Horseshoe Indianapolis announced Nov. 17 for its recently completed meet. Roger Spiess and Randy Klopp were leading owners, Genaro Garcia leading trainer, and Joe Ramos leading jockey. Additionally, Itzforever from the Tony Granitz Stable was crowned the track's leading Thoroughbred Horse of the Year.
Spiess and Klopp teamed up for their third straight leading owner title. Running under the name Spiess Stable and Randy Klopp, the ownership duo scored 33 wins from 168 starts with purse money of more than $834,000.
"This is absolutely great (winning another owner title)," said Klopp, who trains for the partnership. "We couldn't do this without great help in the barn and without Roger buying us nice horses at the sales."
A retired veterinarian from Ohio, Spiess was busy earlier Friday at the Keeneland November Horses of Racing Age Sale, searching for new prospects.
"Randy and his crew did a great job again," added Spiess. "Our partnership goes well beyond 20 years and the entire barn works hard. A special thanks goes out to everyone in the barn and all the jockeys. It was another great year."
Garcia earned his first leading trainer title in 2017. This year, he topped the standings again, winning his fifth title in the past seven years at the conclusion of the 2023 racing season at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
Garcia's horses won 73 races during the 123-day meet with purse earnings of more than $1.7 million. The tally marks a new record for most money earned in one season by a trainer in Horseshoe Indianapolis history.
"I want to thank everyone who made this possible," said Garcia. "Our whole team in the barn and all the riders had a hand in this. I thank all of them for their hard work."
Garcia, who calls Central Indiana home, will keep some horses at Horseshoe Indianapolis for winter training and racing at Turfway Park, but he plans to spread out and race at other tracks, including Oaklawn Park and Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. His younger horses get a break until next year's meet, which begins April 8 and runs through Nov. 14.
It was not without drama all the way to the finish as Ramos scored his second consecutive title by one win, coming down to the final race of the meet. Ramos completed the season with 109 wins over Fernando De La Cruz with 108.
"First of all, I thank the Lord because he keeps me healthy and gives me the opportunity to do this again," said Ramos, who has made his home in Shelbyville. "There are a lot of people that work hard for me. I worked hard for this, and I dreamed of this, but it wouldn't be possible without all the people around me. My agent, 'Bones' (Wirth), deserves the credit. He is the one that gets my business going and when we struggle, he takes me out of that and gets me back going."
Ramos topped his tally of 106 wins from 2022. He completes the 2023 season with $3,233,548. A win percentage of 18 boosted him to the top along with a 48 percent top three showing. He was also the tracks leading apprentice jockey in 2019.
As for the Horse of the Year at the meet, Itzforever notched five wins and $244,150 in earnings.
A 4-year-old daughter of Forever d'Oro, Itzforever has been with the Granitz Stable from the beginning. She was a $60,000 purchase from the Fasig Tipton October Yearling Sale in 2021 by David Walters, who has been an owner with Tony Granitz for more than 20 years. Now a resident of Nashville, Tenn., Walters had the best season of his career with Itzforever.
Itzforever won the $100,000 ITOBA Stallion Fillies and returned on Indiana Champions Day for a win in the $200,000 Lady Fog Horn Stakes, a race that means a lot to Granitz.
"We were so thrilled to win the Lady Fog Horn with her since we used to train Lady Fog Horn," added Granitz. "That is a special win for us and one of the highlights of the meet."