average Wagering Per Race Day,” there was some positive news, as the figure rose by 3.27%, from $2,974,826 to $3,072,048. But fewer races were run during the year–29,401 versus 30,852 in 2024.

Perhaps the more surprising news revealed by Equibase Monday was the decline in the total amount of purse money paid out in the U.S. in 2025. Thanks in large part to an influx of casino, slot machine and HHR money that has poured into the sport in places like Kentucky and Arkansas in recent years, purses have been holding relatively steady. But the amount of purse money paid out in 2025 was $1,220,644,640, which represents a 2.53% decline from the prior year. In 2024, purses paid out rose by 0.5% and reached an all-time high for the industry.

Though the increase was a very small one, the fact that average field size increased was another piece of good news. The average field size in 2025 was 7.47 starters per race, up 0.37% from 2024.

The post Handle, Purses Both Fall In 2025 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

PARADISE (f, 3, Gun Runner–Venetian Harbor {MGSW & MGISP, $699,400}, by Munnings) was unveiled Nov. 13 beneath the Twin Spires and since that maiden special, several runners have emerged from that race to either win or hit the board again–most notably She's So Coal (Coal Front), who graduated by 12 lengths against state-breds at Oaklawn Park.

Made the 4-5 favorite here when making a seasonal bow with first-time Lasix, the chestnut stepped out to set the pace from along the rail going up the backstretch through an opening quarter in :25 flat. Comfortably clear of Betty's Pearl (Munnings) after four furlongs in :48.26 and six panels in 1:13.47, Paradise maintained her advantage over that runner down to the wire.

The victress is the first to the races for multiple Grade I-placed Venetian Harbor, whose now juvenile colt by Curlin sold in last year's Keeneland September sale for $1.05-million to AMO Racing. The mare's last registered offspring is a yearling colt by Into Mischief and she's due to Nyquist for 2026.

7th-Gulfstream, $70,660, Msw, 1-4, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:39.78, ft, 3 lengths.
PARADISE (f, 3, Gun Runner–Venetian Harbor {MGSW & MGISP, $699,400}, by Munnings) Sales history: $700,000 Ylg '24 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $64,800. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods; B-Ciaglia Racing, LLC, HNDEH & Domenic Savides (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.

#6 PARADISE ($3.80), a three-year-old filly by Gun Runner (@Three_Chimneys) out of multiple GSW Venetian Harbor, broke her maiden in gate-to-wire fashion in R7 at @GulfstreamPark. @zayas_edgardo was up for trainer @bradcoxracing and owners NK Racing & @LNJFoxwoods. pic.twitter.com/sjmmryNpqA

— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) January 4, 2026

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Next (Not This Time), who made his mark dominating dirt races at a mile-and-a-half or longer, has not been seen or heard from since finishing fourteenth and last in the 2024 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. He's now 8-years-old and hasn't run in nearly 14 months, but trainer Doug Cowans told the TDN that the gelding will be given every chance to launch a comeback in 2026.

“This is a simple update,” Cowans said. “He's in training at Turfway Park. He's probably due to breeze here soon. I expect his first work back will be toward the end of January or early February. He's up to galloping a mile-and-a-half and he's doing well.”

Cowans admitted that he was taking a chance when running Next in the Breeders' Cup Classic because the mile-and-a-quarter distance was likely too short for him. It didn't end well, as he lost by 34 3/4 lengths. Cowans could not come up with any excuses for the race.

“He came back just fine out of that race,” he said. “We kicked him out for about 45 days, and then when he came back to training in February and he had a few little setbacks. By the time we got all that worked out, there were no real races for him. So, we turned him back out and started jogging him last November. We started galloping him in December, and he's really close to having his first breeze.”

Cowans said that he has not decided yet when or where Next will debut this year, but said he will go back to the plan that had always worked out so well for him. All of his potential 2026 starts will come at a mile-and-a-half and will be on the dirt, he said. Next has run seven times on the turf and has won three times over that surface.

“I'm not going to run him anymore in any races other than at a mile-and-a-half on the dirt,” he said. “There were just no spots for him to run in those races in the late fall.”

Willam D. Cowans | Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO

Cowans acknowledged that bringing a horse back at age 8 and asking him to run in graded stakes races may be a tall task. He said he will not take any unnecessary chances.

“This will be his last year,” he said. “The plan is only to run in mile-and-a-half races. We'll know more when he starts breezing and is ready. If he shows us that he is not the same horse he will be retired.”

Way back in 2020, Next began his career, ironically enough, in a 4 1/2-furlong race at Woodbine. In 2022, he was claimed by Cowans on behalf of owner Michael Foster for $62,500. Once Cowans turned Next into a marathon specialist, his career took off. He is a two-time winner of the GII Brooklyn Stakes and he captured the GIII Greenwood Cup twice. His other graded stakes win came in the 2022 GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes. His career earnings stand at $1,336,361.

“I'm super excited about this horse,” the trainer said. “He's a barn favorite and a fan favorite. Anytime he was out there training on a big day, the media was always around shooting pictures of him and taking videos. He's fun to have around. He doesn't owe anybody anything, so if he makes it, he makes it, and if he doesn't, he doesn't.”

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Jockey Keith Asmussen began getting on horses late last month at Oaklawn in advance of his comeback, which could come during Oaklawn's Classic racing season (Jan. 30-May 2) or at Sam Houston Race Park, a press release from the Hot Springs track said on Sunday.

