According to an Aug. 10 social media post on X from White Abarrio's co-owners, Clint and Mark Cornett of C2 Racing Stable, the 7-year-old son of Race Day has been retired from racing.
What a ride, champ!
— C2 Racing Stable (@C2RacingStable) August 10, 2026
WHITE ABARRIO has officially retired — and what an unforgettable journey he took C2 Racing Stable and racing fans on. A 4x Grade 1 winner and $8.5M in career earnings, he gave us more than we ever imagined.
Thank you for everything, WHITE ABARRIO. pic.twitter.com/1EtJrQHjes
The $8.5 million earner ran his final race Aug. 8 for the Cornetts and co-owners Gary Barber and La Milagrosa Stable when finishing seventh and last in the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. He won the Whitney in 2023, defeating among others that year's eventual Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male Cody's Wish .
A fan favorite because of his competitive spirit, striking near-white coloring, not to mention his sidekick, companion goat Brownie, White Abarrio retires with a record of 11-3-3 in 28 starts. Besides winning the Whitney, White Abarrio's other grade 1 wins came in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park, 2025 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park, and the 2022 Florida Derby (G1).
He was scratched minutes before the start of last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Del Mar by the on-track veterinarian, which prompted his connections to file a lawsuit against the Breeders' Cup, the California Horse Racing Board, Del Mar, and unknown defendants accusing them of being responsible for wrongfully scratching White Abarrio. The Kentucky-bred raced four times this year, including a win in the April 18 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) and a runner-up finish in the Pegasus World Cup.
Spendthrift Farm bred White Abarrio out of the Into Mischief mare Catching Diamonds, who is a half sister to multiple group winner Cool Cowboy (Kodiak Kowboy) and stakes-placed winner and stakes producer Appeal to the Win. White Abarrio's second dam is the winning Grand Slam daughter Grand Breeze, who is a half sister to Afleet Lass, who is the dam of graded-placed stakes winner Honor the Fleet. Grand Breeze also is the granddam of grade 1-placed, graded stakes winner Mutasaabeq.
Trained for the majority of his career by Saffie Joseph Jr., White Abarrio, as previously reported in June, will stand stud next year at Gainesway near Lexington.
Video: Oaklawn H. (G2)
In June Joseph told the BloodHorse in advance of White Abarrio's fourth-place finish in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs, "He's a full man now, he's a man in his prime. He's been a model of consistency, which is very hard—especially for dirt horses—to run from 2 to 7. Sometimes they run to that level, but they don't stay at their supreme best. He's just showed determination and grit mentally to be able to do it."
