LOUISVILLE, Ky. — On a stormy Stephen Foster Saturday, Churchill Downs looked less like a racetrack than a tributary of the Ohio River. Less “My Old Kentucky Home” than “Way Down Upon the Swanee River.”
Horses were coming back after races looking like they’d waded through chocolate pudding.
But not Magnitude.
The new supreme commander of North American thoroughbreds splashed through a mile and an eighth of slop, beat the best field of older horses assembled in the U.S. this year and somehow came back looking showroom clean.
They hosed him off afterward mostly because protocol demanded it. But he was photo ready. Jockey Jose Ortiz's white riding pants still looked clean enough for a wedding procession.
He led gate to wire, even after a false start. The 4-year-old son of Not This Time was ready to go from the moment he set foot in the paddock. That’s probably why he broke through the starting gate before the race even began.
For a moment, panic spread through the stands, and through Steve Asmussen’s mind. But Churchill gate assistant Eric Scherer had a firm hold of the colt’s headgear and he made it only one step out of the gate. Starters were able to walk him to the back of the gate and reload him without incident.
Not that Asmussen’s nerves were calmed – “11,266 career wins and that’s the first one I’ve ever had after breaking through the gate beforehand,” the Hall of Famer said afterward.
Jose Ortiz after passing the wire first aboard Magnitude in the $2 million Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs.
When the gates opened for real, Magnitude shot to the front from his outside post and no one ever caught him. Not reigning Horse of the Year and Kentucky Derby 151 winner Sovereignty, the 4-5 favorite who finished third. Not Pennsylvania Derby winner Baeza, who froze at the start. Not the great White Abarrio, a four-time Grade I winner, who finished fourth.
“Great horses overcome obstacles that lesser horses don't," Asmussen said afterward. “… What an amazing horse. What a perfect story for all of us. H horse who came through the program, reaching the heights that he has with him beating Forever Young last time and the field that he beat today. … What a special day. What a special moment.”
Jose Ortiz, on his fourth winner of the day, took a look back as Magnitude approached the wire. He extended his arm down with three fingers out. Maybe it was a tribute to Asmussen, who won his third Stephen Foster, after doing it with Curlin in 2008 and Gun Runner in 2017.
And he did it with a colt who clearly now is in the same conversation with those two. Magnitude’s prior race was a win over $31 million winner Forever Young in the Dubai World Cup. He’s now won four stakes races in a row and with the $1.28 million winner’s share Saturday has career earnings of $9.782 million – 17th highest all-time. And he keeps getting better.
“We’re a better horse now than we’ve ever been,” Asmussen said. “And we’ve got a lot of year left.”
“People have tried to compare him to some of the great horses we’ve ever had over the years,” owner Ron Winchell said. “I was a little nervous in the stretch, but Jose kept finding more, and so did Magnitude.”
The Stephen Foster field passes the finish line for the first time on June 27, 2026 at Churchill Downs.
Magnitude had beaten Forever Young in the Dubai World Cup three months ago to climb to No. 4 in the world's dirt rankings. But this was Churchill Downs. And it was a collection of heavyweights.
Didn’t matter. Magnitude became the first gate-to-wire winner of the race since Gun Runner in 2017. And he’ll now follow Gun Runner’s path, aiming next for the Travers at Saratoga.
Five strides before the finish, Ortiz stopped asking Magnitude for more because there wasn't any need. The race had already answered its biggest question.
Was Dubai the performance of a lifetime? Or was it simply what Magnitude does now? An injury took him off the Triple Crown trail last year after a stakes record in the Risen Star while prepping for the Kentucky Derby. Now he’s won four straight starts, and is making his case as the top dirt horse in the world.
“He’s an incredible horse,” said Ortiz, who also rode Maxfield to victory in the 2021 Foster. “I figured we’d make the lead if he broke well because he has such a high cruising speed. Sometimes he switches leads, but he keeps fighting. It was another incredible effort for him today.”
Bill Mott, trainer of Baeza and Sovereignty, made no excuses.
“Baeza doesn’t lay down in the gate – he’s just slow away from there and he gave himself a lot to do,” Mott said. “As for Sovereignty, he just didn’t have the kick he needed today.”
And Magnitude’s, well, magnitude, continues to grow.
He not only beat a field full of heavyweights.
On the muddiest afternoon of the Churchill Downs meet, he made it all look clean.
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