Doug O'Neill | Horse Racing Free Tips

Gotham: O’Neill-Trained Wipe The Slate ‘Much More Calm And Relaxed’

West Coast-based Freedom Fighter and Wipe the Slate, top contenders for Saturday's Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham at Aqueduct Racetrack, arrived in New York from their southern California base at Santa Anita Park on Wednesday and visited the Belmont Park dirt training track Thursday morning.

A loaded Saturday card at Aqueduct features the Gotham, a one-turn mile that provides 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers; the Grade 3, $200,000 Tom Fool Handicap, a six-furlong sprint for older horses; the $250,000 Busher Invitational for 3-year-old fillies offering 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points; and the $125,000 Heavenly Prize Invitational, a one-turn mile for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Freedom Fighter, stabled with trainer John Terranova, went out to the training track at 9:30 a.m. with exercise rider Simon Harris aboard while under the watchful eye of Terranova's wife and assistant, Tonja.

Terranova said fellow Baffert trainee Speed Pass, entered in the Tom Fool on the Gotham undercard, was out for exercise at 7:30 a.m.

“They just cruised around the track,” Tonja Terranova said. “They both looked great. Simon was happy with how they went and both of them ate up real well last night.”

A son of Violence, Freedom Fighter will see some added distance in the one-turn mile Gotham off a close second to stablemate Concert Tour in the Grade 2 San Vicente at seven furlongs at Santa Anita. The runner-up effort, which garnered a 94 Beyer Speed Figure, was his first start off a six-month layoff after a successful debut going gate-to-wire on August 1 at Del Mar.

Freedom Fighter is owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm and Robert Masterson and was bought for $120,000 from the 2019 Keeneland September Sale.

Manny Franco will pilot Freedom Fighter from post 7 in a field of eight.

Speed Pass, owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, arrives at the Tom Fool – a six-furlong sprint for older horses – off a close third as the lukewarm favorite in an allowance optional claiming race on January 31 at Santa Anita, which was his first start in nearly a full calendar year.

A two-time winner at three-quarters of a mile, the son of Bodemeister was third in the Grade 2 Palos Verdes last January at Santa Anita and seeks his first trip to the winner's circle since defeating winners at Los Alamitos by seven lengths over a good and sealed track.

Trainer Doug O'Neill, who was nominated to the Hall of Fame this year, shipped Wipe the Slate for the Gotham. The chestnut son of second-crop sire Nyquist went to the training track at 10:00 a.m. for O'Neill's assistant Daniel Robles.

“Perfect, really good,” Robles said of the morning exercise. “I think we have a pretty good chance.”

Wipe the Slate was last out a distant sixth to Medina Spirit in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis on February 6 at Santa Anita going 1 1/16 miles and cuts back to one turn for the Gotham.

“That was a bad day for him, but he's come along well,” Robles said. “Going back to one turn should be good for him. That day, he was real nervous, but this time he seems much more calm and relaxed.”

Second to highly regarded Life Is Good on debut, Wipe the Slate broke his maiden in his following effort on December 26 at Santa Anita. He will take blinkers off for Saturday's race and will be ridden from post 4 by Aqueduct leading rider Kendrick Carmouche.

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O’Neill Believes Distance Should Help Wipe The Slate In Saturday’s Gotham

Navigating the competitive Kentucky Derby trail will force any 3-year-old to eventually branch beyond an established comfort zone, as steeper competition, expanded race distances and more extensive travel becomes necessary as the first Saturday in May approaches.

Reddam Racing's Wipe the Slate will look to embrace those challenges, shipping across the country from his base at Santa Anita in California to compete in Saturday's Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The one-turn mile will offer 50-20-10-5 Derby qualifying points to the top-four finishers and will mark Wipe the Slate's first race outside of the Golden State. The Doug O'Neill trainee ran second in his debut going 6 1/2 furlongs on Nov. 22 at Del Mar before breaking his maiden with an impressive 3 ¼-length score in a seven-furlong sprint on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita to cap his juvenile campaign.

