BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Florida-breds have dominated their regional piers in 2025 with 39 open stakes winners through the first six months of the year according to statistics supplied by The Jockey Club Information Systems. That figure is nearly double the nearest rival among regional breeders of Thoroughbred runners as Maryland ranks second with 20 open stakes wins during the same period. They are followed by New York with 13.

Florida-breds this year have won open stakes at 16 different racetracks in 13 different states and provinces including Florida, California, New York and Ontario, Can.

Florida-breds also outperformed other regional-bred Thoroughbreds with 12 graded stakes wins this year including Dorth Vader, a homebred for John Ropes of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and winner of the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York.

 

The 12 graded stakes won by Florida-breds more than double their nearest rivals Maryland and New York, which together rank second with five graded stakes wins each. Thoroughbred breeders from Ontario have produced four graded stakes wins this year while Louisiana-breds have won two graded stakes. 

In addition to Dorth Vader, Florida-breds have won three Grade 2 stakes this year and eight Grade 3 contests.

Among the Florida-bred Grade 2 winners this year are Mystic Lake, the 2024 Florida-bred Horse of the Year bred by Peggy Costanzo of Morriston, Fla. With more than $1.1 million in career earnings, this year Mystic Lake’s victories have included the Grade 2 Inside Information presented by MyRacehorse.com at Gulfstream Park in January.

 

Other Florida-bred Grade 2 winners this year are Macho Music, winner of the Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs on May 3; and Classic Mo Town, who took the bet365 Eclipse Stakes at Woodbine on May 31. Macho Music was bred by John and Leslie Malone’s Bridlewood Farm located in Ocala, Fla., and Classic Mo Town was bred by John Penn of Ocala and Sue’s Farm II LLC based in Reddick Fla.

 

Florida-bred Grade 3 winners this year include El Potente (Thunder Road S. at Santa Anita), Roll On Big Joe (Palos Verdes S. at Santa Anita and Kelly’s Landing S. at Churchill Downs), Flood Zone (Gotham S. at Aqueduct), Nic’s Style (Hurricane Bertie S. at Gulfstream Park), Old Chestnut (Jacques Cartier S. at Woodbine), and Queen Maxima (Monrovia S. at Santa Anita and Unbridled Sidney S. at Churchill Downs). 

 

Florida-breds have produced recent international success not reflected in the aforementioned numbers. Jasper Robusto, who was bred by Ashley Godwin’s Rivermont Farm in Ocala, Fla., won the US$245,000 Tsurujago Stakes at Fukushima Racecourse in Japan on June 29. Jasper Robusto is a son of leading Florida sire Khozan, who stands at Ocala Stud.

This week breeders from the Sunshine State appear primed to pad these numbers with 23 Florida-breds entered to run in 15 stakes around the country today through Sunday including Whatintheliteral in the Grade 3 Victory Ride at Saratoga today, Tank in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational at Saratoga Friday and Strategic Risk in the Grade 3 Sanford Saturday at Saratoga.

Return to the July 3 issue of Wire to Wire

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