Dortmund

Southern California-based Dortmund broke his maiden at first asking by 4 3/4 lengths in November of his 2-year-old year. Later that same month, he traveled to Churchill Downs to capture an allowance race by 7 3/4 lengths. The effort propelled the colt to the top of some Kentucky Derby contender lists, and Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed with Dortmund as the lowest-priced individual betting interest.

He lived up to the hype in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity by outfinishing runner-up Firing Line and Grade 1-placed Mr. Z in his stakes debut.

Dortmund opened his 3-year-old season with a win over Firing Line in the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes. Firing Line streaked past Dortmund in the stretch, but he battled back from the inside to prevail. The San Felipe Stakes proved a coming-out party for Dortmund as he dominated the opposition and secured a spot in the Kentucky Derby with 50 points. Dortmund secured his spot as one of the Kentucky Derby favorites a few weeks later when he romped in the Santa Anita Derby.

Dortmund tasted defeat for the first time in the Kentucky Derby when he set the pace in the first jewel of the Triple Crown before fading late to finish third. He then finished fourth in the Preakness before taking several months off, returning with a dominant win in the Big Bear Stakes at Santa Anita in October 2015. He capped his 3-year-old campaign with another victory in the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 28.

Dortmund made his first start of 2016 in July at Del Mar, when he battled gamely through the stretch but came up just a half-length short to champion California Chrome in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap. He then finished third behind California Chrome in the Pacific Classic and second behind him in the Awesome Again Stakes before a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile as the odds-on favorite.

Dortmund is owned by Kaleem Shah, owner of 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) winner Bayern. Like Bayern, Dortmund is named after a German soccer club.

The Big Brown colt is out of a graded stakes-placed Tale of the Cat mare, Our Josephina. Dortmund was offered at the 2012 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale as a weanling, but he failed to meet his reserve with a final bid of $85,000.

Donato Lanni purchased Dortmund for $140,000 at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of 2-year-olds in training on behalf of Shah.