Texas Chrome Named 2017 Texas Horse of the Year

Texas Chrome, who last year joined Groovy as just the second Texas-bred millionaire in history, will be named the Texas Horse of the Year for the second consecutive season at the Texas Thoroughbred Association's annual meeting and awards banquet June 23 at Lone Star Park.

The 2017 Texas champions were determined by points earned in stakes performances during the year.

Texas Chrome competed in five graded stakes last season, with a trio of second-place finishes in the Steve Sexton Mile Stakes (G3) and Lone Star Park Handicap (G3) in his home state, and also in the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (G3) in Iowa. Texas Chrome also won the Assault Stakes at Lone Star, and in the process went over the $1 million mark in earnings for Danny Keene's Keene Thoroughbreds. The 5-year-old has since been retired to stud with a record of 9-4-3 from 22 starts and earnings of $1,033,262. He will also be awarded the title of Texas champion older horse.

A $10,000 purchase by Keene at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Texas summer yearling sale, Texas Chrome was bred by Craig Upham and sired by Grasshopper , who previously stood at Lane's End Texas and now stands at Valor Farm near Pilot Point, Texas. Upham and his wife, Sue Dowling, consigned Texas Chrome to the sale as Stoneview Farm.

Texas Chrome's half sister, Patrona Margarita, will be honored as Texas champion 2-year-old filly after the daughter of Special Rate won the Pocahontas Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs and ran third in the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity at Lone Star. Bred and owned by Upham, Patrona Margarita is out of the Texas-bred Naevus mare Margarita Mistress, who will be named Texas champion broodmare for the second year in a row.

Longtime Texas breeders and owners Wayne Sanders and Larry Hirsch also scored dual honors as their homebreds Kat's Infatuation and Zippit E earned the titles of Texas champion 3-year-old filly and Texas champion older filly/mare, respectively.

The complete list of the 2017 Texas champions:

2-year-old filly: Patrona Margarita (by Special Rate)

2-year-old colt/gelding: Redatory (by Oratory)

3-year-old filly: Kat's Infatuation (by Silver City)

3-year-old colt/gelding: Durocher (by Niagara Causeway )

Older filly/mare: Zippit E (by My Golden Song )

Horse of the Year and older horse: Texas Chrome (by Grasshopper)

Champion broodmare: Margarita Mistress