National Museum of Racing announces 2024 Hall of Fame finalists
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Nine racehorses, six trainers, and two jockeys account for the 17 finalists that will comprise the National Museum of Racing’s 2024 Hall of Fame ballot, as chosen by the Museum’s Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. The finalists are racehorses Blind Luck, Game On Dude, Gio Ponti, Gun Runner, Havre de Grace, Justify, Kona Gold, Lady Eli, and Rags to Riches; trainers Christophe Clement, Kiaran P. McLaughlin, H. Graham Motion, Doug F. O’Neill, John W. Sadler, and John A. Shirreffs; and jockeys Jorge F. Chavez and Joel Rosario. Gun Runner, Justify, and Rosario are finalists in their first year of eligibility.
Hall of Fame voters may select as many 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 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 this week. Voting results on the contemporary candidates will be announced on April 23. That announcement includes this year’s selections by the Museum’s Historic Review and Pillars of the Turf committees. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will happen on Aug. 2, at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony is open to the public and free to attend.
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 inactive within 25 years are eligible through the Historic Review process.
A chestnut filly bred in Ken
tucky by Fairlawn Farm, Blind Luck (Pollard’s Vision—Lucky One, by Best of Luck) won the Eclipse Award for Champion threeyear-old Filly in 2010.
The 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.
A bay colt bred in Kentucky by Kilboy Estate, Inc., Gio Ponti (Tale of the Cat— Chipeta Springs, by Alydar) won the Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Male in 2009 and 2010 and the Eclipse for Champion Older Male in 2009.
The chestnut colt bred in Kentucky by Besilu Stables, Gun Runner (Candy Ride—Quiet Giant, by Giant’s Causeway) won the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male in 2017.
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 Female in 2011.
The chestnut colt bred in Kentucky by John D. Gunther, Justify (Scat Daddy— Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper) became America’s thirteenth Triple Crown winner and was voted the Eclipse Award winner for Horse of the Year and Champion three-year-old Male in 2018, winning all six of his career starts in 111 days.
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. That year, he set a six-furlong record at Churchill Downs in his Breeders’ Cup Sprint victory.
The dark bay filly bred in Kentucky by Runnymede Farm and Catesby W. Clay, Lady Eli (Divine Park—Sacre Coeur, by Saint Ballado) won the 2017 Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Female.
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 three-yearold Filly in 2007, a campaign highlighted by a historic victory in the Belmont Stakes. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher and Michael McCarthy for owners Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, Rags to Riches broke her maiden in her second career start in Jan. 2007, at Santa Anita.
Clement has won 2,433 races (through Feb. 19) with purse earnings of more than $169 million (eleventh all-time) in a career that began in 1991.
McLaughlin won 1,809 races with purse earnings of $130,031,267 (including international statistics) from 1995 through 2021.
Motion has won 2,709 races to date with purse earnings of more than $151 million (sixteenth all-time) in a career that began in 1993.
O’Neill has won 2,861 races with purse earnings of more than $160 million (fourteenth all-time) in a career that began in 1988.
Sadler has won 2,782 races with purse earnings of more than $149 million (seventeenth all-time) in a career that began in 1978.
Shirreffs has won 575 races, including 107 graded events, with purse earnings of more than $54 million.
Chavez won 4,526 races with purse earnings of $161,792,580 from 1988 through 2011.
Rosario has won 3,586 races with purse earnings of more than $316 million (No. 4 all-time) in a career that began in 2003.
Chaired by Edward L. Bowen, the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee is comprised of Bowen, Caton Bredar, Steven Crist, Tom Durkin, Bob Ehalt, Tracy Gantz, Teresa Genaro, Jane Goldstein, Steve Haskin, Jay Hovdey, Alicia Hughes, Tom Law, Jay Privman, Michael Veitch, and Charlotte Weber.