The Haynesfield ($135.000 Purse)
AQU- For Four Year Olds and Upward Foaled In NY
One Mile on the Dirt
March 29, 2026

It may not have been a surprise to see Kentucky Fox win The Haynesfield, since we did give him the nod to do so, but the dominant nature of how it happened was a bit unexpected. The six-year-old gelding would jump right to the lead from the gate and go on to win by nearly a full second. We didn’t only pick the winner here in the SRF, we also picked the complete order of finish. It’s the third win in four starts for Kentucky Fox since he was claimed by Night Rider Stables, and it will be interesting to see where he ends up next. This is now the fourth time that Night Rider has won the Haynesfield out of the eleven times that it has been held. Ru Silvera is the winning jockey, the first time he has done so. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:33.94, and that is a new stake record. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.57)- Three of them break well out of the gate, but it will be our eventual winner from Night Rider Stables, Kentucky Fox, getting ahead by a length after a quarter mile, and it will be the last time he has a horse near him for the duration of the race. Excitable Boy and Classical, respectively trained by South Shore Stables and D J C Racing Stables are side by side for second, and a length and a half ahead of fourth place Big Jd Racing- trained Pretty Boy Floyd. Barn Breath (Our Athletes) is a length behind him while at the back.

(½ Mile- :47.04)- At the end of the backstretch trip, Kentucky Fox is cruising along, now opening up his advantage to about a full length and a half over Classical. Excitable Boy is trying to keep up with him, and will for now. It’s still two to Pretty Boy Floyd, and another to Barn Breath.

(Top of Stretch, 1.8F To Go)- If you had thought that Kentucky Fox had been good in the backstretch, you had not seen anything yet as he simply pours it on while rounding the turn. So much so, that his lead has now ballooned to about three to four lengths over the closest competitor. Only a monumental collapse, or a heroic effort from another horse would keep him away from the winner’s circle at this point. Classical is by himself in second, a length ahead of Excitable Boy. Both Pretty Boy Floyd and Barn Breath get a little closer to them in the battle to complete the exacta.

(Finish- 1:33.94)- The only question in the stretch would be just how many lengths Kentucky Fox would win this race by. He was in command with a massive lead, and still running well, cruising to the wire in an impressive fashion. It is officially scored as a four-length win, since the margin was 0.96 seconds, but realistically, let’s call it five. As Kentucky Fox crossed the line, there was time to catch our breath and wonder who else would hit the board in this race. That would go to Barn Breath, who got by three of them to their outside, while Pretty Boy Floyd takes third. Morning glory Classical was the post time favorite thanks to those works, but showed little in his fourth-place effort, but it was better than Excitable Boy.

About The Winner- Kentucky Fox, trained by Night Rider Stables and ridden to victory by Ru Silvera, is a six-year-old gelding by Fox Ruler and is out of the late No Hope Today. He was bred by La Canada Racehorses in New York as a yearling and was acquired by Night Rider Stables from Angelos Stable with a $14.000 claim in July 2025. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fifth in 38 starts (three have come in his last four), and his first stake win. His career earnings are now $208.060.

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded