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Record-Setter Knicks Go is Maryland Horse of the Year

Son of Paynter became the fifth Maryland-bred to win a Breeders' Cup race.

Knicks Go wins the 2020 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland

Knicks Go wins the 2020 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland

Keeneland/Coady Photography

Record-breaking grade 1 winner and millionaire Knicks Go  took home top honors as Maryland-bred horse of the year and champion older male during the fourth annual Renaissance Awards, a collaborative effort between the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and Maryland Jockey Club.

Throughout the week of Feb. 22, awards were presented through the MHBA's social media accounts to the top Maryland owner, trainer, jockey, breeder, broodmare and stallion, backstretch workers of the year at Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park, MTHA's Unsung Hero, as well as the champion Maryland-breds of 2020.

Owned by Korea Racing Authority and trained by Brad Cox, Knicks Go capped off an impressive year by setting a second track record at Keeneland with his victory in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), which he won by 3 1/2 lengths and stopped the clock in 1:33.85. He went into the Breeders' Cup after securing a 10 1/4-length victory in a 1 1/16-mile allowance at Keeneland in track record time of 1:40.79. The son of Paynter was three for three in 2020, having started the season with an allowance victory at Oaklawn Park in February. These three starts added $608,440 to his career earnings that totaled $1,348,995 through 2020.

Angie Moore bred Knicks Go, who was sold as a weanling for $40,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, and later purchased for $87,000 as a yearling by KRA at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Knicks Go is only the fifth Maryland-bred to win a Breeders' Cup World Championships race. Now 5, Knicks Go started 2021 in strong fashion by taking the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park.

Other Maryland divisional champions are as follows:
Champion 2-year-old male: Jaxon Traveler (Munnings —Listen Boy, by After Market). Bred by Dr. and Mrs. A. Leonard Pineau; owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner; trained by Steven M. Asmussen.
Champion 2-year-old filly: Street Lute (Street Magician—Alottalute, by Midnight Lute ). Bred by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman and Dr. Brooke Bowman; owned by Lucky 7 Stables; trained by John J. Robb.
Champion 3-year-old male: Field Pass (Lemon Drop Kid—Only Me, by Runaway Groom). Bred by Mark Brown Grier; owned by Three Diamonds Farm; trained by Michael J. Maker.
Champion 3-year-old filly and champion turf runner: Sharing (Speightstown —Shared Account, by Pleasantly Perfect). Bred by Sagamore Farm; owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck); trained by Graham Motion.
Champion older female: Never Enough Time (Munnings—What Time It Is, by Partner's Hero). Bred and owned by R. Larry Johnson; trained by Michael J. Trombetta.
Champion sprinter: Laki (Cuba—Truthful Dutch, by Swear by Dixie). Bred by Tom Michaels and Lorna Baker; owned by Hillside Equestrian Meadows; trained by Damon R. Dilodovico.

Photo: Rick Samuels
Sharing wins the 2020 Edgewood Stakes at Churchill Downs

Also presented were the annual breeder, stallion, and broodmare of the year awards. Angie Moore was honored as the Maryland breeder of the year, while Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds and Hillwood Stable's Love's Reason, dam of 2019 Maryland-bred champion older female Majestic Reason, won Maryland broodmare of the year, and Northview Stallion Station's Great Notion  took home the title of Maryland stallion of the year for the fifth consecutive year.

Other award winners for 2020 include Robert Bone, Maryland owner of the year; Claudio Gonzalez, Maryland trainer of the year; and, Trevor McCarthy, Maryland jockey of the year. Edgar Gallegos was honored as the Pimlico backstretch worker of the year, while Antonio Lopez Salazar earned the title of Laurel backstretch employee of the year, and jockey Victor Carrasco was recognized as the MTHA's Unsung Hero.