Tag: Corey Nakatani

Three Champs Lead Class of 2023 into Hall of Fame

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Co-owner and co-breeder Steve Coburn was a quotable presence during California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit)'s fine career and delivered again Friday when the California-bred was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame.

Champions California Chrome, Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) and Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro), all in their first year of eligibility, joined jockey Corey Nakatani in the contemporary class of 2023. Fernando Toro was selected by the Historic Review Committee. Three people–the late John Hanes II, the late Leonard Jerome and Stella F. Thayer–were inducted as Pillars of the Turf in the ceremony at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion.

Award-winning journalist Edward Bowen, a museum trustee who has chaired a number of Hall of Fame committees, was presented with the inaugural Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Award for his contributions to the museum.

With his big cowboy hat in hand, Coburn accepted for California Chrome, winner of the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Preakness S. and G1 Dubai World Cup and a two-time Horse of the Year. California Chrome won 16 of 27 starts, a total of seven Grade I races and earned $14,752,650.

Coburn thanked the horse for taking him and his wife in a remarkable journey over five seasons. He praised the work of trainer Art Sherman and his son and assistant Alan, and the staff, who he named, for the way they developed and handled the horse.

California Chrome's story–from his modest breeding, to difficulty the mare Love the Chase had with his foaling, to his personality and his connections–blended nicely with his success on the track and produced a legion of fans who called themselves “Chromies.”

“The mare had problems giving birth to Chrome, so as a baby, he was in the stall with the mare,” Coburn said. “He wasn't turned out with the rest of them. The only time he got to play with anybody was when they came to check on him. That's how come he became so loveable to people. He just liked people. I don't know how to express the love that people gave this horse. The Chromies are here. They've come in from all over the place, you know. Thank you.”

As he moved to the end of his remarks, Coburn, hesitated for a moment to control his emotions.

“Last but not least, I would like to thank that little nervous filly, Love the Chase,” he said. “Without her we wouldn't have Chrome and for Chrome to be inducted into the Hall of Fame it's indescribable. Just like winning the Kentucky Derby. This is a good way to say that story has come to an end. I told Laffit Pincay, III after he won the Santa Anita Derby, 'Mark my words. This horse is going to go down in history.' And today's the day. Period.”

Nakatani, 52, was the final inductee on the program. He came to the sport as a teenager with no background with horses, but fashioned an outstanding 31-year career. He won 3,909 races; 10 of his 341 graded stakes wins came in the Breeders' Cup. His $234,554,534 in purse earnings ranks 14th.

To describe his attitude and determination, Nakatani told the story of what he did in a game of youth football. He said he weighed about 58 pounds at the time and was told by his coach to run around a defensive player to score a touchdown. Instead, he decided to try to run over the other player and was stopped on the two-yard line.

“Long story short, that was the first time that I was told not to do something and was like 'I better just go it.' That tells my career in a nutshell,” he said as the audience roared.

Nakatani was built to be a jockey, and, despite his lack of experience, he developed the skill needed to succeed against the odds on the tough Southern California circuit.

“The guys I was riding against were Gary Stevens, Chris McCarron, Laffit Pincay,  all these Hall of Fame riders,” he said. “I was very fortunate to have an opportunity to ride with them and take a lot of learning from all of it. Sandy Hawley. Alex Solis. All the guys that I had the chance to ride with, even the King of Saratoga, Angel (Cordero, Jr.). These guys have a special place in my heart.”

Toro, 82, did not make the cross-continent trip from his home in California and will be honored at Del Mar. The native of Chile, was a top rider in his home country before moving to California in 1966. He retired in 1990 with North America totals of 3,555 victories and purse earnings of $56,299,765. He won 80 graded stakes. At the time of his retirement, he was sixth in stakes wins at Del Mar, eighth at Hollywood Park and tied for eighth at Santa Anita.