Making his sophomore – and graded stakes debut – Wipe the Slate was stretched out to 1 1/16 miles for his first career route. After bumping a rival, he underwent a wide trip before tiring late, finishing sixth in the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis on Jan. 30 at Santa Anita.

Wipe the Slate has continued to train forwardly since that effort, including a six-furlong work in 1:11.60 on Saturday over the Santa Anita main track. A son of Nyquist, O'Neill's 2016 Kentucky Derby winner, Wipe the Slate will look to benefit from a five-week gap between starts. O'Neill said he expects the Kentucky-bred to handle shipping to the Empire State with aplomb and likes how cutting back to a mile could play to his strength.

“He's always been an impressive colt,” said O'Neill. “I think he'll travel well and I love the one-turn mile for him. We're excited for days ahead.”

O'Neill said Kendrick Carmouche, the current Aqueduct winter meet-leading rider, will pick up the mount for the Gotham.

The Gotham, which will have its 69th running this coming weekend, has historical strong connections to the “Run for the Roses,” with Secretariat winning it in 1973, tying the track record in an effort that helped propel him to one of the most famous Triple Crown runs in the sport's history. Other highlights include Easy Goer setting a track record in the 1989 edition, setting a mark of 1:32.40 that still stands.

While both Secretariat and Easy Goer are Hall of Famers, O'Neill has the potential to join them among the inductees, as the veteran conditioner was named one of 11 finalists for the 2021 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame class on Wednesday.

O'Neill, primarily based in California, is one of three trainers among the finalists, along with NYRA mainstays Todd Pletcher and Christophe Clement. The 52-year-old O'Neill is a two-time Derby winner in tandem with Reddam Racing, saddling I'll Have Another [who also won the Preakness] in 2012 and following four years later with Nyquist, who ran third in the 2016 Preakness.

O'Neill, who trained his first winner in 1989, has five Breeders' Cup victories to his credit, bolstering a strong resume that features more than 2,500 career wins, including 132 graded stakes. Among his other notable winners was Hall of Famer Lava Man, who won the Hollywood Gold Cup three times and twice both the Santa Anita Handicap and Pacific Classic. Five of his horses have won Eclipse Awards. In addition to his dozens of stakes victories in this country, O'Neill has also tallied international victories in the Godolphin Mile and Japan Cup Dirt.

“The Hall of Fame nomination is a result of working alongside a bunch of amazing horsemen and amazing owners and, of course, amazing horses,” said O'Neill.

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Pletcher, American Pharoah Head ’21 Hall of Fame Finalists

Six racehorses, three trainers and one jockey account for the 10 finalists that will compose the National Museum of Racing's 2021 Hall of Fame ballot, as chosen by the museum's Hall of Fame nominating committee. The finalists are racehorses American Pharoah (first year of eligibility), Blind Luck, Game On Dude, Havre de Grace, Kona Gold and Rags to Riches; trainers Christophe Clement, Doug O'Neill and Todd Pletcher (first year of eligibility); and jockey Corey Nakatani.

Ballots will be mailed the first week in March and results of the voting will be announced May 5. That announcement will also include this year's selections by the Museum's Steeplechase Review Committee, which meets once every four years.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony–which will honor both the 2020 and 2021 inductees—is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Aug. 6, at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., at 10:30 a.m. ET. Because of the ongoing COVID pandemic, many details relating to the induction ceremony are still to be determined.

Bred in Kentucky by owner Zayat Stables, American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile–Littleprincessemma, by Yankee Gentleman), became racing's first Triple Crown winner in 37 years when he swept the GI Kentucky Derby, GI Preakness S. and GI Belmont S. in 2015 en route to Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Victor Espinoza, the bay previously won the Eclipse Award for champion 2-year-old male in 2014. At three, he also won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Overall, the bay posted a record of nine wins from 11 starts and earnings $8,650,300.

Bred in Kentucky by Fairlawn Farm, Blind Luck (Pollard's Vision–Lucky One, by Best of Luck) won the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old filly in 2010. A multiple Grade I winner at ages two through four, Blind Luck was trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer and owned by Hollendorfer in partnership with Mark DeDomenico LLC, John Carver, and Peter Abruzzo. Blind Luck, who retired with 12 wins and earnings of $3,279,520, won 10 graded stakes, including six Grade Is–Kentucky Oaks, Oak Leaf S., Hollywood Starlet S., Las Virgenes S., Alabama S. and Vanity H.

