2024 In Review: Monthly Highlights

This is the time for year-end stuff, and I will review some highlights for each month in 2024.

January

The first U.S. Grade 1 dirt race of the year, the eighth running of the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park, lacked the star appeal of previous editions, but it delivered a thrilling finish. Senor Buscador looked poised to rally past National Treasure in deep stretch, but 2023 Preakness (G1) winner National Treasure dug in gamely, denying his fast-finishing rival by a neck. 

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert registered his third Pegasus victory, and National Treasure added the Met Mile (G1) to his accolades two starts later.

February

On the first Saturday of the month, Nysos improved to 3-for-3 with another brilliant performance in the Robert B. Lewis (G2), scoring 7 1/2 lengths in his first two-turn attempt. The exciting three-year-old won his first three starts by more than 26 lengths, but Nysos unfortunately headed to the sidelines after the Lewis and has not raced since. 

Mystik Dan strikingly earned his first stakes victory on the same afternoon at Oaklawn Park, scoring by eight resounding lengths at 11-1 odds in the Southwest (G3). By Goldencents, Mystik Dan rebounded from a well-beaten fifth in the Smarty Jones S. a month earlier and he went on to upset the Kentucky Derby (G1) at 18-1 two starts later.

March

The Santa Anita H. (G1) has lost some luster due to lucrative overseas events early in the season, but the 2024 running proved strong, producing three subsequent Grade 1 winners. That list does not include Newgrange, who got back in the win column with a gutty head decision in the 1 1/4-mile event over eventual California Crown (G1) victor Subsanador. Highland Falls, a convincing scorer in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga later in the season, wound up fourth, and fifth-placer Mixto went on to upset the Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar.

April

Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) hero Master of the Seas returned to the races with a smart 2 1/4-length score in the Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) at Keeneland, but it proved to be a bittersweet moment as a foot injury knocked him out of action for the rest of the year. 

Skelly struggles to carry his form elsewhere, but the five-year-old gelding showed his love for Oaklawn Park with a facile three-length win in the Count Fleet H. (G3), winning the six-furlong test by open lengths for the second consecutive year. The Steve Asmussen trainee has won his last nine starts at the Hot Springs, Arkansas track, including five stakes, but Skelly is only 2-for-8 at other venues, losing his final four starts in 2024.

May

Kenny McPeek and Brian Hernandez Jr. teamed up to convincingly win the Kentucky Oaks (G1) with Thorpedo Anna, who notched the first of five Grade 1 tallies during an outstanding sophomore season.

A day later, the Kentucky Derby delivered the closest three-horse finish in its 150-year history, with the top three finishers each separated by a neck on the wire. Mystik Dan squeezed through a tight gap on the rail, surged to a clear lead in midstretch, and courageously held off Sierra Leone and Forever Young. McPeek and Hernandez became the first trainer/jockey combination to sweep the Kentucky Derby and Oaks since Ben Jones and Eddie Arcaro in 1952.

June

Cogburn put his blazing turf speed on display in the Jaipur (G3) on the Belmont S. (G1) undercard at Saratoga, whipping through opening splits in an eye-catching :21.33 and :43.07 before drawing off from the competition in the stretch, finishing 5 1/2 furlongs in a remarkable :59.80. Trained by Asmussen, the five-year-old horse credited with a new world record.

After notching a 107 Brisnet Speed rating for an eye-catching allowance win on Kentucky Derby week, Raging Torrent notched his first stakes victory with a 2 1/4-length score in the seven-furlong Maxfield S. on Churchill Downs’ closing weekend. The Doug O’Neill-trained colt defeated odds-on The Chosen Vron in the Pat O’Brien (G2) at Del Mar next out, snapping that rival’s six-race stakes-winning streak, and Raging Torrent concluded his three-year-old season with a victory in the Malibu (G1) at Santa Anita.

July

After a dramatic Belmont win, Dornoch delivered more magic in the Haskell (G1), determinedly re-rallying to the front in deep stretch to edge Mindframe. The first part of his three-year-old season didn’t go as expected, as the Grade 2-winning juvenile recorded unplaced finishes in the Kentucky Derby and Blue Grass (G1), but Danny Gargan-trained colt distinguished himself with important back-to-back Grade 1 wins. 

Fierceness rebounded stylishly after finishing 15th as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, recording a one-length win in the Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga. The champion two-year-old male tracked the pace in second, surged to a clear lead in upper stretch, and comfortably held runner-up Sierra Leone at bay. Regular rider John Velazquez was up on the Mike Repole homebred for Todd Pletcher.

August

Fierceness turned back the late bid of Thorpedo Anna by a head in the 1 1/4-mile Travers (G1) at Saratoga, winning consecutive stakes for the first time in his career, and received a 107 Speed rating. Thorpedo Anna sustained her lone setback in 2024, but the probable Horse of Year lost little in defeat. Sierra Leone wound up a non-threatening third.