During the ceremony, a video was shown of how California turf writers Jay Hovdey and Jay Privman told Toro that he had been elected to the Hall of Fame.

Arrogate, trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, showed that he had the makings of a superstar in the 2016 GI Travers just down the street from the sales pavilion at Saratoga Race Course. In his first graded stakes attempt, he won by 13 1/2 lengths and broke a 37-year-old track record for 1 1/4 miles. He went on to win the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, edging California Chrome, the 2017 GI Pegasus World Cup and the 2017 Dubai World Cup in a seven-race win streak. The gray colt owned by Juddmonte Farm retired with a record $17,422,600 in purse earnings.

Dr. John Chandler accepted on behalf of Juddmonte Farms, the racing powerhouse launched by the late Saudi Prince Khalid bin Abdullah.

“It's very sad that Prince Khalid himself unfortunately passed away a couple of years ago,” Chandler said. “He would have liked to have been here and appreciate the recognition.”

Arrogate was a departure from the norm for Prince Khalid's international stable.

“For many years at Juddmonte, we had a lot of turf horses, because our racing started in England,” Chandler said. “We were going through a bad spell after our trainer Bobby Frankel passed away. The Prince had been looking through all the results, week after week, and he said, 'This man in California, Bob Baffert, is doing very well isn't he, training a lot of winners. Why don't we send him some horses?'”

Since Baffert mainly trained dirt horses, Chandler said the turf horses bred by Juddmonte would not be a good fit. He said the Prince said, 'So, we'll buy some dirt horses.' The trainer and Garrett (O'Rourke, Juddmonte's U.S. manager), went to the sales and they bought some horses, some nice, expensive dirt horses. One of them turned out to be Arrogate. That brought the Prince more pleasure than anything else that I'd seen in a long time. We're very grateful to the Hall of Fame committee to take our horse. All I can say is thank you.”

Songbird, owned by the late Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farm, started her career with 11 consecutive victories and retired in 2017 with a record of 13 wins and two seconds from 15 starts. Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, she secured Grade I victories at two, three and four and earned $4,692,000.

“In her 15 races, it took being a champion to beat Songbird,” said Fox Hill manager Victoria Keith. “She lost, finishing second twice, to Beholder and champion Forever Unbridled.”

Keith described Songbird as a talented but laid-back filly.

“You often hear that great racehorses have a fiery side and this contributes to them being a great race horse,” she said. “You particularly hear this about speed horses. Songbird was a speed horse but she had no fiery side. She's a sweet, loving and gentle horse.”

Keith and Porter's widow, Betsy, accepted Songbird's plaque.

“We are so pleased that Songbird is being inducted into the Hall of Fame,” Keith said. “We consider it not only an honor for Songbird, but also for Rick Porter and Fox Hill Farm. It is bittersweet because we dearly wish that it was Rick on the stage today.”

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Nakatani Headlines 2023 Hall of Fame Class

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – At the very least, Aug. 4 will always be a mighty important day in jockey Corey Nakatani's life. For good and bad reasons, but memorable nonetheless.

Exactly, five years after he earned his final victory then suffered career-ending injuries in a spill at Del Mar, Nakatani will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame on Friday morning at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion. The event, which is open to the public, begins at 10:30 a.m.

Nakatani, 52, is a member of the Class of 2023 elected in the contemporary category with three champion horses all in their first year of eligibility: Arrogate (Unbridled's Song), California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) and Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro). Jockey Fernando Toro was elected by the Historic Review Committee. The Pillars of the Turf honorees are John Hanes II, Leonard Jerome, and Stella F. Thayer.

During his freshman year in high school, Nakatani made a visit to Santa Anita Park with his father and discovered the sport that would become his life's work. Soon after, he found a job working around horses, went to jockey school and began building toward a career as a jockey. He made his professional debut at the Stockton Fair in June 1988 at the age of 17, had a couple of mounts at Del Mar and headed south to Aqua Caliente in Mexico, where he picked up his first victory.

