Thanksgiving week delivered not only holiday cheer but also a strong slate of graded stakes action from coast to coast. From the 151^st running of the historic Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare to key qualifiers on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks (all at Churchill Downs) plus a stellar finale of the Bing Crosby Meet at Del Mar, the week offered no shortage of headline performances. Results from these races affected the top earnings rankings for horses in several divisions as tabulated by Equibase – and in the jockey standings, the divisional leader moved closer to breaking his own record for annual earnings set two years ago.

In 2023, Irad Ortiz Jr. set a North American single-season earnings record for a jockey with $39,193,365. In 2025, he is on pace to surpass that milestone once again, currently sitting just $78,286 shy of his record with $39,115,079 in earnings. Last week, Ortiz Jr. was simply brilliant, leading all North American jockeys with 16 wins from 53 mounts (30%) and $1,779,481 in earnings. Six of those victories came in stakes races. With less than a month remaining in 2025, he maintains a lead of nearly $1 million over Flavien Prat in the earnings race.

Graded stakes results were highlighted by the Clark Stakes Friday at Churchill, which delivered a sensational stretch run between top-three finishers Magnitude, Hit Show and Chunk of Gold. Magnitude, a major contender on the Kentucky Derby trail earlier this year for trainer Steve Asmussen, has continued to shine throughout his sophomore campaign despite a nearly five-month layoff due to an injury. Since returning in July, the son of Not This Time has been exceptional, dominating the Iowa Derby by 9 ¼ lengths, finishing third in the Grade 1 DraftKings Travers Stakes, and running second in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby.

Magnitude (center) wins the Clark. (Coady Media)

After a brief reset following that effort, Magnitude returned on Friday with another powerful performance, winning the Clark by a half-length and earning a career-best 114 Equibase Speed Figure. The victory pushed him past the $1 million mark in 2025 earnings, now at $1,148,200 for the year, and propelled him 27 spots up Equibase’s leaderboard for all horses to 32^nd. He also moved into the top 10 among 3-year-old males, now ninth in the division.

Saturday at Churchill, the Stars of Tomorrow II card featured several standout juvenile performances. The Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, offering 10 qualifying points to next spring’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, centered around Further Ado, who entered the race off a dazzling 20-length maiden victory. The 2-year-old Gun Runner colt validated the hype in the Kentucky Jockey Club, drawing clear to win by 1 ¾ lengths for trainer Brad Cox with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard. That was one of five wins the duo shared on Saturday’s card, helping propel both to Fall Meet titles at Churchill. The Kentucky Jockey Club also marked Cox’s 500^th career victory at Churchill Downs. With his first graded stakes score, Further Ado jumped to 10^th in Equibase’s 2-year-old male earnings leaderboard, now with $320,703.

One race later Saturday, Godolphin’s Bella Ballerina remained undefeated from two career starts with a half-length victory in the Golden Rod Stakes, a points prep for the 2026 Longines Kentucky Oaks. Bella Ballerina moved up to 15^th in the 2-year-old filly division with $301,525 in earnings.

North American leaders lists for horses, jockeys, trainers and owners are available on equibase.com and you can filter the data to view by a wide variety of categories including age, sex, surface and race type.