Asmussen, Oaklawn's second-leading jockey in 2023-2024, has not ridden since fracturing the right side of his pelvis in a Nov. 8 spill at Churchill Downs. Asmussen said there was no displacement of the bone and no surgery was required.

“It stinks any time you get hurt, but considering the timing of the break at Oaklawn it hasn't really put a rush on things,” Asmussen said Sunday morning. “On my six-week mark, I got released to ride and I started getting on horses here. It's been smooth for the most part. I'm excited to get on horses and be around the races.”

The young jockey, who was involved in a serious spill during the summer of 2024, frequently rides for his father Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

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Track stars such as Ted Noffey (Into Mischief), Sovereignty (Into Mischief) and Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) are among the finalists for the 2025 Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence through the past year in Thoroughbred racing, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) said via a Sunday press release.

Winners in 17 horse and human categories will be announced on FanDuel TV, and other outlets, during the 55th Annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards, presented by John Deere, The Jockey Club and the NTRA, on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The evening will culminate with the announcement of the 2025 Horse of the Year.

Of the 240 eligible voters represented by the NTRA, consisting of racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, the National Turf Writers & Broadcasters and Daily Racing Form, 221 (92%) took part in the voting. Finalists were determined in each category by voters' top three selections, using a 10-5-1 point basis. Eclipse Award winners are determined solely by first-place votes.

The 2025 Eclipse Awards Finalists, with the exception of Horse of the Year, (in alphabetical order) are:

2-Year-Old Male: Brant (Gun Runner), Gstaad (GB) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), Ted Noffey;

2-Year-Old Filly: Cy Fair (Not This Time), Explora (Blame), Super Corredora (Gun Runner);

3-Year-Old Male: Baeza (McKinzie), Journalism (Curlin), Sovereignty;

3-Year-Old Filly: Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro), Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), Shisospicy (Mitole);

Older Dirt Male: Forever Young, Nysos (Nyquist), Sierra Leone (Gun Runner);

Older Dirt Female: Scylla (Tapit), Splendora (Audible), Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna);

Male Sprinter: Bentornato (Valiant Minister), Book'em Danno (Bucchero), Nysos;

Female Sprinter: Kopion (Omaha Beach), Shisospicy, Splendora;

Male Turf Horse: Deterministic (Liam's Map), Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire});

Female Turf Horse: Gezora (Fr) (Almanzor {Fr}), She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}), Shisospicy;

Steeplechase Horse: Cool Jet (Ire) (Jet Away {GB}), Swore (Broken Vow), Zanahiyr (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire});

Owner: Godolphin LLC, Klaravich Stables, Inc., Spendthrift Farm LLC;

Breeder: Don Alberto Corporation, Godolphin LLC, WinStar Farm, LLC;

Trainer: Chad Brown, Brad Cox, Bill Mott;

Jockey: Irad Oritz Jr., Flavien Prat, John Velazquez;

Apprentice Jockey: Christopher Elliott, Yedsit Hazlewood, Pietro Moran.

Finalists for Horse of the Year will be revealed during the live show Jan. 22. In addition to honoring the 17 winners in the horse and human categories, Dan Piazza will receive the Eclipse Award as the 2025 Horseplayer of the Year. Members of the media will be honored for outstanding coverage in six categories.

Click here for more information concerning Eclipse-related events.

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Santa Anita Park has canceled live racing on Sunday, Jan. 4 as the final round of strong storms pushes out of the Southern California area, the track said in a press release on Sunday morning.

The storm has dropped more than 10 inches of rain on the Arcadia, California, track since an atmospheric river began pummeling the West Coast Dec. 23.

“The weather is set to improve significantly by Monday, and we don't have any rain in sight for the next 10 days or so,” said Santa Anita Park's General Manager Nate Newby. “We are grateful for the support of our stakeholders these last two weeks. It hasn't been easy, but the safety of the horses will always come first. We're looking forward to building on the strong momentum from our first few days and getting back to business.”

Racing returns to Santa Anita Park on Thursday, which is the first of two announced makeup days due to the rain cancelations. First post time on Thursday will be 12 noon and will feature two turf stakes races. The track has also added Thursday, Jan. 15 to the racing schedule.

Both the Santa Ynez Stakes for 3-year-old fillies and GIII Las Flores Stakes for older fillies and mares will be run next weekend at Santa Anita after being postponed because of rain.

The seven-furlong Santa Ynez will be run on Saturday, Jan. 10 with the seven-furlong Las Flores going a day later.

In addition to the rescheduled Santa Ynez, Saturday's card will also feature the Grade II San Vicente Stakes for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs. The San Vicente begins the road to the GI Santa Anita Derby. Entries for the Santa Ynez, San Vicente and the rest of Saturday's card will be drawn on Monday.

Joining the Las Flores on next Sunday's card will be the GIII Las Cienegas Stakes for older fillies and mares at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course. That card will be set on Tuesday.

The post Go Away! Sunday Santa Anita Card Canceled As Rain Set To Move Out appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Grade I winner Tappan Street (Into Mischief) worked Saturday morning at Gulfstream Park in his continued preparation for the Pegasus World Cup Invitational.

