Mon, 01/19/2026 - 12:33

Balnikhov gets an owner change ahead of next start

Debra A. Roma
Balnikhov will start next in the William L. McKnight or Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park.

Balnikhov, the millionaire four-time stakes winner, has had a change of ownership in advance of his 2026 debut at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

A 6-year-old gelding, Balnikhov will now race for Andrew Molasky’s Old Bones Racing, having been purchased for $70,000 at the Fasig-Tipton December digital sale.

Molasky was previously part of a partnership that owned Balnikhov, whose last stakes win was the Grade 3 Dinner Party Stakes at Pimlico in 2024.

Balnikhov, trained by Phil D’Amato, was eighth of nine in the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup at Del Mar on Nov. 28.

On Saturday, Balnikhov is entered in the Grade 3 William McKnight Stakes at 1 1/2 miles on turf, and is on the also-eligible list for the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf at 1 1/8 miles.

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