Big Finish Lifts White Abarrio to 2023 Earnings Title

With a pair of lucrative victories in his final two starts of the season, White Abarrio  soared to the top of the North American racing earnings list for 2023.

When White Abarrio entered this year's Whitney Stakes (G1) Aug. 5 at Saratoga Race Course, the son of Race Day  had lost seven of eight starts, including six straight stakes races, since his victory in the 2022 Florida Derby (G1). But he was about to return to top form at an optimum time.

Campaigned by C2 Racing Stable and La Milagrosa Stable, White Abarrio had been moved from the barn of trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. to Rick Dutrow Jr. after an allowance level victory at Gulfstream Park in March and ahead of his start in the 2023 Metropolitan Handicap (G1) in June at Belmont Park. White Abarrio would soon serve as evidence that Dutrow still had the winning touch following a 10-year suspension from racing that saw him return this year.

White Abarrio would finish third to Cody's Wish   in the Met Mile but would turn the tables on that rival in the $1 million Whitney Stakes, as he rolled to a 6 1/4-length victory in that 1 1/8-mile test at Saratoga. White Abarrio then successfully stretched out to 1 1/4 miles to win North America's richest race, taking the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park by a length.

"Right now I just feel like I'm lucky to be around him," Dutrow said after the Breeders' Cup. "I feel he's on top, and I love being around good horses like that. It just makes you feel like a good horseman, and that's always what I wanted to be."

Powered by those two wins, White Abarrio finished the year with $3,883,800 in purse earnings. Of horses with at least two starts in North America in 2023, White Abarrio led in average earnings per start at $776,760.

Four other horses surpassed $2 million in North American purse earnings in 2023, and that group represented a number of different divisions. Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage   landed the second spot at $2,507,450, and he was followed by leading North American-based turf runner Up to the Mark   ($2,427,650), top older filly or mare Idiomatic  ($2,400,280), and Irish Derby (G1) winner Auguste Rodin  who picked up his $2,080,000 in earnings in winning the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T).

Of horses with at least nine North American starts in 2023, Idiomatic led in average earnings per start at $266,698.

A pair of horses registered 10 wins in 2023 to lead North America in that category (see story here) Maryland-bred mare Divine Fashion  secured most of her 10 victories racing in the Mid-Atlantic region while Kentucky-bred Fayette Warrior  matched that number while racing in the Midwest and West regions.

In winning the Breeders' Cup Turf, Auguste Rodin earned the top Equibase Speed Figure of 2023 at 125. The top figure earned on an all-weather surface was registered by Ocean Atlantique  in the Dust Commander Stakes at Turfway Park. The top dirt figure was earned by Touchuponastar  in the Star Guitar Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.