Working four furlongs alone at Payson Park, the Brad Cox trainee was clocked in :49.60 (15/48) in his first move since his successful return to the races Dec. 19 against allowance optional claiming company at Gulfstream Park.

“It was a really good move, by himself, :49.2 and 1:02.2,” said Cox. “I thought the track was much deeper after the break up there [at Payson Park].”

Disco Time (Not This Time), the unbeaten winner of the GIII Lecomte Stakes, worked five furlongs the day prior Jan. 2 in 1:01 flat, the fastest of five others at that distance.

“Disco Time went [Friday], lights out,” Cox said. “He's really on it. Super pleased with how he's breezed the last few weeks and how he physically looks.”

Both runners are currently being pointed toward the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Saturday, Jan. 24.

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Young Gainesway stallion Muth, a Grade I winner at both two and three, welcomed his first foal, a filly, on Jan. 1 at Gainesway. The filly is out of the winning Marlinspike (Tapit), herself a daughter of 2000 Eclipse champion Surfside and a granddaughter of 1994 Eclipse champion Flanders. The new filly, who was born at 2:30 a.m. on New Year's Day, is a a half-sister to multiple stakes winner Bullet (War Front).

Muth, the $2-million OBS March topper in 2023, as well as a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' for Zedan Racing, won both the GI American Pharoah Stakes and the GI Arkansas Derby. In 2026, he will stand his second season at Gainesway for $30,000.

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A newly created $25,000 Thoroughbred Hunter Derby will make its debut at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show in Virginia in early June and replace the recent Upperville Thoroughbred Hunter Classic, the planners of the event said via a press release on their website Dec. 31.

The Derby will take place Tuesday, June 2 and reflects a growing, industry-wide effort to expand opportunities for Thoroughbreds at recognized horse shows. In recent years, trainers, owners and Thoroughbred advocates have worked to elevate the visibility and competitiveness of the breed in hunter and jumper sport.

TAKE2–founded by the late Bruce Duchossois and Rick Violette, Jr. of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.–has been at the forefront of that movement. The program partners with USEF-rated horse shows to offer hunter and jumper divisions restricted to Thoroughbreds eligible for registration with The Jockey Club of America.

The release also mentions that more recently, Carrie Brogden of Machmer Hall communicated with Camden, South Carolina-based trainer Ron Danta about how the racing industry was interested in promoting the idea of a Thoroughbred-only Derby series offering significant prize money. Brogden recently spoke to TDN in the 'Racing in 2036' series about how Thoroughbreds could re-establish themselves as a central players in the show hunter world.

At the same time, Middleburg trainer Sue Lyman, an active USHJA member who chairs its Horse and Riders Advocates Committee, and Second Wind Thoroughbred Aftercare founder Dayle Eldredge made repeated efforts to revive the long-dormant USHJA Thoroughbred Taskforce. Danta helped by making them aware of Brogden's interest.

According to the release, another spark was the national success of Catherine Brown's Ifwhizkycouldtalk (Unfettered), known as “Whisky,” who drew widespread attention during his second year showing with Lyman. Not only did the gelding excel in the Thoroughbred hunter divisions, but the gray also placed consistently and won in the competitive 3'3″ Green Hunter division against warmbloods and participated in the USHJA Green Incentive Program at the Kentucky finals in August.

USHJA President Britt McCormick reached out to Lyman, and the USHJA Thoroughbred Taskforce was officially revived. The group agreed that a single, successful event was needed before expanding into a series and Upperville was the natural choice.

“At Upperville, they know how to do a Derby,” said Lyman. “And the Thoroughbreds are already successful divisions.”

Lyman approached UCHS Board member Tom Brennan, who brought the proposal for a Derby in 2026 to the Show Committee, where it received a favorable response. Brennan estimated that at least $20,000 in prize money, along with $10,000 for a competitor reception, would be necessary to attract top-level participation and support.

Undaunted, Lyman immediately reached out to people she knows have a special interest in Thoroughbreds. Funding followed quickly, for the Derby prize money as well as the reception. One of the earliest prize money supporters was longtime Thoroughbred advocate and former Lyman client Ann Hormel. Others include Jacqueline Mars, for whom Lyman has also trained, and Tisbury Stud. The purse quickly rose to $25,000, while TAKE2 and Aspire Equine, LLC. signed up to sponsor the reception.

“I love Thoroughbred horses,” said Hormel. “I hate to see them cast away because they didn't make it big on the track. I would love to see them coming back into the hunter and jumper rings, and I feel like this Derby could help make that happen.”

“Upperville is truly raising the stakes with the launch of this brand-new $25,000 Thoroughbred Derby,” Tom Brennan said. “This class underscores our commitment to honoring tradition while creating meaningful new opportunities for Thoroughbred horses, owners, and riders.”

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Following the cancellation of racing on Wednesday and Thursday, Santa Anita has added a special makeup card for this upcoming Thursday, Jan. 8, according to a press release from the track on Friday.

Entries will be taken on Saturday. The program will include both the GIII Robert J. Frankel Stakes for fillies & mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf and the Eddie Logan Stakes at one mile on turf for what are now newly-turned 3-year-olds. Both races had been scheduled for Wednesday.

The remaining races from the canceled cards on Wednesday and Thursday will be offered back the first weekend of Condition Book #2 from Jan. 16-18.

A rain-drenched start to the Santa Anita season has resulted in four cards being canceled since the scheduled start of the Classic Meet Dec. 26. One makeup card was held this past Monday.