Game On Dude (Awesome Again–Worldly Pleasure, by Devil His Due), bred in Kentucky by Adena Springs, won 14 graded stakes, including eight Grade Is. Owned by Joe Torre's Diamond Pride LLC, Lanni Family Trust, Mercedes Stable LLC, and Bernie Schiappa, the gelding was trained by Baffert. He is the only horse to win the GI Santa Anita H. three times (2011, 2013, 2014). In 2013, Game On Dude swept the three signature Grade I races for older horses in California–Santa Anita H., Hollywood Gold Cup and Pacific Classic–becoming only the second horse to win those three events in a single year. He compiled a record of 16 wins from 34 starts and earnings of $6,498,893.

Havre de Grace (Saint Liam–Easter Brunette, by Carson City) won the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and champion older mare in 2011. Bred in Kentucky by Nancy S. Dillman, the bay was trained by Anthony Dutrow at ages 2 and 3 and later by Larry Jones. Campaigned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms throughout her career, she beat Blind Luck in the 2011 GIII Azeri S. before wins in the GI Apple Blossom S., GI Woodward S. and GI BeldameS. Havre de Grace retired with nine wins and earnings of $2,586,175.

Bred in Kentucky by Carlos Perez, Kona Gold (Java Gold– Double Sunrise, by Slew o' Gold) won the Eclipse Award for Champion Sprinter in 2000, when he set a six-furlong track record at Churchill Downs in his GI Breeders' Cup Sprint victory. Campaigned by Bruce Headley (who also served as his trainer), Irwin and Andrew Molasky, Michael Singh et al, the gelding raced from 1998 through 2003 with a record of 14-7-2 from 30 starts and earnings of $2,293,384. He won a total of 10 graded stakes, including the GI San Carlos H., all while ridden by Hall of Famer Alex Solis.

Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy–Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister) won the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old filly in 2007, a campaign highlighted by a victory in the GI Belmont S. Trained by Pletcher for owners Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, the chestnut filly recorded four Grade I wins–Las Virgenes S. and GI Santa Anita Oaks, GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Belmont S., defeating two-time Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer Curlin. Rags to Riches remains one of only three fillies to win the Belmont. Bred in Kentucky by Skara Glen Stables, she retired with a record of five wins from seven starts and earnings of $1,342,528.

Pletcher, 53, has won 5,072 races (eighth all-time) with record North American purse earnings of $400,647,175 in a career that began in 1996. A winner of a record seven Eclipse Awards for outstanding trainer, Pletcher has won the Kentucky Derby with Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2017) and the Belmont S. with Rags to Riches (2007), Palace Malice (2013) and Tapwrit (2017). Pletcher ranks fourth all-time at the Breeders' Cup in earnings ($21,508,030) and fifth in wins (11) and has won 699 graded stakes. Pletcher, who has led all North American trainers in earnings 10 times, has trained 11 Eclipse Award-winners, including Hall of Famer Ashado, English Channel, Fleet Indian, Lawyer Ron, Left Bank, Rags to Riches, Shanghai Bobby, Speightstown, Wait a While, Uncle Mo and Vino Rosso. Pletcher has won 16 leading trainer titles at Belmont, 14 at Saratoga and six at Aqueduct. He has also won 16 titles at Gulfstream, five at Keeneland and two at Monmouth.

Clement, 55, has won 2,094 races to date with purse earnings of more than $139 million (12th all time) in a career that began in 1991. Clement trained three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti, winner of four straight Grade Is on the turf in 2009, as well as 2014 Belmont winner Tonalist, who also won consecutive renewals of the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2014 and 2015. Clement has won 248 graded stakes, including multiple editions of the Beverly D., Del Mar Oaks, Diana, Manhattan, Man o' War, Shadwell Turf Mile and Sword Dancer, among others.

