Wise Dan Heads List of 2020 Hall of Fame Finalists

Two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan heads a list of six horses, four trainers, and one jockey named as finalists on the National Museum of Racing's 2020 Hall of Fame ballot, as chosen by the Hall of Fame nominating committee.

The 10 other finalists are horses Blind Luck, Game On Dude (first year of eligibility), Havre de Grace, Kona Gold, Rags to Riches, and Wise Dan (first year of eligibility); trainers Mark Casse, Christophe Clement, Doug O'Neill, and David Whiteley; and jockey Corey Nakatani. 

Blind Luck: A chestnut filly bred in Kentucky by Fairlawn Farm, Blind Luck (Pollard's Vision—Lucky One, by Best of Luck) won the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old filly in 2010. A multiple grade 1 winner at ages 2 and 3, Blind Luck was also a grade 1 winner at 4. Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer and owned by Hollendorfer in partnership with Mark DeDomenico, John Carver, and Peter Abruzzo, Blind Luck posted a career record of 12-7-2 from 22 starts and earnings of $3,279,520 from 2009-12. She won 10 graded stakes in her career, including six grade 1s: the Kentucky Oaks, Oak Leaf Stakes, Hollywood Starlet Stakes, Las Virgenes Stakes, Alabama Stakes, and Vanity Handicap. Throughout her career, Blind Luck defeated the likes of Havre de Grace (three times), Life At Ten, Unrivaled Belle, Evening Jewel, Devil May Care, and Switch. 

Game On Dude: A dark bay gelding bred in Kentucky by Adena Springs, Game On Dude (Awesome Again—Worldly Pleasure, by Devil His Due) won 14 graded stakes, including eight grade 1s. Racing from 2010-14, he compiled a record of 16-7-1 from 34 starts and earnings of $6,498,893. Owned by Diamond Pride, Lanni Family Trust, Mercedes Stable, and Bernie Schiappa, Game On Dude was trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. He is the only horse to win the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) three times (2011, 2013, 2014), setting a stakes record in the 2014 edition by covering 1 1/4 miles in 1:58.17. 

Havre de Grace: A bay filly bred in Kentucky by Nancy S. Dillman, Havre de Grace (Saint Liam—Easter Brunette, by Carson City) won the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and champion older female in 2011. Trained by Anthony Dutrow at ages 2 and 3 and by Larry Jones thereafter, Havre de Grace was campaigned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms throughout her career. After finishing second to champion Blind Luck in thrilling editions of the Delaware Oaks (G2) and Alabama in 2010, Havre de Grace earned her first graded stakes victory later that year in the Cotillion Stakes (G2). In her 2011 Horse of the Year campaign, she defeated Blind Luck in the Azeri Stakes (G2) and went on to win grade 1s in the Apple Blossom Handicap, Woodward Stakes (defeating males, including Flat Out ), and Beldame Invitational Stakes (defeating Hall of Famer Royal Delta). 

Kona Gold: A bay gelding bred in Kentucky by Carlos Perez, Kona Gold (Java Gold—Double Sunrise, by Slew o' Gold) won the Eclipse Award for champion sprinter in 2000, when he set a six-furlong track record at Churchill Downs in his Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) victory. Campaigned by Bruce Headley (who also served as his trainer), Irwin and Andrew Molasky, Michael Singh, et al, Kona Gold raced from 1998-2003 with a record of 14-7-2 from 30 starts and earnings of $2,293,384. He placed in two other editions of the Breeders' Cup Sprint, set a track record for 5 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita Park, and won a total of 10 graded stakes. 

Rags to Riches: A chestnut filly bred in Kentucky by Skara Glen Stables, Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy—Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister) won the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old filly in 2007, a campaign highlighted by a historic victory over males in the Belmont Stakes (G1). Trained by Todd Pletcher and Michael McCarthy for Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith, Rags to Riches broke her maiden in her second career start Jan. 7, 2007 at Santa Anita. That six-length victory was the beginning of a five-race win streak. The next four wins were all grade 1s: the Las Virgenes Stakes and Santa Anita Oaks in California; the Kentucky Oaks; and the Belmont in New York. In the Belmont, Rags to Riches defeated eventual two-time Horse of the Year and Hall of Famer Curlin  by a head to become the first filly in 102 years to win the third jewel of the Triple Crown. Rags to Riches remains one of only three fillies to win the 1 1/2-mile Belmont. 