In January 1989, Nakatani started riding at Santa Anita and grew into a top rider on the Southern California circuit, winning 10 titles. He won 3,909 races with purse earnings of $234,554,534. Nakatani's resume is topped by 341 graded stakes victories, including 10 in Breeders' Cup races. He ranks No. 14 in career earnings and 11 times finished in the top 10 of annual earnings nationally. The Covina, California native ranks in the top 10 in overall wins and stakes wins at both Santa Anita and Del Mar.

The long list of the accomplishments earned Nakatani a spot in the Hall of Fame, where he will take his place among racing's all-time greats.

“I'm excited about it,” he said. “Obviously, you want to thank a lot of people. There's a lot of trainers you were involved with, but at the end of the day it's for your family. There was a lot of the time you were away from them, at work riding races.

“It's all glamorous and everything, but it's a lot of hard work out there. Dreams come true. If you work hard enough and you're able to be successful at it, then being in the Hall of Fame is once in a lifetime.”

Though he had no background in the sport, Nakatani was the ideal size for be a jockey–he said he weighed 89 pounds as a freshman wrestler–was very athletic and fiercely competitive. Those attributes helped him find success competing against a slew of Hall of Fame riders based in Southern California. He said he went to school on what that gifted group of riders did every day and said Laffit Pincay, Jr. was his idol and mentor.

“To me, he's the best strongest finisher on a horse,” Nakatani said. “When I when I was learning to ride I took a little bit from Laffit, a little bit of Eddie D. [Delahoussaye], a little bit of Chris McCarron, a little bit of Gary Stevens, and [Bill] Shoemaker and put it into one rider. That's the way my mentality was.”

Toro, 82, was a top rider in his native Chile before moving to California in 1966. He retired in 1990 with North America totals of 3,555 victories and purse earnings of $56,299,765. He won 80 graded stakes. At the time of his retirement, he was sixth in stakes wins at Del Mar, eighth at Hollywood Park and tied for eighth at Santa Anita.

Though based in Southern California, Toro won major races all over the United States and in Canada. In Nov. 1983, Toro took over as the regular rider of Royal Heroine for British-born, California-based  trainer John Gosden. A Hall of Fame inductee in 2022, Royal Heroine flourished with Toro up, winning a division of the Hollywood Derby, the Inglewood, the Beverly Hills Handicap, the inaugural Breeders' Cup Mile, and the Matriarch.

Arrogate seized national and international attention on Aug. 27, 2016 when he won the GI Travers S. at Saratoga–his first graded-stakes start–by 13 1/2 lengths with a track-record time of 1:59.36. The Bob Baffert trainee went from that Travers triumph to a half-length victory over California Chrome in a memorable GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The Juddmonte colt easily won the inaugural running of the GI Pegasus World Cup in January 2017, over a field that included California Chrome, and the GI Dubai World Cup in March 2017. He retired at the end of the 2017 season with record earnings of $17,422,600.

“I'll always be remembered for training the only two Triple Crown winners since the 1970s,” Baffert said, “but if Arrogate had made it to the track early enough as a 3-year-old there is a very good chance I would have trained a third. Stride for stride, furlong for furlong, from gate to wire, Arrogate was every bit as good as American Pharaoh and Justify.

In the Dubai World Cup, Arrogate extended his winning streak to seven despite a terrible start that left him at the back of the field of 14. Though Arrogate typically used his speed early in his races, Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith did not panic and gave the colt a patient ride. He made his way into contention and managed to beat Gun Runner by 2 1/4 lengths.

Baffert, a 2009 Hall of Fame inductee, called it the “greatest performance of any horse I ever trained.”

Arrogate was the 3-year-old male Eclipse Award winner and was named the Longines World's Best Racehorse of 2016.