O'Neill, 52, has won 2,552 races to date with purse earnings of more than $138 million (13th all-time) in a career that began in 1988. He won the Kentucky Derby and 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. Trainer of Hall of Fame member Lava Man, he won five training titles at Del Mar and four titles at Santa Anita, including a record 56-win meet in the winter of 2006-2007, and ranks eighth all time there with 619 wins. Overall, O'Neill has won 132 graded stakes.

Nakatani, 50, won 3,909 races with purse earnings of $234,554,534 million in a career that spanned from 1988 to 2018. He ranks 13th 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. The regular pilot of Lava Man, he ranks eighth all time in stakes wins at Santa Anita (behind seven Hall of Famers) with 134 and ninth in overall wins at Santa Anita with 1,075. He also stands second all time at Del Mar with 108 stakes wins (behind only Hall of Famer Chris McCarron and sixth in overall wins with 705.

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% 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.

Chaired by Edward L. Bowen, the Hall of Fame nominating committee is composed of Bowen, Steven Crist, Tom Durkin, Bob Ehalt, Tracy Gantz, Teresa Genaro, Jane Goldstein, Steve Haskin, Jay Hovdey, Tom Law, Neil Milbert, Jay Privman, John Sparkman, Michael Veitch and Charlotte Weber.

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 in 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.

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Todd Pletcher, American Pharoah Headline 2021 Hall Of Fame Ballot

Six racehorses, three trainers, and one jockey account for the 10 finalists that will comprise the National Museum of Racing's 2021 Hall of Fame ballot, as chosen by the Museum's Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. The finalists are racehorses American Pharoah (first year of eligibility), Blind Luck, Game On Dude, Havre de Grace, Kona Gold, and Rags to Riches; trainers Christophe Clement, Doug O'Neill, and Todd Pletcher (first year of eligibility); 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 the first week in March. The results of the voting on the contemporary candidates will be announced on Wednesday, May 5. That announcement will also include this year's selections by the Museum's Steeplechase Review Committee, which meets once every four years. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony — which will honor both the 2020 and 2021 inductees — is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Aug. 6, at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., at 10:30 a.m. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many details relating to the induction ceremony are still to be determined.

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.

A bay colt bred in Kentucky by owner Zayat Stables, American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile—Littleprincessemma, by Yankee Gentleman), became racing's first Triple Crown winner in 37 years when he swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in 2015 en route to Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Male. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and ridden by Hall of Famer Victor Espinoza, American Pharoah won the Eclipse Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male in 2014 on the strength of Grade 1 victories in the Del Mar Futurity and FrontRunner Stakes. As a sophomore, American Pharoah won the Rebel Stakes (G2) and Arkansas Derby (G1) prior to the Triple Crown. Following his historic Belmont victory, he won the Haskell Invitational (G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Overall, American Pharoah posted a record of 9-1-0 from 11 starts and earned $8,650,300.

A chestnut filly bred in Kentucky by Fairlawn Farm, Blind Luck (Pollard's Vision—Lucky One, by Best of Luck) won the Eclipse Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2010. A multiple Grade 1 winner at ages 2 and 3, Blind Luck was also a Grade 1 winner at 4. Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer and owned by Hollendorfer in partnership with Mark DeDomenico LLC, John Carver, and Peter Abruzzo, Blind Luck posted a career record of 12-7-2 from 22 starts and earnings of $3,279,520 from 2009 through 2011. She won a total of 10 graded stakes in her career, including six Grade 1s: the Kentucky Oaks, Oak Leaf Stakes, Hollywood Starlet Stakes, Las Virgenes Stakes, Alabama Stakes, and Vanity Handicap. Throughout her career, Blind Luck defeated the likes of Havre de Grace (three times), Life At Ten, Unrivaled Belle, Evening Jewel, Devil May Care, and Switch.