Wise Dan: A chestnut gelding bred in Kentucky by owner Morton Fink, Wise Dan (Wiseman's Ferry—Lisa Danielle, by Wolf Power) was Horse of the Year in 2012 and 2013 and also earned the Eclipse Awards for champion older male and champion male turf horse in each of those years for a total of six Eclipse Awards. He won the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) at Santa Anita in both 2012 and 2013. Trained by Charles LoPresti, Wise Dan raced from 2010-14, compiling a career record of 23-2-0 from 31 starts and earnings of $7,552,920. He won a total of 19 graded stakes on turf, dirt, and synthetic, including 11 grade 1 events. 

Casse, 59, has won 2,850 races (through March 1) with purse earnings of more than $173 million (ninth all time) in a career that began in 1979. A 2016 Canadian Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Casse has won the Sovereign Award for outstanding trainer in Canada a record 11 times. He has won five Breeders' Cup races and trained four Eclipse Award winners: Shamrock Rose, World Approval, Classic Empire , and Tepin, who won the group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2016. In 2019, Casse won two-thirds of the American Triple Crown, winning the Preakness Stakes (G1) with War of Will and the Belmont with Sir Winston.

Clement, 54, has won 1,990 races to date with purse earnings of more than $133 million (13th all time) in a career that began in 1991. Clement trained three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti , winner of four straight grade 1s on the turf in 2009, as well as 2014 Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist , who won consecutive runnings of the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2014-15. Clement has won 241 graded stakes.

O'Neill, 51, has won 2,473 races  with purse earnings of more than $134 million (12th all time) in a career that began in 1988. He won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in 2012 with I'll Have Another  and the Derby in 2016 with Nyquist . O'Neill has trained five Eclipse Award winners: Thor's Echo, Stevie Wonderboy, Maryfield, I'll Have Another, and Nyquist and has won five Breeders' Cup races. A native of Dearborn, Mich., O'Neill won nine graded stakes with Hall of Fame member Lava Man.

Whiteley, who died in 2017 at the age of 72, won 454 races and had purse earnings of more than $11 million in a career that spanned from 1970-95, an era when trainers generally had far smaller barns than today. He trained Eclipse Award winners Waya (inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019), Revidere, and Just a Game. Whiteley won the Belmont Stakes in 1979 with Coastal, thwarting the Triple Crown hopes of Spectacular Bid.  A native of Easton, Md., Whiteley won 22% of his career starts (454 for 2,068), including 45 graded stakes.

Nakatani, 49, won 3,909 races with purse earnings of $234,554,534 million in a career that spanned from 1988-2018. He ranks 12th all time in career earnings and won 341 graded stakes. Nakatani won 10 Breeders' Cup races (one of only 10 riders to do so), including four editions of the Sprint. He won three riding titles at Del Mar, two at Santa Anita, and one at Hollywood Park, as well as four Oak Tree meetings. Nakatani won five grade 1 races with Hall of Famer Lava Man. He also won multiple stakes with Hall of Famer Serena's Song, as well as Eclipse Award winners Shared Belief and Sweet Catomine.

Hall of Fame voters may select as many or as few candidates as they believe are worthy of induction to the Hall of Fame. All candidates that receive 50% plus one vote (majority approval) of the voting panel will be elected to the Hall of Fame. All finalists were required to receive support from two-thirds of the nominating committee to qualify for the ballot. 

Hall of Fame ballots will be mailed to the voting panel today. The results of the voting on the contemporary candidates will be announced May 6. That announcement will also include this year's selections by the Museum's Historic Review and Pillars of the Turf committees. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Aug. 7 at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be open to the public and is free to attend.

The finalists were selected by the Hall of Fame's nominating committee from a total of 91 initial candidates suggested by turf journalists, Thoroughbred industry participants, and racing fans.

To be eligible, trainers must be licensed for 25 years, while jockeys must be licensed for 20 years. Thoroughbreds are required to be retired for five calendar years before becoming eligible. All candidates must have been active within the past 25 years. The 20- and 25-year requirements for jockeys and trainers, respectively, may be waived at the discretion of the museum's executive committee. Candidates not active within the past 25 years are eligible through the historic review process.

Chaired by Edward L. Bowen, the Hall of Fame nominating committee is comprised of Bowen, Steven Crist, Tom Durkin, Bob Ehalt, Tracy Gantz, Teresa Genaro, Jane Goldstein, Steve Haskin, Jay Hovdey, Tom Law, Neil Milbert, Jay Privman, John Sparkman, Michael Veitch, John von Stade, and Charlotte Weber.