This has been an exciting year for US Horse Racing, with two frontrunners in some of the top races across the country, fans have been treated to a thrilling series of competitions with high stakes (pun intended). First, there is Sovereignty, William Mott’s horse who won both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes, and then there’s Journalism, who was a fierce contender, coming second in both of the above but placing first in the Preakness and the Santa Anita Derby, however, now it looks like Journalism has got yet another feather in his cap, and a big one at that!

Journalism just won the Haskell Stakes, his third Grade 1 win this year, at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, New Jersey. The race consisted of a field of 8 competing horses, all with impressive track records in their own right. One competitor was Goal-Oriented, Bob Baffert’s horse, whom the famous trainer was hoping would score him his tenth Haskell Stakes victory, but unfortunately for Baffert, Journalism, who was the top choice to win with 4-5 odds, ended up proving the number right by bagging the $1 million victory.

Trainer Michael McCarthy had this to say about the big win: “He did it again, um, no obviously, [I was a] little concerned here, [he] bounced out of the gate and broke just ok again. He came with that long, measured run, but it was long and it was steady. I looked at the wire, I looked at Journalism, I looked at the leaders, glad we had a couple extra jumps there to get the job done.” With this win, Journalism once again went postward as the morning-line favorite—one of 12 winners crowned from the favored choice over the past 21 editions of the Haskell Stakes—a race still known for its dramatic upsets and eagerly anticipated finishes, definitely affecting next year’s betting booths!

When asked about the crowd cheering him home, an emotional McCarthy added, “I can’t tell you what a horse like this does. He’s, um, pretty special.” The trainer additionally spoke about how Journalism’s untouched form during this steady race opens up a lot of doors for him with other upcoming races, such as the Breeder’s Cup Classic that Journalism now automatically enters into as a winner of the Haskell Stakes.

A brief overview of the Breeder’s Cup Classic and what Journalism have in store for himself

Though the Kentucky Derby seems to be the most popular race through the US season, it is actually the Breeders’ Cup Classic that holds ultimate elite status, requiring horses to qualify to race for it based on their performance in the various other stakes through the year, this is done in three ways: a point system, winning a Breeders’ Cup Challenge race, and a selection panel. The point system allots a certain number of points to wins in Grade 1, Grade 2 or Grade 3 races, while the Breeder’s Cup challenge races are spread out across the year and all over the globe, and the selection panel is made up of a team of experts who judge each horse’s performance individually.

Additionally, being one of the top five richest races in the world, the Breeders’ Cup Classic offers a seriously generous prize purse of $7 million in total, with the first-place winner receiving a grand $3,640,000 and 7th-10th place all receiving $70,000 each.

The interesting thing about this race, however, is that it is open to both male and female horses three years and up, with a cap at fourteen contenders. In 2009 Zenyatta became the first and only mare to have won the race, but who’s to say what this year holds with horses competing from all over the globe?

However, with Journalism smooth sailing and hot off his recent win, maybe McCarthy will seriously consider keeping his eyes on this prize!