A dark bay gelding bred in Kentucky by Adena Springs, Game On Dude (Awesome Again—Worldly Pleasure, by Devil His Due) won 14 graded stakes, including eight Grade 1s. Racing from 2010 through 2014, he compiled a record of 16-7-1 from 34 starts and earnings of $6,498,893. Owned by Joe Torre's Diamond Pride LLC, Lanni Family Trust, Mercedes Stable LLC, and Bernie Schiappa, Game On Dude was trained by Baffert. He is the only horse to win the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) three times (2011, 2013, 2014), setting a stakes record in the 2014 edition by covering 1¼ miles in 1:58.17. Game On Dude also won the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) and San Antonio Stakes (G2) twice each, as well as single editions of the Pacific Classic (G1), Californian (G2), Charles Town Classic (G2), Lone Star Derby (G3), and Native Diver (G3). He also won the Grade 1 Goodwood in 2011 and won the same race when it was renamed the Awesome Again (G1) in 2012. In 2013, Game On Dude swept the three signature Grade 1 races for older horses in California — the Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic — becoming only the second horse to win those three events in a single year (Hall of Famer Lava Man was the first).

A bay filly bred in Kentucky by Nancy S. Dillman, Havre de Grace (Saint Liam—Easter Brunette, by Carson City) won the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and Champion Older Mare in 2011. Trained by Anthony Dutrow at ages 2 and 3 and by Larry Jones thereafter, Havre de Grace was campaigned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms throughout her career. After finishing second to champion Blind Luck in thrilling editions of the Delaware Oaks and Alabama in 2010, Havre de Grace earned her first graded stakes victory later that year in the Cotillion (G2). In her 2011 Horse of the Year campaign, she beat Blind Luck in the Azeri (G3) and went on to win Grade 1s in the Apple Blossom, Woodward (defeating males, including Flat Out), and Beldame (defeating Hall of Famer Royal Delta). Havre de Grace made one start as a 5-year-old in 2012, winning the listed New Orleans Ladies' Stakes before being retired with a career record of 9-4-2 from 16 starts and earnings of $2,586,175.

A bay gelding bred in Kentucky by Carlos Perez, Kona Gold (Java Gold—Double Sunrise, by Slew o' Gold) won the Eclipse Award for Champion Sprinter in 2000, when he set a six-furlong track record at Churchill Downs in his Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) victory. Campaigned by Bruce Headley (who also served as his trainer), Irwin and Andrew Molasky, Michael Singh, et al, Kona Gold raced from 1998 through 2003 with a record of 14-7-2 from 30 starts and earnings of $2,293,384. He set a track record for 5½ furlongs at Santa Anita and won a total of 10 graded stakes, including the Grade 1 San Carlos Handicap, all while ridden by Hall of Famer Alex Solis. Kona Gold won multiple editions of the Bing Crosby Handicap (G2), Potrero Grande Breeders' Cup Handicap (G2), and El Conejo Handicap (once as a G3). He registered Beyer Speed Figures of 110 or higher 17 times. On 10 occasions, his Beyer Figure was 115 or higher, including a career-best of 123. Kona Gold made five consecutive appearances in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

A chestnut filly bred in Kentucky by Skara Glen Stables, Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy—Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister) won the Eclipse Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Filly in 2007, a campaign highlighted by an historic victory in the Belmont Stakes. Trained by Pletcher and Michael McCarthy for owners Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, Rags to Riches broke her maiden in her second career start on Jan. 7, 2007, at Santa Anita. That six-length victory was the beginning of a five-race win streak. The next four wins were all Grade 1s: the Las Virgenes Stakes and Santa Anita Oaks (by 5½ lengths) in California, the Kentucky Oaks (by 4¼ lengths), and the Belmont in New York. In the Belmont, Rags to Riches defeated two-time Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer Curlin by a head to become the first filly in 102 years to win the third jewel of the Triple Crown. Rags to Riches remains one of only three fillies to win the Belmont. She finished second in her next race, the Grade 1 Gazelle, and a right front leg injury was discovered after the race. A 4-year-old campaign was being planned for Rags to Riches, but she re-injured her right front pastern and was retired with a record of 5-1-0 from seven starts and earnings of $1,342,528.