Earlier on the Travers program, Far Bridge stole the Sword Dancer (G1) under a heady ride from Joel Rosario, leading all the way to upset a pair of highly regarded Godolphin/Charlie Appleby runners, Manhattan (G1) winner Measured Time and Silver Knott, who entered off consecutive wire-to-wire wins in the Bowling Green (G2), Man o’ War (G2), and Elkhorn (G2). Far Bridge was exiting a ninth in the United Nations (G2), losing his previous five stakes attempts, and the 1 1/2-mile distance appeared arguably beyond his scope, but he got away with opening splits in :24.86, :50.92, and 1:17.21 on a clear lead, essentially turning the Sword Dancer into a six-furlong sprint to the wire.

Far Bridge had more than enough left after the dawdling fractions, scoring by a length for Christophe Clement, and the Sword Dancer is a race that Flavien Prat, who won a record 18 stakes at Saratoga, may want to forget, considering he allowed Far Bridge to steal it aboard the frontrunning Silver Knott. Prat went on to establish national single-season records for stakes (82) and graded stakes wins (56) in 2024.

September

Another notable theft job occurred in the E.P. Taylor (G1) on Woodbine’s turf, as Full Count Felicia played catch-me-if-you-can on the stretch out to 1 1/4 miles, extending her early advantage to approximately 15 lengths on the backstretch. She reached the top of the stretch up by about 10 lengths, and the early cushion proved too much for odd-on favorite Moira, who came flying late but wound up 3 1/2 lengths shot in second. Moira exacted a measure of revenge winning the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) next out, with Full Count Felicia weakening to seventh after setting the pace.

Straight No Chaser caught the eye winning the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2) by 6 1/4 lengths following a 3 1/2-month freshening. The talented five-year-old sprinter had shown flashes in the past, but his career had been plagued by layoffs and Straight No Chaser’s ability to come back five weeks later for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) paid off. 

Next deserves mention, capping a seven-race stakes-winning streak with a 10-length score in the Greenwood Cup (G3) at Parx. The prolific long-distance specialist won his first four starts in 2024 by more than 52 combined lengths.

October

A top-class juvenile performer, She Feels Pretty failed to meet expectations when recording back-to-back narrow losses in her second and third start back at age three. Cherie DeVaux added blinkers, and She Feels Pretty responded with a brilliant six-length win in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1), turning 1 1/8 miles in 1:46.50 on Keeneland’s turf. She Feels Pretty followed with a sharp win in the American Oaks (G1) at Santa Anita in late December, and she appears set for a big four-year-old season.

After a head second in the Personal Ensign (G1), Idiomatic got back on track with a superb 6 1/2-length triumph in the Spinster (G1) at Keeneland, and the 2023 champion older dirt female looked poised to give Thorpedo Anna a serious challenge in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) before being retired due to a physical setback.

Carl Spackler defeated late-running More Than Looks by a length in an outstanding edition of the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland, and More Than Looks turned the tables on his rival in the Breeders’ Cup Mile a month later. Eastern Avenue, an eight-length debut winner at Saratoga, improved to 2-for-2 with a smashing win in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, and he remains a serious Kentucky Derby prospect after stumbling badly at the start and finishing ninth as the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1).

November

Sierra Leone launched a sweeping rally on the far turn and overhauled Fierceness in the stretch to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. After placing in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, Jim Dandy, and Travers, the Gun Runner colt discovered his best form at the conclusion of his three-year-old season, registering a 114 Speed rating for the 1 1/2-length decision, and the Chad Brown trainee will return for a four-year-old campaign in 2025.

Other Breeders’ Cup highlights included Thorpedo Anna, who capped a probable Horse of the Year season in the Distaff; Straight No Chaser ran down Bentornato in deep stretch to prevail in a compelling edition of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint; More Than Looks and Johannes stood out finishing 1-2 in the Mile, snapping a four-year run of European dominance; and Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) winner Lake Victoria, who looks poised to make a major run at the European classic for Coolmore/Aidan O’Brien next year.

Rattle N Roll made his second start of 2024 a winning one in the Clark (G2) on Churchill Downs’ closing weekend, rallying to defeat up-and-coming Most Wanted by three-quarters of a length, and providing McPeek and Hernandez with a historic treble. Along with the Derby and Oaks, the Clark is a signature event that has been held for 150 years since Churchill Downs opened. McPeek became the first trainer to win all three races in the same year, and Hernandez the second jockey, joining Hall of Famer Isaac Murphy, who swept all three races in 1884.

December

A juvenile Grade 1 winner, Locked made a belated three-year-old debut in mid-October, easily dispatching allowance rivals, and he returned to stakes competition with a very encouraging performance in the Cigar Mile (G2), rallying to defeat a deep field going away by 1 1/2 lengths. Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) third Mullikin and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) runner-up Post Time ran their race finishing second and third, but they were no match for Locked, who promises to be a serious factor in the older dirt male division in 2025.