Last year I started a tradition of sharing my photos of the top earning North American horses of the year in a blog post. This year, I photographed more than half of the top 100 horses. Let’s have a look at who they are and how they won their money.
#99 Ways and Means – After an injury sidelined her for the remainder of her two-year-old campaign after the 2023 Saratoga meet, the Chad Brown trainee had a banner three-year-old campaign, notching wins in the Grade II Gallant Bloom Stakes at Belmont at the Big A and the Grade I Test Stakes at Saratoga (pictured), the latter being her first stakes win.
#97 Program Trading – The Chad Brown trainee only had two starts this year, but his win in the Grade I Turf Classic Stakes at Churchill Downs and his fifth place finish in the Grade I Manhattan Stakes at Saratoga were enough to propel him into the top 100.
#95 Gina Romantica – The Chad Brown trainee had six starts this year, finishing in the money in all but one of them. Her one win came in the Grade I First Lady Stakes at Keeneland.
#94 Sacred Wish – The George Weaver trainee hit the board in all but one of her seven starts this year, with her biggest win coming in the Grade I Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar.
#92 Beaute Cachee – The Chad Brown trainee won all but one of her four starts this year, all of them graded stakes. Her biggest win came in the Grade I Jenny Wiley Stakes at Keeneland.
#91 Mindframe – The Todd Pletcher trainee won his first two starts this year before finishing second in both the Grade I Belmont Stakes at Saratoga and the Grade I Haskell Stakes at Monmouth. He’s still yet to win a stakes race, but looks to be one to watch in the older dirt male division in 2025.
#89 Tapit Trice – The Todd Pletcher trainee won two of his four starts this year, emerging victorious in the Grade III Monmouth Cup Stakes at Monmouth and the Grade II Woodward Stakes at Belmont at the Big A.
#83 Chop Chop – The Brad Cox trainee finished in the money in each of her nine starts this year, notching wins in the Grade III Bewitch Stakes and the Grade III Dowager Stakes at Keeneland.
#82 Silver Knott – The Charlie Appleby trainee hit the board in each of his five starts this year, notching victories in the Grade II Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland, the Grade II Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont at the Big A, and the Grade II Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga (pictured).
#81 Skelly – The Steve Asmussen trainee finished first or second in all but one of his eight starts this year, notching wins in the Grade III Count Fleet Stakes and the Hamilton Stakes at Oaklawn.
#79 Alva Starr – The Brett Brinkman trainee won three of her four starts this year, emerging victorious in the American Beauty Stakes at Oaklawn, the Grade I Madison Stakes at Keeneland (pictured), and the Rehoboth Stakes at Delaware Park. Tragically, Alva Starr had to be euthanized in July after sustaining an injury during a workout at Delaware Park.
#78 Batten Down – Earlier in the year, trainer Bill Mott was considering the colt for the Belmont Stakes, but instead pointed him towards the Grade III Ohio Derby at Thistledown, which he won. He also won the Bourbon Flight Stakes at Churchill Downs, rounding out his two stakes victories (as well as a maiden victory) from nine starts this year.
#77 Measured Time – The Charlie Appleby trainee only had two starts in North America this year, but his win in the Grade I Manhattan Stakes (pictured) and second place finish in the Grade I Sword Dancer Stakes, both at Saratoga, was enough to get him into the top 100.
#76 Arthur’s Ride – The Bill Mott trainee won three of his six starts this year, including the Grade I Whitney Stakes at Saratoga (pictured), making his stakes debut.
#74 Pyrenees – The Cherie DeVaux trainee won three of his six starts this year, including the Grade III Pimlico Special Stakes at Pimlico.
#73 Hit Show – The Brad Cox trainee won four of his six starts this year, including the Grade III West Virginia Governor’s Stakes at Mountaineer, the Grade II Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs, and the Grade II Fayette Stakes at Keeneland.
#71 Domestic Product – The Chad Brown trainee won three of his seven starts this year, with his biggest win coming in the Grade I H. Allen Jerkens Stakes at Saratoga.
#68 She Feels Pretty – The Cherie DeVaux trainee won three of her six starts this year, including the Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes at Keeneland ant the Grade I American Oaks at Santa Anita. She has never finished off the board in any of her eight lifetime starts.
#67 Zeitlos – The Steve Asmussen trainee won six of her nine starts this year, including the Grade II Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland.
#66 Crupi – The Todd Pletcher trainee only won one of his seven starts this year (the Grade II Suburban Stakes at Saratoga), but he finished in the money in all but one of the rest.
#65 Mullikin – The Rodolphe Brisset trainee won four of his six starts this year, with his biggest victory coming in the Grade I Forego Stakes at Saratoga, earning his trainer his first Grade I win.
#63 Tiztastic – The Steve Asmussen trainee finished in the money in each of his five starts this year, with his biggest win coming in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes.
#61 Valentine Candy – The Steve Asmussen trainee won five of his nine starts this year, four of them stakes wins.
#60 Scylla – The Bill Mott trainee finished in the money in each of her eight starts this year, notching two graded stakes wins in the Grade III Shawnee Stakes and Grade II Fleur de Lis Stakes, both at Churchill Downs.
#59 Timberlake – The Brad Cox trainee finished in the money in each of his four starts this year, all of them in graded stakes. His sole victory came in the Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn.
#57 Deterministic – The Christophe Clément trainee won three of his eight starts this year, all of them graded stakes.
#52 Neat – The Rob Atras trainee won four of his seven starts this year, three of them graded stakes.