California Chrome, a two-time Horse of the Year, had a great story to go with his remarkable success on the track. The California-bred rose from modest beginnings in state-bred company as a 2-year-old in 2013 to win the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness for trainer Art Sherman. He fell short of the Triple Crown sweep with a fourth-place finish in the GI Belmont S. In 2015, he was second in the Dubai World Cup. Healthy and in top form again in 2016, he won the Dubai World Cup, the GI Pacific Classic and the GI Awesome Again.

When California Chrome was retired after the Pegasus World Cup, he had two divisional titles to go with his pair of Horse of the Year awards, was a Grade I winner on dirt and turf, had 16 wins in 27 starts and earnings of $14,752,650.

Songbird was never worse than second in 15 starts for Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms. She was good from the start of her 2-year-old season in July 2015, and won 11-consecutive races. Among those scores were Grade I wins in the Del Mar Debutante, the Chandelier, the Breeder's Cup Juvenile Fillies, the Santa Anita Oaks, the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama. Her streak ended in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Distaff where she lost by a nose to Beholder–elected to the Hall of Fame last year–in an epic showdown.

Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, Songbird was a two-time Eclipse Award winner who earned $4,692,00 on the track.

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California Chrome, Arrogate, Nakatani Among Eight in Hall of Fame Class of 2023

Eight new members have been elected this year to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame class of 2023. Jockeys Corey Nakatani and Fernando Toro, via the Historic Review Committee, join racehorses Arrogate (Unbridled's Song), California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit), and Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro) each in their first year of eligibility. Pillars of the Turf selections this year are John W. Hanes II, Leonard W. Jerome, and Stella F. Thayer.

The late Arrogate, whose bankroll of $17,422,600 still ranks him as North America's wealthiest racehorse of all time, won the Eclipse Award for 3-Year-Old Male in 2016. Overall the gray Juddmonte Farms homebred won four Grade/Group I races in the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. He was unraced as a 2-year-old and broke his maiden in his second career start in 2016 and in his first stakes appearance set a track record of 1:59.36 when winning the GI Travers S. by 13 1/2 lengths, the only time in Saratoga history a horse has gone 10 furlongs on the dirt in less than two minutes. He also won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita and set a Gulfstream Park dirt record of 1:46.83 in the 1/8-mile GI Pegasus World Cup in his 4-year-old debut. He then captured the GI Dubai World Cup to become the all-time earnings leader. Arrogate was retired with a record of 7-1-1 from 11 starts.

California Chrome | Benoit

California Chrome won Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year in 2014 and 2016, as well as champion 3-Year-Old Male in 2014 and champion Older Male in 2016. Trained by Art Sherman for Perry Martin and Steve Coburn, and later Taylor Made Farm, California Chrome won a total of 10 graded/group stakes including the Kentucky Derby, Preakness S., Santa Anita Derby, and Hollywood Derby in his first Horse of the Year campaign in 2014. In 2016, he surpassed Hall of Famer Curlin for the North American earnings record, which was subsequently broken by Arrogate. Overall, California Chrome won at seven different tracks retired with a career line of 27-16-4-1, $14,752,650. He now stands at Arrow Stud in Japan.

Songbird | Chris Rahayel

Songbird won Eclipse Awards for champion 2-Year-Old Filly in 2015 and champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2016. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer for the late Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms, Songbird won the first 11 races of her career, including Grade I victories in the Del Mar Debutante, Chandelier, Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Santa Anita Oaks, Coaching Club American Oaks, Alabama, and Cotillion. As a 4-year-old she also won consecutive Grade Is in the Ogden Phipps and Delaware H. Overall, Songbird posted a record of 13-2-0 from 15 starts and earned $4,692,000.

