BY GULFSTREAM PARK PRESS OFFICE

The 39th edition of the FTBOA Sire Stakes concluded Saturday afternoon at Gulfstream Park with undefeated Rated by Merit winning the $300,000 In Reality and My Denysse winning the $300,000 My Dear Girl. Rated by Merit returned $2.40 while My Denysse returned $72.80, the second biggest upset in My Dear Girl history.

“The exceptional quality of the Florida-bred program has been on full display this year in the Florida Sire Stakes,” said Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (FTBOA) CEO Lonny Powell.

Powell is proud of the Florida-bred program.

“Florida-breds win more than 40-percent of open races at Gulfstream and 75-percent of those winners are by Florida stallions,” he said. “Nationally, we lead all states outside Kentucky in terms of graded stakes wins, open stakes wins, starts, starters and wins.

“We want to credit the work and support on on-track management, the racing office team, media relations, marketing and the owners and trainers for presenting these big Florida Sire Stakes days.”

The 2024 edition of the Sire Stakes was the second in which the finals of the lucrative series were held in late-November/December during the Championship Meet rather than October.

“The new schedule has been OK, and we are not displeased,” said Powell, who wishes the Sire Stakes winners had an opportunity to compete in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile races. “The real proof of success with this experimental change will be measured by the racing program for 3- year-olds at Gulfstream next year. The Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (FTHA) and Gulfstream Park leadership were confident there would be a big impact.”