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While prefacing his remarks by saying that “nothing is set in stone,” Spendthrift Farm General Manager Ned Toffey told the TDN that the main pre-GI Kentucky Derby goal for presumptive 2-year-old champion Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) will likely be the GI Curlin Florida Derby to be run at Gulfstream Park Mar. 28. Spendthrift's other top prospect, Further Ado (Gun Runner), is likely headed to the GI Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland Apr. 4.

Ted Noffey is trained by Todd Pletcher, who is based in the winter at Palm Beach Downs in Florida. Further Ado, who is trained by Brad Cox, is just up the road at Payson Park. Toffey confirmed that the plan is not to race the two together until possible starts in the Triple Crown races.

Named a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', Ted Noffey was 4-for-4 in 2025. The colt's year culminated with a win in the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Further Ado took a little longer to develop, but had a breakout 'TDN Rising Star' performance when winning an Oct. 10 maiden at Keeneland by 20 lengths. In what was his third career start, he earned a 93 Beyer number. He followed that win with a 1 3/4-length victory in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs.

“This is a very unofficial, but obviously Todd [Pletcher] has been based in South Florida for a long time and I think generally the number one prospect in his barn will take that Florida Derby route,” Toffey said. “That would be the plan. Leading up to that, maybe he will run in the [GII] Fountain of Youth. We'll see how things go as the spring progresses.”

Toffey said that the Blue Grass is an obvious target for Further Ado because of how well the colt ran there in his maiden win.

“He was just beating maidens, but he ran so well at Keeneland,” Toffey said. “It would make a lot of sense to get him back there for the Blue Grass.”

Because Further Ado is based in Florida, Toffey said running in a Derby prep at Tampa Bay Downs is also a possibility.

“Obviously, we want to keep them apart , but we'll try to do what we think is best for each horse,” he said. “There are a lot of options. They'll both be in Florida for the winter and we'll go from there. You know this game. As Wayne Hughes used to say, 'You have to have a plan so you can change it.' I wouldn't rule anything out. There are also the Tampa races to consider for Further Ado.”

Toffey added that the Spendthrift team will also rely on the feedback they receive from Pletcher and Cox.

Further Ado at Keeneland | Coady Media

“We will weigh heavily what the trainers are recommending,” he said. “This is a little bit of a different circumstance than normal, but we generally feel like it's important to weigh very heavily anything the trainers are recommending. Those are the guys in the barn with the horses day in and day out. They will be an important part of the decision-making process.”

Spendthrift also owns one of the top 3-year-old fillies in Tommy Jo (Into Mischief), who is also a 'TDN Rising Star'. The winner of the GI Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga, she was fifth in the GI NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She is also trained by Pletcher. Toffey said her next start will come in the GIII Forward Gal Stakes at Gulfstream Jan. 31.

“The Forward Gal is a good starting point for her at seven furlongs,” he said. “In going back and looking at her race in the Breeders' Cup and watching that replay several times, I actually feel like she ran an even better race than I originally thought. It was a tough track to come from off the pace on. Speed held so well. When I factored that in, do I think she was going to win? No. But I feel like her race was a little better than I originally gave her credit for.”

Toffey acknowledged that the Spendthrift team is excited about what 2026 will bring, especially when it comes to its two potential Derby candidates.

“This is huge,” he said. “Quite frankly, our primary business is that breeding shed up there in the middle of the farm. We do a lot of racing and you obviously want to be successful doing that in and of itself.  At the same time, to be able to do it with horses that you've owned and managed is just that much better. I hate to reduce it to money, but there is that reality.

“If we can have two really nice horses earn their way into our stud barn, which they already have done, without having to pay millions and millions of dollars to be able to do so it is an added bonus,” he added. “Everyone at Spendthrift loves racing and we're always looking for those top 3-year-old colts. This is very exciting for us.”

The post Spendthrift Mulling Plans For Its 3-Year-Old Stars appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Colonial Downs racing secretary Dan Bork has released the condition book for the 2026 three-day spring meeting which runs from Thursday, Mar. 12 through Saturday, Mar. 14, the track said via a release on Friday.

The meet is highlighted by the $500,000 Virginia Derby and $250,000 Virginia Oaks Mar. 14, which are points races on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” and “Road to the Kentucky Oaks,” respectively.

Click here for access.

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Godolphin LLC, who campaigned 13 North American graded stakes winners during 2025, including dual classic winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief), set a single-season record in earnings as the leading owner for the fifth consecutive year, and Irad Ortiz, Jr., established a single-season record as the leading jockey by earnings according to final year-end statistics released by Equibase Company on Friday.

Godolphin–with 104 North American wins from 448 starts–amassed record earnings of $22,395,556, surpassing their previous mark of $20.2 million set in 2024. When including earnings from the Dubai and Saudi Cup days, Godolphin's earnings for the year were $23,355,556.

In a tight battle between Ortiz and Flavien Prat, the former maintained the narrowest of margin in the final days to finish the year on top with earnings of $40,497,847, less than $2,000 ahead of Prat's total of $40,496,178. Both riders became the first to surpass $40 million in earnings. Ortiz reached the winner's circle 351 times from 1,631 mounts in 2025, while Prat won 310 races from 1,256 mounts.