Nakatani, 52, won 3,909 races with purse earnings of $234,554,534 million in a career that spanned from 1988 to 2018. He ranks 14th all time in career earnings and won 341 graded stakes. Nakatani won 10 Breeders' Cup races (one of only 10 riders to do so), including four editions of the Sprint. He won three riding titles at Del Mar, two at Santa Anita and one at Hollywood Park, as well as four Oak Tree meetings. Nakatani won a record 19 stakes during the 2006-2007 Santa Anita meet, breaking the track's previous single-meet record held by Hall of Famer Laffit Pincay, Jr. He ranks eighth all time in stakes wins at Santa Anita with 134 and ninth in overall wins at there with 1,075. He also stands second all-time at Del Mar with 108 stakes wins and sixth in overall wins with 705.

Corey Nakatani | Benoit

Chilean native Fernando Toro won 3,555 for earnings of $56,299,765 during his career, which began in North America in 1966 and ended upon his retirement in 1990. Before arriving in America, Toro won three editions of the prestigious Gran Premio, as well as the 1964 Clasico St. Leger, a race in the Chilean Triple Crown series. Based in Southern California, Toro won 80 graded stakes in North America and at the time of his retirement, ranked in the top 10 in stakes wins at all three major Southern California tracks. Outside of California he won a number of graded stakes as well, including the GI Apple Blossom, GI Arlington Million and GI Ashland S. Among his most notable mounts include fellow Hall of Famers Royal Heroine (Lypheor {GB}), Manila (Lyphard) and Ancient Title (Gummo).

 

 

 

Navy veteran John W. Hanes II (1892–1987), with his wife Hope Hanes, campaigned runners in the U.S., England, and Ireland. On his own or in partnership, Hanes bred 19 stakes winners, including the champion Idun (Royal Charger). He also played a key role in the revitalization of New York racing in the 1950s and was elected a steward of The Jockey Club in 1953, tasked to chair a special committee to improve New York's tracks and quality of racing. He also assisted in securing $109 million to revitalize Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga and helped pass legislation to establish the management corporation that eventually became the New York Racing Association where he served as the organization's president from 1954 through 1960 before transitioning to the role of NYRA chairman. He remained a NYRA
trustee until 1973.

Attorney Leonard W. Jerome (1818–1891) was a driving force in the creation of three major racetracks in the New York City area and helped establish the American Jockey Club (not affiliated with the modern Jockey Club). He served as the first vice president of Saratoga Race Course upon its opening in 1864. In 1866, Jerome bought the 230-acre estate and mansion of James Bathgate in what was then rural Westchester County, N.Y. where he and August Belmont I built Jerome Park and held the inaugural Belmont Stakes there in 1867, where it remained until 1890. Other key races inaugurated at Jerome Park include the Champagne S., Juvenile S. and Ladies H. The Jerome H., first run in 1866, was named in his honor and is one of the oldest stakes races in America.

Stella Thayer | Emma Berry

Stella F. Thayer, 82, purchased Tampa Bay Downs with her brother, Howell Ferguson, in 1986 and still serves as the track's president. She was elected as the ninth president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2005, the first woman to hold the position in the institution's history, and served in the role until 2014. She is a member of the Florida, New Jersey, and New York Bar Associations. In 1986, Thayer named controller Lorraine M. King as general manager, the first time in turf history a Thoroughbred track had separate female ownership and management. In 1990, Tampa Bay Downs became the first track in Florida to accept a simulcast signal. She is also a past president of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations. As an owner, her 2-year-old Wonderment (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in 2018 became the first filly in 14 years to win the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in France.

The 2023 Hall of Fame class will be enshrined on Friday, Aug. 4, at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Saratoga Springs at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be broadcast live on the Museum website. The event is open to the public and free to attend.

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2023 Hall of Fame Finalists Announced

North America's richest horse Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) is among the nine equine finalists for the 2023 National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame class. Additionally, six trainers and one jockey account for the 16 total individuals who will make up the ballot, which will be chosen by the Museum's Hall of Fame Nominating Committee.

