Lucrative Purses Can Keep Racing's Very Best on Track

Consider the accomplishments of racing's $30 million horse Forever Young (JPN). Yes, I'm rounding a bit on the earnings total but at these kind of numbers, he's close enough. One year after securing victories and a placing in the three top international dirt races for older horses, the remarkable Forever Young continued his impressive run with a season-opening victory in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) Feb. 14 at King Abdulaziz Racecourse. With his second straight Saudi Cup win and a third straight win on the Saudi Cup day card, the Japan-trained international runner and reigning Eclipse Award winner as champion older horse is serving as trailblazer for owners with horses at the very top of the sport: There are lucrative racing opportunities for connections willing to compete in top international races. Forever Young entered Saturday's card as the earnings leader among any Eclipse Award winner in history. In fact, he already topped the earnings list of any horse with at least one start in North America. In holding off game Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Nysos to secure a 1-length win in the Saudi Cup, Forever Young landed another $10 million to move to an incredible $29,385,590. The 5-year-old Japanese-bred son of Real Steel is now more than $10.5 million ahead of Ushba Tesoro on the all-time earnings list for any horse with at least one start in North America. That $10.5 million gap between first and second is larger than the gap between second place and No. 25 American Pharoah ($8,650,300). The plan calls for Forever Young to continue racing through this season with a return trip to the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), which he won last year in a season where he also finished third in the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1). Some highlights at 3 include winning the $1.5 million Saudi Derby (G3) and $1 million UAE Derby (G2) before a close third in the Kentucky Derby (G1). He closed out that year with a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Classic. After Saturday's race, Forever Young's owner noted that while the plan is to retire to stud for the 2027 season—that plan could be delayed a couple of months to try for a third straight Saudi Cup win. For United States-based connections, it's good to know that these lucrative opportunities focus on dirt races. While one can dream of the kind of success enjoyed by Forever Young, keep in mind that Nysos landed more money for owner Baoma Corp. with his runner-up finish in the Saudi Cup ($3.5 million) than his victory in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile ($520,000). Wathnan Racing's Tumbarumba, a two-time grade 3 winner in the U.S., secured the biggest payday of his racing career when third in the Saudi Cup. The $2 million he earned vaulted him to the top position among Louisiana-breds in career earnings. As the sport attempts to keep its stars in training, international racing appears to be the path for connections to consider such an option. As reported by our correspondent Bob Kieckhefer, in the days ahead of the Saudi Cup, while speaking at the Asian Racing Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Philip Newton, chair of Britain's Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, outlined an international series similar to Formula 1 auto racing. Noting racing's downward-trending numbers on the breeding side, he said such an approach could provide a path forward. "There is very clear evidence that there is a global audience and global attention on an international elite racing product," Newton said, adding that the key is cooperation among jurisdictions to market a coherent global brand comprising the major race meetings around the globe—an effort that will require more selflessness and mutual support than has yet to surface. The connections of Forever Young are on board.