Digging Into the Data: 2017 U.S. Grade 1 Winners
Gun Runner With 89 different horses winning the 112 Grade 1 races run on the flat in North America in 2017, there was a lot of news throughout the year. The racing season had something for everyone with 71 of the 112 Grade 1s taking place on the dirt and 40 on the turf, ranging from distances of five furlongs (the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint) to 1 ½ miles (six at that distance spread between dirt and turf). While the names of most of those Grade 1 winners are well known, it’s a good time to dig a little farther into their season – and their families – as we reflect back on the 2017 racing season. Gun Runner – Probable Horse of the Year Gun Runner (Candy Ride) had the most North American Grade 1 wins of anyone in 2017 with four. He was followed by Kentucky Oaks winner Abel Tasman (Quality Road), Stellar Wind (Curlin), and Breeders’ Cup Mile winner World Approval (Northern Afleet) who have three each. Fourteen other horses have two Grade 1s each. By The Ages – The Grade 1