The other finalists are Blind Luck (Pollard's Vision), California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit), Game On Dude (Awesome Again), Havre de Grace (Saint Liam), Kona Gold (Java Gold), Lady Eli (Divine Park), Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy), and Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro); trainers Christophe Clement, Kiaran McLaughlin, Graham Motion, Doug O'Neill, John Sadler, and John Shirreffs; and jockey Corey Nakatani.

Hall of Fame voters may select as many or as few candidates as they believe are worthy of induction to the Hall of Fame. All candidates that receive 50 percent plus one vote (majority approval) from the voting panel will be elected to the Hall of Fame. All of the finalists were required to receive support from two-thirds of the 15-member Nominating Committee to qualify for the ballot. Ballots will be mailed to the Hall of Fame voting panel this week and the results of the voting on the contemporary candidates will be announced on Tuesday, Apr. 25. That announcement will also include this year's selections by the Museum's Historic Review and Pillars of the Turf committees.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, trainers must be licensed for 25 years, while jockeys must be licensed for 20 years. Thoroughbreds are required to be retired for five calendar years. All candidates must have been active within the past 25 years. The 20- and 25-year requirements for jockeys and trainers, respectively, may be waived at the discretion of the Museum's Executive Committee. Candidates not active within the past 25 years are eligible through the Historic Review process.

The late Arrogate, whose bankroll of $17,422,600 ranks him as North America's wealthiest racehorse of all time, won the Eclipse Award for 3-Year-Old Male in 2016 and holds the North American record for highest career earnings with $17,422,600. Overall the gray Juddmonte Farms homebred won four Grade/Group I races in the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. He was unraced as a 2-year-old and broke his maiden in his second career start in 2016 and in his first stakes appearance set a track record of 1:59.36 when winning the GI Travers S. by 13 1/2 lengths, the only time in Saratoga history a horse has gone 10 furlongs on the dirt in less than two minutes. He also won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita and set a Gulfstream Park dirt record of 1:46.83 in the 1/8-mile GI Pegasus World Cup in his 4-year-old debut. He then captured the GI Dubai World Cup to become the all-time earnings leader. Arrogate was retired with a record of 7-1-1 from 11 starts. This is his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame.

Blind Luck won the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old filly in 2010. Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer and co-owned by Hollendorfer in partnership with Mark DeDomenico LLC, John Carver, and Peter Abruzzo, Blind Luck earned $3,279,520 from a career line of of 22-12-7-2 and earnings racing from 2009 through 2011. She won a total of 10 graded stakes, including six Grade Is: the Kentucky Oaks, Oak Leaf S., Hollywood Starlet S., Las Virgenes S., Alabama S., and Vanity H.

Havre de Grace won the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and champion older female in 2011. She was trained Anthony Dutrow at ages 2 and 3 and by Larry Jones thereafter. She was campaigned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms throughout her career. She was second to champion and fellow finalist Blind Luck in the GII Delaware Oaks and Alabama S. in 2010 and earned her first graded stakes victory later that year in the GII Cotillion. In her 2011 Horse of the Year campaign, she beat Blind Luck in the GIII Azeri and went on to win Grade Is in the Apple Blossom, Woodward against the boys and Beldame. She made one start as a 5-year-old in 2012 to win the listed New Orleans Ladies' S. and was retired with a career record of 16-9-4-2 and earnings of $2,586,175.

Kona Gold | Sarah K. Andrew

Kona Gold won the Eclipse Award as champion sprinter in 2000 and set a six-furlong track record at Churchill Downs when he won the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. Campaigned by the partnership of trainer Bruce Headley, Irwin and Andrew Molasky, Michael Singh, et al, Kona Gold raced from 1998 through 2003 with a record of 30-14-7-2 and earnings of $2,293,384. He set a track record for 5 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita and won a total of 10 graded stakes, including the Grade I San Carlos H. He retired in 2003 and served as Headley's stable pony for a few years before being sent to the Kentucky Horse Park's Hall of Champions until he died in 2009.

