Always a Runner
Dark Bay or Brown Filly / January 25th, 2023 in KY / by Gun Runner out of Always Carina
$1,372,800
2026 earnings
99
speed figure
50%
2026 wins
racing Record
2026 Stats
Career Stats
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3
Firsts
3
3
Seconds
3
0
Thirds
0
0
Unplaced
0
6
Starts
6
$1,372,800
Earnings
$1,372,800
$228,800
Earnings / Start
$228,800
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Bio
Always a Runner made a sparkling first impression, winning her career debut Feb. 6, 2026, at Tampa Bay Downs by 6 ½ lengths for trainer Chad Brown. Challenged next on the Kentucky Oaks trail in the $200,000 Gazelle Stakes April 4 at Aqueduct, the Gun Runner filly aced the test with a clear victory after wearing down runner-up Pashmina in the final furlong to improve to 2-for-2 and earn a spot in the Longines Kentucky Oaks.
Always a Runner made a sparkling first impression, winning her career debut Feb. 6, 2026, at Tampa Bay Downs by 6 ½ lengths for trainer Chad Brown. Challenged next on the Kentucky Oaks trail in the $200,000 Gazelle Stakes April 4 at Aqueduct, the Gun Runner filly aced the test with a clear victory after wearing down runner-up Pashmina in the final furlong to improve to 2-for-2 and earn a spot in the Longines Kentucky Oaks.
In the May 1 Oaks, Always a Runner patiently stalked at a solid early pace, angled five-wide at the top of the stretch, and closed with a sustained charge to earn a hard-fought 1 ¼-length win over California shipper Meaning. Jockey Jose Ortiz rode the filly for the first time and secured his second Kentucky Oaks win, and Chad Brown claimed his first.
Always a Runner next started in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes held at 1 1/8 miles June 5 at Saratoga during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. She faced only four fillies, but three of them were the second-, third-, and fifth-place Oaks finishers in Meaning, Counting Stars, and Prom Queen. With Jose Ortiz riding again, Always a Runner moved to contend for the lead in early stretch but was passed by Counting Stars to her outside and settled for second in her first career defeat.
Grade 2-placed winner Always Carina, by Malibu Moon, is the dam (mother) of Always a Runner, who hails from the family of Breeders’ Cup winners Structor and More Than Real.