Brad Cox ended the year on top as the leading trainer by earnings, which was his first title since 2023 and marked the conditioner's third overall. Cox sent out the winners of 277 races from 394 starters with 1,068 starts for earnings of $30,255,435.

Some of the leading horses also were the top earners from their respective foal crops. The leading earners by foaling year from the past five years were Ted Noffey (Into Mischief, 2023 foal crop), Sovereignty (2022 foal crop), Sierra Leone (Gun Runner, 2021 foal crop), National Treasure (Quality Road, 2020 foal crop) and White Abarrio (Race Day, 2019 foal crop).

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As another Santa Anita Opening Day is in the books, it's with a heavy heart that I write to the TDN about the extraordinary life and times of Vic Carlson. Vic died a couple days ago peacefully with his wife Seira and family by his side, but the legacy he leaves in Thoroughbred racing is far reaching.

As a reminder, Vic reached the pinnacle of the racing game when a little $15,000 horse named Musket Man ran third in the 2009 GI Kentucky Derby. More on that in a minute. To say Vic's life was extraordinary would be an understatement.

Vic grew up in Boise, Idaho where, at a young age, it became apparent he would become an outstanding football player. He played linebacker in college and then turned his education degree into a coaching career. Later, in Portland, Oregon, Vic became the athletic director at Jefferson High, an inner city school located in North Portland. That is where I met Vic. In 1987, he hired me as Jefferson's head baseball coach.

Vic and I became fast friends. Not too long after I met him, he introduced me to horse racing. I can't tell you how many afternoons we snuck out to go to Portland Meadows. That is where I fell in love with the game and that is where Vic bought his first horse, a $2,500 claimer named Colt Called Sue. As we messed around with cheap horses, we both had aspirations to reach higher. As such, 1995 was the first year we attended the Kentucky Derby together. By the time that trip was over, we both decided we wanted a chance at the big-time.

Vic was an imposing figure. At the age of 40, he still looked like he could start at linebacker. Those who got to know him recognized he was a fierce competitor. Besides football, he had two passions in life–horse racing and golf. I remember like it was yesterday when we won the Rosauers Spokane Open Pro-Am back in 1991. The team was me, Vic, college baseball star Fred Lea, hockey phenom Pat Schmautz of the famous hockey family and baseball star Ron Sloy. After two days, our team was on track to set a tournament record. As is often the case in golf, the other teams were skeptical we were playing that good. So, the tournament director, Dale Johnson, and some of his staff started following us around on the front nine the last day. Vic was steamed they were checking on us, so he gave us a pep talk for the ages. On hole number 8 from about 80 yards, Vic holed his third shot on that Par 5. While the rest of his team was celebrating, Vic walked over to Mr. Johnson and said, “Yes sir, this team is that good.”

After Vic's first trip to the Kentucky Derby, he made the decision to spend more money buying nicer horses. That decision led Vic to Kieran Dunne of Ocala pinhooking fame. Vic and Kieran became close friends, with Kieran traveling to Oregon to play golf and Vic often traveling to Florida to join Kieran for his member-guest golf tournament. That relationship led to a lifelong friendship, many pinhooks and eventually led to Musket Man.

Vic, his wife Seira, and Kieran are responsible for one of the most hilarious horse racing stories of all-time. Vic decided to sell Musket Man in the 2008 Fasig-Tipton 2-year-old sale. When the horse didn't reach his reserve, the team retreated to the bar to decide what to do next. With Kieran and other friends hanging out, they decided to race the horse.

The rest of the story goes something like this:  Seira and Vic were a fairly new couple. After hanging out for awhile, Seira suggests to Vic that they go back to their hotel to “have a little fun.” Vic looks her in the eye and says in front of everyone:  “Honey, we had a little fun this morning. I'm not a Gatling gun and I'm not a six-shooter. I'm a one-time a day musket man.” Thus, the name and the rest is history.

Musket Man won the GIII Tampa Bay Derby, the GII Illinois Derby, then ran third in the Kentucky Derby and the GI Preakness. Later, as a 4-year-old, the horse ran second in the GI Metropolitan Handicap and third in the GI Whitney Handicap.

I have not seen Vic for a few years. The last time was at Santa Anita four years ago. Vic's health was declining because of a bad back, so he moved to Mesquite, Nevada with his wife.

A few weeks ago, I saw Vic's Carlson Family Racing had a horse entered at Del Mar. I called a friend of ours, Steve Anderson, to see if he had talked to Vic lately. He too hadn't heard back from him. Now, he is gone, and what we have are extraordinary memories of an extraordinary life.

There are a lot of things you can say about Vic Carlson. How he loved his sons; how he loved the kids at Jefferson High School; how he loved golf; how much he loved and admired Seira; how he often times seemed bigger than life.

But, know this to be true too. Vic loved horse racing, he loved the people on the backside and ultimately he made horse racing fun for everyone his life touched. His legacy in horse racing runs from Oregon to Florida and from California to Kentucky. I promise you I am only one of many who will keep Vic's legacy alive.