Rags to Riches won the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old filly in 2007, a campaign highlighted by an historic victory in the GI Belmont S. She was trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher for owners Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith and broke her maiden in her second career start at Santa Anita to begin a five-race win streak, including four Grade 1s–Las Virgenes S., Santa Anita Oaks, Kentucky Oaks and the Belmont, where she defeated two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. She retired with a record of 7-5-1-0 and earnings of $1,342,528.

California Chrome won Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year in 2014 and 2016, as well as champion 3-Year-Old Male in 2014 and champion Older Male in 2016. Trained by Art Sherman for Perry Martin and Steve Coburn, and later Taylor Made Farm, California Chrome won a total of 10 graded/group stakes including the Kentucky Derby, Preakness S., Santa Anita Derby, and Hollywood Derby in his first Horse of the Year campaign in 2014. In 2016, he surpassed Hall of Famer Curlin for the North American earnings record, which was subsequently broken by Arrogate. Overall, California Chrome won at seven different tracks retired with a career line of 27-16-4-1, $14,752,650. is his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame and after a few years at stud in Kentucky, stands at Arrow Stud in Japan.

Game on Dude | Horsephotos

Game On Dude won 14 graded stakes over his five-year career from 2010 to 2014, including eight Grade Is., he compiled a record. He was owned by the partnership of Joe Torre's Diamond Pride LLC, Lanni Family Trust, Mercedes Stable LLC, and Bernie Schiappa and trained by Baffert. He is the only horse to win the Santa Anita H. three times (2011, 2013, 2014), setting a stakes record in the 2014 edition by covering 1 1/4 miles in 1:58.17. Game On Dude also won the GI Hollywood Gold Cup and GII San Antonio S. twice each, as well as single editions of the GI Pacific Classic, GII Californian S., GII Charles Town Classic, GIII Lone Star Derby, and GIII Native Diver S. In 2013, Game On Dude swept the three signature Grade 1 races for older horses in California–the Santa Anita H., Hollywood Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic — becoming only the second horse to win those three events in a single year, joining Hall of Famer Lava Man. He retired with a career line of 34- 16-7-1 and earnings of $6,498,893. He is currently a resident at Old Friends in Kentucky.

Lady Eli, who was trained by Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown, won the 2017 Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Female. She won her first six starts, including Grade I victories in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and 2015 Belmont Oaks. And after suriving a year-long battle with she returned in 2016 to win the GI Flower Bowl and finish second in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. She retired with a record of 14-10-3-0 from 14 starts with earnings of $2,959,800. This is her first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame.

Songbird | Coady Photography

Songbird won Eclipse Awards for champion 2-Year-Old Filly in 2015 and champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2016. Trained by Jerry Hollendorfer for Fox Hill Farms, Songbird won the first 11 races of her career, including Grade I victories in the Del Mar Debutante, Chandelier, Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Santa Anita Oaks, Coaching Club American Oaks, Alabama, and Cotillion. As a 4-year-old she also won consecutive Grade Is in the Ogden Phipps and Delaware H. Overall, Songbird posted a record of 13-2-0 from 15 starts and earned $4,692,000. This is her first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame.

Clement, 57, has won 2,334 races to date with purse earnings of more than $159 million in a career that began in 1991. The French-born Clement trained three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti, as well as 2014 GI Belmont S. winner Tonalist. Clement has won 262 graded stakes and his first Breeders' Cup race in 2021 when Pizza Bianca captured the GI Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Motion, 58, is making his second appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot, has won 2,638 races to date with purse earnings of more than $143 million in a career that began in 1993. He won the Kentucky Derby and G1 Dubai World Cup with champion Animal Kingdom, trained two-time Eclipse Award winner Main Sequence and has won four Breeders' Cup races. Main Sequence accounted for one of those Breeders' Cup wins, as did Better Talk Now, Shared Account and her daughter Sharing. A native of Cambridge, England, Motion has won 192 graded stakes. He has trained 11 horses that have earned $1 million or more, including Miss Temple City, who defeated males in both the Shadwell Turf Mile and Maker's 46 Mile. Motion has won training titles at Keeneland and Pimlico and ranks fourth all time with 37 stakes wins at Keeneland.

