
Power Rankings: Owen Almighty Enters Derby Top 10 after Tampa Tour de Force
Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown had two wins from 12 starts last week in North America (17%) with $182,983 in earnings. Despite a relatively slow week, Brown became the first and only trainer this year to surpass $30 million in 2024 earnings. Brown remains on top of the Equibase trainer standings with $30,056,825, followed by Steve Asmussen in second with $26,110,531 and Brad Cox in third with $25,502,380.
Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen had six wins and $342,463 in earnings last week, the most of any trainer across North America; however he remains in second in the standings to Chad Brown, behind by nearly $4 million in earnings. Asmussen is on top of the leaderboard by wins with 359, 37 more than Jamie Ness in second place with 322. This is Asmussen’s ninth year in a row and 19th all-time with more than 300 wins in a single year.
There were no significant changes in Equibase’s jockey standings, as Flavien Prat sits comfortably in the earnings lead by almost $4 million followed by Irad Ortiz Jr. in second. Both Prat and Ortiz Jr. rode three winners last week and have surged past the $30 million mark in 2024 earnings; however, the standout jockey of the week was Luis Saez with 12 wins from 29 starts (41%) and $802,077 in earnings. Saez remains in fifth in the North American jockey standings with $23,068,161 in earnings from 200 wins in 2024.
Among racehorses, Nobals returned to the winner’s circle last Saturday for the first time in 2024, winning the Grade 2 bet365 Kennedy Road Stakes at Woodbine for trainer Larry Rivelli with veteran jockey E. T. Baird in the irons. After his win in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Nobals ran in three consecutive races without hitting the board. Saturday was a turning point for the 5-year-old gelding by Noble Mission, as he defeated the odds-on favorite Patches O’Houlihan by three-quarters of a length and earned a career best 118 Equibase Speed Figure. Following his win on Saturday, Nobals has six wins and two seconds from nine career starts on all-weather tracks.
Another notable performance came from Wicked Django, who won the Grade 2 HPIbet Autumn Stakes at Woodbine by 1 ¼ lengths at odds of 24.20-1 to give owner Ryan Brewster his first career graded stakes win. Wicked Django has finished in the money six times out of seven starts this year with two wins, a second and three thirds and has amassed $186,484 in earnings.