Clement, 55, has won 2,094 races to date with purse earnings of more than $139 million (12th all time) in a career that began in 1991. Clement trained three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti, winner of four straight Grade 1s on the turf in 2009, as well as 2014 Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist, who also won consecutive runnings of the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2014 and 2015. Clement has won 248 graded stakes, including multiple editions of the Beverly D., Del Mar Oaks, Diana, Manhattan, Man o' War, Shadwell Turf Mile, and Sword Dancer, among others.

A native of Paris, France, Clement began his career in the United States by winning with the first horse he saddled, Spectaculaire, on Oct. 20, 1991, at Belmont. He has since trained 18 horses that have earned $1 million or more. Other Grade 1 winners trained by Clement include Discreet Marq, Forbidden Apple, Mauralanka, Relaxed Gesture, Rutherienne, Voodoo Dancer, and Winchester, among others.

O'Neill, 52, has won 2,552 races to date with purse earnings of more than $138 million (13th all time) in a career that began in 1988. He won the Kentucky Derby and 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, including three editions of the Hollywood Gold Cup and two runnings each of the Santa Anita Handicap, Pacific Classic, and Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap. O'Neill has won five training titles at Del Mar, where in 2015 he became the first trainer to ever 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 eighth all time there with 619 wins. He has trained 11 horses that have earned $1 million or more. O'Neill has multiple victories in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Alcibiades, FrontRunner, Santa Anita Derby, and Triple Bend, among others. Other major wins include the Breeders' Futurity, Donn Handicap, Florida Derby, Blue Grass, Godolphin Mile, and Japan Cup Dirt. Overall, O'Neill has won 132 graded stakes.

Pletcher, 53, has won 5,072 races (eighth all time) with record North American purse earnings of $400,647,175 in a career that began in 1996. A winner of a record seven Eclipse Awards for Outstanding Trainer, Pletcher has won the Kentucky Derby with Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming (2017) and the Belmont Stakes with Rags to Riches (2007), Palace Malice (2013), and Tapwrit (2017). He ranks fourth all time at the Breeders' Cup in earnings ($21,508,030) and fifth in wins (11) and has won 699 graded stakes. Pletcher has also won four or more editions of the Beldame, Champagne, Coaching Club American Oaks, Florida Derby, Mother Goose, Spinaway, Spinster, and Wood Memorial, among others. He has also won the Kentucky Oaks three times and four Canadian Triple Crown races.

A native of Dallas, Pletcher has led all North American trainers in earnings 10 times. He has trained 11 Eclipse Award-winning horses — Hall of Famer Ashado, English Channel, Fleet Indian, Lawyer Ron, Left Bank, Rags to Riches, Shanghai Bobby, Speightstown, Wait a While, Uncle Mo, and Vino Rosso — and 20 horses that have earned more than $1.8 million. On the New York Racing Association circuit, Pletcher has won 16 leading trainer titles at Belmont, 14 at Saratoga, and six at Aqueduct. He has won 16 titles at Gulfstream, five at Keeneland, and two at Monmouth.

Nakatani, 50, won 3,909 races with purse earnings of $234,554,534 million in a career that spanned from 1988 to 2018. He ranks 13th 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. His major victories included multiple editions of the Beverly D., Del Mar Oaks, Eddie Read, Hollywood Derby, Hollywood Gold Cup, Hollywood Starlet, Kentucky Oaks, Santa Anita Oaks, Santa Anita Handicap, and Santa Margarita, among others. He also won the Golden Shaheen in Dubai.

A native of Covina, Calif., Nakatani won five Grade 1 races with Hall of Famer Lava Man. He also won multiple stakes with Hall of Famer Serena's Song, as well as Eclipse Award winners Shared Belief and Sweet Catomine. Nakatani won a record 19 stakes during a single meet at Santa Anita in 2006-2007, breaking the previous record held by Hall of Famer Laffit Pincay, Jr. Nakatani ranks eighth all time in stakes wins at Santa Anita (behind seven Hall of Famers) with 134 and ninth in overall wins at Santa Anita with 1,075. He also stands second all time at Del Mar with 108 stakes wins (behind only Hall of Famer Chris McCarron; the next eight on the list are all in the Hall of Fame) and sixth in overall wins with 705.

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

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