–Steve McPherson
Irvine, CA

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Keeneland has supplemented three additional hips to its January Horses of All Ages Sale to be held Jan. 12 and 13 in Lexington, KY. The newest supplements are:

• Sherbini (Cairo Prince) (Hip 541): a 4-year-old filly who was an impressive debut winner at Churchill Downs at two before she was runner-up in the Schuylerville Stakes and placed in the GI Spinaway Stakes, both at Saratoga. Also placed in the Rags to Riches Stakes at Churchill, Sherbini is cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect and is consigned by ELiTE, agent.
• Tigerish (Tiz the Law) (Hip 1103), a 4-year-old filly and one of five black-type performers out of Lerici, by Woodman. Graded stakes-placed at two, Tigerish is a half-sister to Grade I winner Avenge (War Front) and Grade II winner Liguria (War Front). She is from the family of such international stars as Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d'Oro) and European champion miler Mark of Esteem (Ire) (Darshaan {Ire}). Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services, agent, consigns Tigerish as a racing or broodmare prospect.
• 2025 filly by Gun Runner (Hip 542), consigned by Four Star Sales, agent. Her dam, Dragic, by Broken Vow, is a half-sister to Gun Runner's juvenile champion Echo Zulu and to Grade I winner Echo Town (Speightstown). Dragic, a multiple stakes performer, is the dam of Saturday Flirt, who is undefeated in four starts in North America, including the 2025 Soaring Softly Stakes at Saratoga.

These three supplements increase the total number of horses cataloged to the January Sale to 1,095. Click here to access the catalogue.

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FanDuel TV will televise the live announcement of the finalists for the 2025 Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards on Sunday, Jan. 4 at Noon ET, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), National Turf Writers And Broadcasters (NTWAB), and Daily Racing Form announced Friday.

The Eclipse Awards, honoring excellence in Thoroughbred racing, are voted upon by the NTRA, represented by member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, NTWAB, and Daily Racing Form, and are produced by the NTRA. The announcement of the Eclipse Awards finalists on FanDuel TV is sponsored by John Deere, The Jockey Club, and the NTRA.

FanDuel TV also will televise live the 55th Annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. The evening will begin with the Red Carpet show at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the awards ceremony at 7:30 p.m. ET. The ceremony will be co-hosted by Britney Eurton and Lindsay Czarniak, and Caton Bredar will again serve as the Ceremony Announcer. The evening will culminate with the announcement of the 2025 Horse of the Year. Finalists in the Horse of the Year category also will be announced earlier that evening.

Also back again this year will be an Eclipse Awards Charity Golf Tournament benefitting the PDJF which will be held Thursday morning prior to the awards ceremony on The Ocean Course at The Breakers. Also, one lucky fan and a guest will win a chance to attend this year's year show as part of the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards Sweepstakes. The grand prize winner and their guest will also accompany Resolute Racing at the Pegasus World Cup. There is no purchase necessary to participate in the promotion and entries may be made on the NTRA website, or its accompanying social media channels, and the Resolute Racing website, or its accompanying social media channels. Fans can enter the contest by submitting their name, information, and explanation as to why they want to win this once in a lifetime experience. Entries are now open online and continue through Jan. 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET, with the winner drawn on Jan. 10.

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The band we reach today, between $20,000 and $29,999, perhaps represents the sweet spot of the entire pyramid. It features sires of adequate achievement to have elevated themselves clear of the basement, yet without obtaining the kind of commercial luster that puts them beyond mortal pockets. The most established names retain their customary place on our Value Podium, not least as a tremendous route to proving a mare; but this tier also features one or two that could be on the point of cycling through delayed rewards for their early endeavors.

As such, given that we can't single out each and every sire anyway, we certainly won't be dwelling too long on those yet to establish any kind of competence in their new careers. True, I can return to a recurring theme of this series to point out that if GUNITE was deserving of a preposterous 256 mares when entering stud in 2024, at $35,000, it's hard to see why you wouldn't go back to him now at $25,000. Of the 39 weanlings presented to market, 34 found a new home at $166,764. Their consistency was reflected by a significantly strong median of $157,500. He will probably become an imperative play next time round–when his fee will presumably subside again–ahead of a cavalry of juveniles bursting with the precocity that won him the GI Hopeful Stakes, and the speed that saw him trade blows with Elite Power as a 4-year-old.

By the same token, then, we should be taking a keen interest in JACKIE'S WARRIOR at $25,000–half the sum paid by 247 mares in 2023. His first yearlings repaid their $50,000 conception fee very solidly, 82 of 103 selling at an average $225,102 (median $165,000). He's another Hopeful winner, who returned to Saratoga to win Grade I sprints at three and four. He seems bound to make some noise in the freshman table and, with his third book holding up at 166, now is actually the time to be doubling down. After all, the “judgement” exercised by so many breeders when he entered stud could be on the point of vindication.

That mindset admittedly would not have paid off, in the preceding class, with ESSENTIAL QUALITY. Having reached $50,000 last year, from an opening $75,000, he has been slashed to $25,000 after a perfectly steady start by his first juveniles (three stakes winners putting him third in the freshman table). But while he was a champion juvenile, he's also a Belmont winner by Tapit and it would be perfectly natural for mares with Classic blood of their own to draw a great deal of improvement from his stock with maturity round a second turn. For now a fee cut became inevitable, however, after his second crop averaged $88,564–with a median that only matched the conception fee.