#57 My Mane Squeeze – The New York bred Mike Maker trainee won four of her nine starts this year, two of them graded stakes.
#50 Nations Pride – Despite only one win in 2024 (The Grade I Arlington Million Stakes at Colonial Downs), that along with on the board finishes in two other graded stakes was enough to propel the Charlie Appleby trainee into the top 50.
#49 First Mission – The Brad Cox trainee won two of his five starts this year, both of them graded stakes.
#48 Kingsbarns – The Todd Pletcher trainee won three of his four starts this year, with his biggest victory coming in the Grade I Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs.
#47 Neecie Marie – The Butch Reid trainee won two of her six starts this year, both of them graded stakes.
#46 Chili Flag – The Chad Brown trainee won three of her seven starts this year, with her biggest victory coming in the Grade I Just A Game Stakes at Saratoga (pictured).
#45 Power Squeeze – The Jorge Delgado trainee won five of her nine starts this year, with her biggest win coming in the Grade I Alabama Stakes at Saratoga.
#44 Far Bridge – The Christophe Clément trainee won three of his seven starts this year, with Grade I victories in the Sword Dancer Stakes at Saratoga (pictured) and the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes at Belmont at the Big A.
#43 Vahva – The Cherie DeVaux trainee won two of her five starts this year, including a Grade I victory in the Derby City Distaff Stakes at Churchill Downs.
#42 Didia – The Ignacio Correas trainee won two of her five starts this year, including a Grade I victory in the New York Stakes at Saratoga.
#40 Post Time – The Brittany Russell trainee hit the board in each of his nine starts this year, notching graded wins in the Grade III General George Stakes at Laurel Park and the Grade II Carter Stakes at Aqueduct.
#39 Gun Pilot – The Steve Asmussen trainee won three of his seven starts this year, including a Grade I victory in the Churchill Downs Stakes.
#36 Soul of an Angel – We are now getting into horses who have earned seven figures this year. Soul of an Angel gave trainer Saffie Joseph his first Breeders’ Cup win in the Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar. In total, she won four of her eleven starts this year.
#32 Raging Sea – The Chad Brown trainee won four of her six starts this year, including a Grade I victory in the Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga (pictured).
#29 Highland Falls – The Brad Cox trainee won three of his seven starts this year, including the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga.
#27 Carl Spackler – The Chad Brown trainee won four of his six starts this year, including two Grade I races.
#24 Carson’s Run – The Christophe Clément trainee gave jockey Dylan Davis his first Grade I win in the U.S. with his victory in the Saratoga Derby. In total, he won three of his six starts this year.
#22 Simply in Front – The Eddie Kenneally trainee won two of her seven starts this year, including a victory in the Grade II Music City Stakes at Kentucky Downs.
#18 Howard Wolowitz – The José D’Angelo trainee won three of his six starts this year, including the Grade I Franklin-Simpson Stakes at Kentucky Downs.
#17 Grand Sonata – The Todd Pletcher trainee won only one of his seven starts this year, but his victory in the Grade I Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes at Kentucky Downs, along with four other in-the-money finishes, was enough to propel him into the top 20.
#16 More Than Looks – The Cherie DeVaux trainee finished first or second in each of his three starts this year, with his big win coming in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar.
#15 Idiomatic – The Brad Cox trainee didn’t have as stellar a season as she did last year, but her three graded victories and two graded placings put her into the top 15.
#14 Skippylongstocking – The Saffie Joseph trainee won three of his eight starts this year, including two graded wins.
#13 Moira – The Kevin Attard trainee notched her first Grade I victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar. Aside from that, she also won the Grade II Beverly D. Stakes at Colonial Downs.
#10 Immersive – The unbeaten Brad Cox trainee managed to capture three Grade I wins in her two-year-old season, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She is the likely recipient of the Eclipse Award for Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.
#9 Cogburn – The Steve Asmussen trainee set a track record at Saratoga while winning the Grade I Jaipur Stakes, one of his three victories this year.
#8 Dornoch – The Danny Gargan trainee gave his trainer his first Grade I win in the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, then followed it up with another Grade I in the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth. Additionally, he won the Grade II Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park leading up to the Triple Crown season.
#7 Seize the Grey – The D. Wayne Lukas trainee made his trainer the oldest to win the Preakness Stakes at age 88 when he captured the second leg of the Triple Crown this year. He subsequently notched another Grade I win in the Pennsylvania Derby at Parx.
#6 National Treasure – The Bob Baffert trainee won the Grade I Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park and the Grade I Metropolitan Handicap at Saratoga, in addition to finishing a very close second in the Grade I California Crown at Santa Anita.
#5 Rebel’s Romance – The Charlie Appleby trainee’s victory from his sole North American start this year in the Breeders’ Cup Turf catapulted him into the top 5.
#4 Fierceness – The Todd Pletcher trainee won the Grade I Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park and the Grade II Jim Dandy Stakes and Grade I Travers Stakes at Saratoga before finishing a game second in the Breeders’ Cup Classic behind Sierra Leone.
#3 Thorpedo Anna – The Kenny McPeek trainee and likely Horse of the Year won five Grade I races this year, and finished a very close second to Fierceness running against the boys in the Travers.
#2 Mystik Dan – The Kenny McPeek trainee’s win in the Kentucky Derby catapulted him into the top 2. In addition to that, he also won the Grade III Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn on the path to the Derby.
#1 Sierra Leone – The Chad Brown trainee never finished off the board in any of his seven starts this year, and his win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic catapulted him into first place.
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Interesting and beautiful!