It was, in fact, a down year for Chad Brown.
Nearly every horse trainer on the planet would kill to have a Chad Brown down year.
Brown won 28 graded stakes, far fewer than the 47 he notched in 2024 and his career-best 54 in 2019. His 203 wins during 2025 ranked eighth among Brown seasons, and $24.5 million in purse earnings were roughly $6.5 million less than his 2024 total.
And still: Brown’s 10 Grade 1 wins tied for first with Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher. His 203 winners were the eighth-most among North American trainers, and all but one of the stables who bested him sent out at least 200 more starters. Brown was third in purses behind earnings leader Brad Cox, who had 180 more starters, and Steve Asmussen, who had almost 1,400 more.
:: Full list of 2025 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories
Brown’s first Grade 1 of the year came in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational presented by Qatar Racing with Spirit of St Louis, who for several seasons had plied his trade in New York-bred competition. Spirit of St Louis led the turf division until June after landing a second Grade 1 in the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic at Churchill, which came about a month after Brown won the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland with Carl Spackler, who then left the barn to campaign internationally for a new owner and trainer.
Excellent Truth upset Eclipse Award finalist She Feels Pretty in the Grade 1 Dunkin’ Diana Stakes, and Brown ended the season with his annual plunder of California Grade 1 turf contests, winning the Hollywood Derby with Salamis and the Matriarch with Segesta.
A down year – and an excellent year.
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