Essential Quality | Sarah Andrew

COMPLEXITY made a contrastingly lively start, the previous year, setting a storming early pace in the freshman table until inevitably worn down by rivals with industrial volume behind them. With a second crop in play, he's up to a dozen stakes winners–four at graded level–at 6.5 percent of named foals, from a conception fee of $12,500. That is actually the same ratio boasted by class leader Vekoma for his 18 stakes winners, yet he is up to $100,000 while Complexity has been eased to $20,000 (from $25,000). Two other peers in huge demand, Tiz the Law and McKinzie, are meanwhile getting their black-type winners at 5.1 and 3.3 percent. Complexity's problem in the short term is that his incoming juveniles graduate from a book of 59, but he was back up to 119 last spring and mares sent to him now will be able to ride that wave by the time their foals go to market.

MAXIMUS MISCHIEF is an interesting proposition. Having set out as a straightforward, low-budget commercial option, he had a nice moment this time last year with the GI Malibu Stakes winner. But that has turned into an authentic breakout, and not just because Raging Torrent has meanwhile followed up in the GI Met Mile. Two other members of his debut crop won graded stakes, confirming that a sire whose own career had been curtailed could get his stock to thrive with maturity; and then a third-crop son won the GI American Pharoah Stakes. Yet his fee has only nudged up from $15,000 to $20,000, and with his numbers never having let up–incoming juveniles from a crop of 105 live foals, while he covered another 161 mares last spring–he stands at an auspicious crossroads.

BOLT D'ORO has had an up-and-down career already. His latest yearlings, conceived at $35,000 after he won freshman laurels in 2022, achieved an uneven yield: he boasted a $1.4 million colt at Saratoga, and a six-figure average, but a median of $60,000 puts the pressure on (his next crop sired at exactly that sum). Halved to $30,000 last year, when he duly maintained traffic, he takes another trim to $25,000–solid value after he regrouped with 11 stakes winners in 2025, four at graded level. He may be finding his level but that is a solid one: he has consistent volume behind him and, in principle, that mare upgrade should help him gain further track quality over the next two or three years.

But it is the most established operators in this category that pack in most value, and I would suspect that an awful lot of you might land on the same few names for a Value Podium. ARMY MULE misses out only narrowly, having had a mild hike from $20,000 to $25,000, an acknowledgment of some strong results at ringside (72 of 83 yearlings sold at $83,215, albeit the median was considerably less at $51,000) and with his early impact beginning to cycle through. He has still had no more than 206 starters, of which 21 are stakes winners. That's a tremendous ratio for a horse that started out at $10,000 and sired even his incoming sophomores at $7,500.  He welcomed 160 mares when initially raised to $25,000, in 2024, and another 140 last year, so the “pipeline” is pretty loaded. There's every chance he could be standing at a rather higher fee before long, assuming he can consolidate with his somewhat upgraded materials. As things stand, his single graded stakes winner of 2025–his fourth overall–augurs well as GII Miss Grillo Stakes winner Ground Support, first home for the home team in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf.

Blame" width="601" height="437" /> Blame | Sara Gordon

VALUE PODIUM

Bronze: BLAME
Arch–Liable (Seeking the Gold)
$25,000 Claiborne

Though now entering the veteran stage, in turning 20, Blame remains a precocious achiever as a distaff influence. In 2025, his daughters were represented by 199 starters–compared with 776 for champion broodmare sire Tapit–of which four won Grade I races.

While it remains easier to recognize the phenomenon of a broodmare sire than to account for it, it has been clear for a while now that this horse is an essential option for anyone who wouldn't mind hanging onto a filly. And little wonder: the underrated Arch was himself from a noble line, and Blame blends it with none other than Special (Forli {Arg}) as third dam.

Of course, Blame is a thoroughly competent sire of runners in his own right. In 2025 he notched his seventh elite scorer, over in Europe, while GII Oak Leaf Stakes winner Explora only narrowly failed to reel in the winner in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. His current tally of 54 stakes winners and 25 at graded level represent extremely solid ratios: 6.5 and 3.0 percent of named foals. That puts him essentially level with Constitution and Twirling Candy, to name just two sires too excellent to be embarrassed by the comparison.

And, guess what? While Blame's book of 73 last spring implies that not everyone is keeping the faith quite so resolutely, his growing reputation as a broodmare sire is quietly converting him, fairly late into his career, into a more commercial proposition.

Of 43 yearlings offered from his latest crop, 36 sold at a solid average of $83,215. Admittedly the median was lower, at $57,500–but that is itself instructive. The fact is that enough people have now cottoned onto Blame's particular strength to contest his nicer fillies quite avidly. Though the most expensive of the crop, at $475,000, was actually a colt, the next seven (between $110,000 and $370,000) were all fillies. Stick or twist, race or sell, at least half the time Blame can be a win-win scenario.

Silver: UPSTART
Flatter–Party Silks (Touch Gold)
$25,000 Airdrie

A solitary graded stakes winner for Upstart this year doesn't begin to tell the story about a horse going places every bit as purposefully as his witty naming suggests.

When on the bubble, in 2020, he had just 27 live foals. But then his second crop disclosed the talent he had imparted to Zandon and others–especially as sophomores in 2022, when Upstart matched Not This Time and Nyquist in the third-crop table with three Grade I performers apiece–and his fee the following spring was hoisted from $10,000 to $30,000.

That trajectory has been reflected in his yearling returns: $42,071 in 2023, $67,564 in 2024, and this time round a stellar $108,477 for the graduates of that upgraded book. That was for 66 sold, of 82 offered, and the median was milder at $70,000: but you're obviously looking at a mixed bag, still bred at a budget fee, and the nicer ones completed home runs as high as $650,000, £425,000 and $350,000.

Upstart | Sarah Andrew

Even ahead of their arrival on the racetrack, things already appear to be afoot. Of Upstart's eight stakes winners in 2025, five were juveniles–including triple Grade I-placed Percy's Bar.

As it stands, Upstart's 25 black-type scorers to date represent 6.7 percent of named foals. By the restrained standards of his exemplary farm, his book has basically been fully subscribed for the past four years, with another 147 paying this fee last spring–appreciating a mild clip pending the new cycle of success that now feels imminent.

Gold: HARD SPUN
Danzig–Turkish Tryst (Turkoman)
$20,000 Darley

Okay, so he has never really won over the ringside speculators. But that's their problem, not his. Of 68 yearlings offered in 2025, 54 retailed at just under $50,000 (median $40,500) off a conception fee of $35,000. And that's probably not going to change, after a fairly sedate year on the track as well–at least by his standards–with eight stakes winners, including three at graded level, from 307 starters.

But. But. But… Twenty grand! For a sire whose lifetime bank is exceeded, among the Kentucky competition, only by Into Mischief, Tapit, Curlin and Candy Ride (Arg). For the sire of a dozen elite winners in the Northern Hemisphere, besides three others in Australia. For the sire of four sons at stud in Kentucky. For the last available short cut (besides War Front, now private) to his breed-shaping sire Danzig. One of just 28 foals in the patriarch's final crop, he taps directly into a seam of gold meanwhile diluted by all the thousands of mares wasted on failed stallions.

For a horse to have achieved so much, and only once to have charged even as much as he did in his debut season, is a weird reflection on the commercial breeding era. He was tremendous value, for anyone trying to put a hard-knocking winner under their mare, at $35,000 in 2024. To have now taken his second cut since will keep his loyal clientele returning, even as he turns 22, in incredulous gratitude.

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Diane Crump, the first female to ride a pari-mutuel race and also the first female to ride in the GI Kentucky Derby, passed away Thursday evening after battling an aggressive form of brain cancer. She was 77. The news was confirmed by Crump's family on social media Friday via her GoFundMe.

According to Equibase, Crump rode only 228 winners in a career that spanned 1969 through 1988. But her mark on the sport goes well beyond the number of races she won. Female jockeys were widely rejected in the late sixties. It got so bad that when she left the jockeys room at Hialeah to ride in her first ever race on Feb. 7, 1969, she had to have a police escort to make it to the paddock.

After she received clearance to ride a horse named Bridle 'n Bit in the race at Hialeah, six male jockeys took off their mounts. That a female was riding in a horse race was such an oddity that she was mobbed by reporters from newspapers and television stations and photographers. The horse finished 10th, but Crump received a positive review in the New York Times, which noted, “Even the most bitter opponents of girl riders had to admit she looked good on Bridle 'n Bit.”

She was determined to win the fight and gain acceptance, which eventually happened. She was not one to give up easily.

“I was just so excited that I was finally going to get to ride a race,” Crump told the Louisville Courier-Journal in 2020. “I read all the negative press, but I just never let that negative press deter me.”

In 1970, she recorded another milestone, becoming the first female jockey to ride in the GI Kentucky Derby. She finished 15th aboard a horse named Fathom.

“It wasn't that big of a deal in the Derby because he was a longshot,” Crump told writer Bob Ehalt in 2017. “There were some things written about it, but I had been riding for a year and people knew I was capable so there wasn't a big deal made of it. Yet to me it was a dream you always have if you're a jockey. Just to go through that experience gave me one of the greatest feelings you could ever imagine. Just the fact that I was there meant so much to me.”

She said that in time the threats and harassment started to disappear. It also helped that other female riders were following her path and taking out a jockey license.

“A lot of the harassment and most of the issues occurred before I ever got to ride,” Crump told the TDN in 2020. “The first two or three months were the worst. At the Derby, it was a little over a year since I started and by then, things had calmed down. I was fairly well received in Kentucky, more so than in other states. There was less dissension. After the first several months it died down so far as the male jockeys went. It wasn't perfect, but it definitely improved.”

Crump said that, eventually, getting mounts was not a problem. But getting the assignment on horses that had a chance was.

“I think I was a very good rider,” she told the TDN. “I won races I never should have won. I think I rode a good race and I had the potential to be a really good rider. I never got to show it because I was never put on a top horse. I won races on horses that paid $100, horses that were 99-1. I beat top riders coming down to the wire. You need to ride a certain amount of horses to get proficient at it. It took longer for me because of how few horses I got to ride. That my biggest disappointment.”

Crump retired in 1988, but her work had already been done. She was the one that led the way for a generation of talented female riders, including Hall of Famer Julie Krone, Rosie Napravnik and Donna Barton Brothers.

“Those pioneer women jockeys are my idols,” Jacqueline Davis, who has been a jockey since 2008, told Ehat. “They had to have a lot of courage. I don't know if I could have gone through what they did and made it as a jockey back then.”

In 2020, she released her autobiography “Diane Crump: A Horse Racing Pioneer's Life in the Saddle.” It was co-authored by Mark Shrager.

After her retirement, Crump settled in Virginia, where she operated Diane Crump: Equine Sales, Inc., an equine sales business.

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