O'Neill, 54, has won 2,6762 races to date with purse earnings of more than $153 million in a career that began in 1988. He won the Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness in 2012 with I'll Have Another and a second Derby in 2016 with Nyquist. O'Neill has trained five Eclipse Award winners–I'll Have Another, Maryfield, Nyquist, Stevie Wonderboy, and Thor's Echo–and has won five Breeders' Cup races. A native of Dearborn, Mich., O'Neill won nine graded stakes with Hall of Fame member Lava Man. O'Neill has won five training titles at Del Mar, where in 2015 he became the first trainer to win five races on a card there. He has also won four training titles at Santa Anita, including a record 56-win meet in the winter of 2006-2007, and ranks third all time there with 971 wins.

Shirreffs, 77, has won 565 races, including 107 graded events, with purse earnings of $51.9 million. He is best known for training Hall of Famer Zenyatta, a four-time Eclipse Award winner with 19 consecutive victories, i3cluding 13 Grade Is. Shirreffs won the 2005 Kentucky Derby with Giacomo at odds of 50-1.

Kiaran McLaughlin | Horsephotos

McLaughlin, 62, who is making his first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot, won 1,809 races with purse earnings of $130,031,267 (including international statistics) from 1995 through 2021. He ranks 20th all time in North American earnings and has saddled 179 graded/group stakes winners, inclduding, three in the Breeders' Cup races–2006 Classic (Invasor), 2007 Filly and Mare Turf (Lahudood), and the 2016 Dirt Mile (Tamarkuz). He won the 2006 Belmont S. with Jazil.

Sadler, 66, who is appearing on the ballot for the first time, has won 2,728 races with purse earnings of more than $145 million (15th all time) in a career that began in 1978. He has won 188 graded stakes, including the Breeders' Cup Classic with Eclipse Award winner Accelerate in 2018 and Horse of the Year Flightline in 2022. He also trained champion Stellar Wind and has conditioned 10 horses that have earned $1 million or more–Accelerate, Flightline, Stellar Wind, Switch, Higher Power, Catapult, Flagstaff, Hard Aces, Healthy Addiction, and Iotapa. Sadler ranks No. 2 all time at Del Mar in both wins (532) and stakes wins (85). At Santa Anita, he ranks second all time in wins (1,046) and seventh in stakes wins (82).

Nakatani, 52, won 3,909 races with purse earnings of $234,554,534 million in a career that spanned from 1988 to 2018. He ranks 14th all time in career earnings and won 341 graded stakes. Nakatani won 10 Breeders' Cup races (one of only 10 riders to do so), including four editions of the Sprint. He won three riding titles at Del Mar, two at Santa Anita and one at Hollywood Park, as well as four Oak Tree meetings. Nakatani won a record 19 stakes during the 2006-2007 Santa Anita meet, breaking the track's previous single-meet record held by Hall of Famer Laffit Pincay, Jr. He ranks eighth all time in stakes wins at Santa Anita with 134 and ninth in overall wins at there with 1,075. He also stands second all-time at Del Mar with 108 stakes wins and sixth in overall wins with 705.

Chaired by Edward L. Bowen, the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee is comprised of Bowen, Caton Bredar, Steven Crist, Tom Durkin, Bob Ehalt, Tracy Gantz, Teresa Genaro, Jane Goldstein, Steve Haskin, Jay Hovdey, Alicia Hughes, Tom Law, Jay Privman, Michael Veitch, and Charlotte Weber.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Friday, Aug. 4, at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony is open to the public and free to attend.

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