accelerate | Horse Racing Free Tips

What Was Your Favorite Moment of 2023: Rob Willis

As 2023 draws to a close, the TDN is asking industry members to name their favorite moment of the year. Send yours to suefinley@thetdn.com

It was an exciting year at the Horse Park in 2023 at the Hall of Champions. It was a bit sad during the summer that we lost two great Thoroughbreds in Hall of Famer Point Given and dual Classic-winning Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide, but we were recently able to add two Breeders' Cup winners in Roy H–a two-time Breeders' Cup Sprint winner and two-time Eclipse Award winner–and Accelerate, one of the more exciting horses of the last 10 years, a five-time Grade I winner who won almost $7 million.

They were added at the park here in December and are settling in, getting ready for 2024.

Rob Willis is Supervisor at the Kentucky Horse Park's Hall of Champions

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Breeders’ Cup 40: From Accelerate to Zenyatta

The Breeders' Cup 40 project began as a special tribute looking back at 40 individual winners in the 40 days leading up to the 40th anniversary of racing's championship day, but it grew into more than that. Of course, it's beyond wonderful to reawaken the excitement of those championship wins and revisit these amazing horses today through brand-new photos. We thought we would simply catch up with these Breeders' Cup horses through some gorgeous images, but it really ended up as a celebration of how these living champions have impacted the lives of the people who care for them.

What we have learned is that although each race each year has just one winner–except for that dead heat in the 2003 Turf–so many people go along for the ride.

It's impossible to count how many people each individual horse touches, whether it's someone like Vicky Van Camp at Darley who sneaks Midshipman apple slices or Price Bell at Mill Ridge who shared how much a winner inspired a tour guest from his childhood cancer hospital bed or Larry McGinnis at WinStar whose affection for Tiznow is palpable or Veronica Reed at Three Chimneys who so eloquently said Gun Runner “reminds us that this industry is about the horse.”

What became clear throughout this project is it's not just the public faces associated with these horses when they win the Breeders' Cup who are impacted. It's all the people ever associated with a Breeders' Cup winner, from the foaling person who helps pull them out of their dam to the exercise rider on the racetrack to the grooms and handlers and watchmen and administrative staff who care for them today and even their fans.

Breeders' Cup: Celebrating 40 Years of the Breeders' Cup from Thoroughbred Daily News on Vimeo.

Often we have fixed images in our minds of these horses during their racing days, when they're at peak fitness, in racing shape, and young and fiery. But as the years pass, the stallions fill out, the broodmares get permanent bellies, the grays become white, and quiet time on the farm often mellows even the fiercest of competitors. Knowing nothing but a lifetime of top care, these horses positively glow with good health, the assurance of having every need met, and the confidence they are champions.

What struck us as we saw each horse and spoke with their connections is the love and adoration each one has inspired. It is often said that 'a rising tide lifts all boats.' That's what these Breeders' Cup-winning horses are, an unstoppable swell that elevates everyone around them. This 40 years and 40 days of Breeders' Cup winners project may have started as a way to celebrate Breeders' Cup horses, but it's also about how the lives of all the people connected with a Breeders' Cup winner are impacted by these remarkable horses. We've seen that in the memories connections have shared with us that we've published alongside their photos and we can see that in the pride their handlers take when presenting them for photos.

We're thrilled we were able to showcase more than 40 former Breeders' Cup winners in the TDN in the 40 days leading up to this year's event. It was through the lens of photographer Sarah Andrew that we all got the privilege of seeing this tremendous collection of Breeders' Cup winners as they appear today. We hope you've enjoyed seeing them as much as we've enjoyed sharing them.

More Breeders' Cup winners will be added to racing's annals this year. In the meantime, as we appreciate these magnificent athletes, may they also remind us of the hard-working people behind them and how lucky we all are to love these horses and this sport.

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Catching Up with 2018 Breeders’ Cup Classic Winner Accelerate

One of the biggest stories going into the 2018 Breeders' Cup was trainer John Sadler's 0-41 record on racing's championship day. Accelerate, whose five for six already on the year included four Grade Is in California, succinctly put all that babble to rest with his win in the biggest race on the card.

“What stands out to me with Accelerate was the year he had that culminated in the Breeders' Cup Classic,” said Sadler. “He won, what, four or five Grade Is that year. So, he had just a fabulous year and he went to Churchill Downs as the favorite and he ran his race. It was just the thrill of one of the biggest days of my career. My first Breeders' Cup win. They hashed me over the coals because I hadn't, until then, hit the big one. It was a great day.”

Accelerate (2013 chestnut horse, Lookin At Lucky–Issues, by Awesome Again)

Lifetime record: Ch. older male, MGISW, 23-10-5-6, $6,692,480

Breeders' Cup connections: B-Mike Abraham (KY); O-Hronis Racing LLC; T-John Sadler; J-Joel Rosario.

Current location: Lane's End Farm, Versailles, Ky.

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What’s In a Name: Tiz Tok and A Mo Reay

4th-Santa Anita, Mcl, 2-17, 3yo, 1m.
TIZ TOK (r, 3, Tiznow–Weekend Prospect, by A.P. Indy). Lifetime Record: 4-1-0-0, $26,568. O-Hronis Racing. B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-John W. Sadler.
As a play on words under the times we live in, naming a horse by Tiznow Tiz Tok simply is masterly, no doubt about it.

BEHOLDER MILE S.-GI, $501,500, Santa Anita, 3-11, 4yo/up, f/m, 1m.
A MO REAY, 122, f, 4, Uncle Mo-Margaret Reay, by Pioneerof the Nile). Lifetime Record: 12-5-1-3, $692,650. O-Hunter Valley Farm; B-T & G Farm of Kentucky LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.
Not only is A Mo Reay a clever blend of two parts of a name (sire Uncle Mo and dam Margaret Reay), it also has assonance with the word Amore, so it is wordplay–pun or calembour–resonating name combination (with possibly a little touch of an indefinite article in front of it). Literary-award level brilliance, for me. And we are talking about a Grade I winner, so the Gods like the name.

7th-Oaklawn, Msw, 3-17, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m.
EXPONENTIAL STAR (f, 3, Accelerate–Star Number, by Polish Numbers). O-Ten Strike Racing; B-A. Leonard Pineau (MD); T-Lindsay Schultz.
One can find many different definitions of “exponential” online (many heavy on mathematics…), but I like this one of the many from Google: (of an increase) becoming more and more rapid. Therefore, the name of the Oaklawn 3-17 female winner Exponential Star is spot on. Actually, in that race she came from behind and was “clear at the wire”, so she fully deserves the name.

3rd-Chukyo, 1-15, Newcomers, 3yo, 1800m.
KISS ON THE CHEEK (JPN) (f, 3, Curlin–Eskimo Kisses {GISW, $711,102}, by To Honor and Serve). O-Shadai Race Horse Co Ltd; B-Shadai Farm (Jpn); T-Mikio Matsunaga.
Maybe rubbing noses to signify affection is just a cute necessity for Eskimos, in reason of the freezing weather. In any case, a U.S.-conceived but Japan-based winning 3-year-old filly out of the famous and excellent Kenny McPeek-trained Grade I-winning mare Eskimo Kisses has graduated to the more temperate name of Kiss on the Cheek. You gotta be looking forward to more progeny out of the dam: love will save the day, as the popular song goes.

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