2015 Santa Anita Derby Winner
Dortmund was a giant of a colt who lit up the 2015 Triple Crown trail and gave fans plenty to remember. He was foaled in 2012 and trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Bob Baffert for owner Kaleem Shah. His sire was the 2008 Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, and his dam was Our Josephina, a daughter of Tale of the Cat. He stood about 17 hands tall and weighed well over 1,200 pounds, making him one of the biggest racehorses anyone had seen in years.
Dortmund was unbeaten coming into the 2015 Kentucky Derby. As a two year old he won his maiden race, and as a three year old he ran off a perfect string of stakes wins on the West Coast. He took the Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita, then the San Felipe Stakes, and capped his Derby prep with a powerful win in the 2015 Santa Anita Derby. By the time he shipped to Kentucky, he had won six races in a row.
The 2015 Kentucky Derby was one of the great editions of the race because both Dortmund and his stablemate American Pharoah were entered. Bob Baffert trained both colts, and many fans wondered which one would come out on top. American Pharoah won the Derby, Firing Line ran second, and Dortmund finished a close third. He came back two weeks later in the Preakness Stakes, where he ran fourth on a sloppy track behind American Pharoah and others. American Pharoah went on to win the Triple Crown.
Dortmund continued to race after his Triple Crown campaign and added another graded win at four. He retired with 7 wins from 13 starts and earnings of nearly 2 million dollars. He went to stud at Hill 'n' Dale Farm and later moved to other locations as a regional sire. Dortmund is remembered as the giant gray colt with the long stride and the easy speed, a horse who came along in one of the most exciting Derby years in modern racing history.
Sources:
Sire: Big Brown
Grandsire: Boundary
Dam: Our Josephina
Damsire: Empire Maker
Sex: Stallion
Foaled: 2012
Country: United States
Colour: Chestnut
Breeder: Emilie Gerlinde Fojan
Owner: Kaleem Shah, Inc.
Trainer: Bob Baffert Art Sherman
Jockey: Gary L. Stevens
Record: 16: 8–2–2
Earnings: $1,987,505
Major races: Los Alamitos Futurity (2014), Robert B. Lewis Stakes (2015), San Felipe Stakes (2015), Santa Anita Derby (2015), Native Diver Handicap (2015), Big Bear Stakes
Post Career: would stand stallion duties at Bill Boniface's Bonita Farm in Darlington, Maryland. Some of his notable offspring include Maxim Rate, Princess Noor, and Gamine. He died in South Korea on April 18, 2022 at the age of ten, due to colic.