Godolphin, Prat, Brown earn seasonal titles

An Equibase News Service release (Keeneland photo of Manny Franco guiding the Brad Cox-trained Immersive to victory in Keeneland’s Darley Alcibiades, one of Godolphin’s three Grade 1 victories in Kentucky in 2024)

Godolphin LLC Sets Earnings Mark as Leading Owner for Fourth Consecutive Year; Jockey Flavien Prat Sets Single-Season Stakes Wins Records; Chad Brown Leading Trainer

Godolphin LLC, which campaigned 22 North American graded stakes winners, including two Breeders’ Cup winners, set a single-season record in earnings as the leading owner for the fourth consecutive year, and Flavien Prat established single-season stakes and graded stakes records as the leading jockey by earnings according to final statistics released today by Equibase Company LLC, the Thoroughbred industry’s official database for racing information. Chad Brown ended the year on top as the leading trainer by earnings; his first earnings title since 2022 and sixth overall.

Brown won five Grade 1 races in Kentucky in 2024, while Godolphin won three and Prat one. Half of Godolphin’s graded-stakes triumph were in the Commonwealth, while Brown and Prat won nine graded-stakes apiece in the state.

The year-end compilations are distributed annually by Equibase and include results from Thoroughbred racing in North America from January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. Expanded North American racing leaders’ lists that include all trainers, jockeys, owners, and horses are available within the statistical section at equibase.com. These lists include the ability to look at leaders in a variety of categories, including age, sex, surface, graded races, foaling year for horses, and the inclusion of designated foreign races, such as the Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup.

Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (Gr. 1) winner Sierra Leone, who also won the Toyota Blue Grass (Gr. 1) and Risen Star Stakes (Gr. 2), led all Thoroughbreds in North American earnings with $5,911,250. When including earnings from Dubai World Cup and Saudi Cup days, Senor Buscador ended the year with earnings of $12,021,000 on the virtue of his victory in the Saudi Cup and third-place finish in the Dubai World Cup.

Completing the list of top 10 horses by North American earnings were Mystik Dan with $4,070,550, Thorpedo Anna with $3,653,050,Fierceness with $2,753,600, Rebel’s Romance (IRE) with $2,600,000, National Treasure with $2,475,000, Seize the Grey with $2,324,800,Dornoch with $2,169,875, Cogburn with $1,802,000, and Immersive with $1,622,700.

Some of the leading horses also were the top earners from their respective foal crops. The leading earners by foaling year from the past five years were Immersive (by Nyquist, 2022 foal crop), Sierra Leone (by Gun Runner, 2021 foal crop), National Treasure (by Quality Road, 2020),  White Abarrio (by Race Day, 2019), and Essential Quality (by Tapit, 2018). 

For the fourth consecutive year, Godolphin – with 104 North American wins from 460 starts – was a dominant force among owners in 2024 with record earnings of $20,234,455, surpassing their previous mark of $17.5 million set in 2021. When including earnings from the Dubai and Saudi Cup days, Godolphin’s earnings for the year were $24,414,455.

Completing the list of top 10 owners by North American earnings in 2024 were Klaravich Stables, Inc., $8,375,757 (77 wins / 324 starts);Juddmonte, $7,086,728 (42/142); Repole Stable, $5,764,749 (41/221); Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook T. Smith, $5,461,250 (3/4); Calumet Farm, $4,514,711 (41/396); Gary Barber, $4,465,332 (69/397); Winchell Thoroughbreds, $3,976,187 (45/224); Bruno Schickedanz, $3,969,039 (160/1,143); and Siena Farm LLC and WinStar Farm LLC, $3,961,516 (26/90).

Prat reached the winner’s circle 230 times from 1,040 mounts in 2024 with earnings of $37,274,176 while establishing records for both the number of stakes wins and graded stake wins in a single season. Prat won 82 stakes races in 2024, surpassing Irad Ortiz, Jr’s previous mark of 79 in 2022 and his 56 graded stakes wins broke the old mark of 55 set by Jerry Bailey in 2003. 

Rounding out the list of top 10 jockeys by North American earnings in 2024 were Irad Ortiz, Jr., $32,963,380 (1,549 starts / 327 wins);Tyler Gaffalione, $28,987,644 (250/1,478); Jose Ortiz, $26,004,396 (276/1,362); Luis Saez, $25,908,933 (235/1,443); Brian Hernandez, Jr.; $20,749,920 (125/795); Manuel Franco, $18,109,433 (210/1,132); John Velazquez, $17,257,993 (106/712); Dylan Davis, $16,449,634 (213/1,128); and Florent Geroux, $16,443,675 (123/651).

Brown sent out the winners of 211 races from 344 starters with 925 starts for earnings of $30,866,710 in 2024. Completing the list of top 10 trainers by North American earnings were Steve Asmussen, $29,338,851 (407 wins / 610 starters / 2,288 starts); Brad Cox, $28,301,397 (243/351/919); Todd Pletcher, $19,901,016 (143/284 /800); Mark Casse, $17,721,580 (231/363/1,284); Saffie Joseph, Jr., $16,631,992 (264/299/1,071); Kenny McPeek, $16,270,089 (92/201/661); Michael Maker, $15,975546 (196/377/1,320); Bob Baffert, $14,506,986 (95/115/336); and Christophe Clement, $12,722,301 (119/194/632).