McKinzie (foaled February 25, 2015) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was a multiple graded stakes winner and came first or second in fourteen of his eighteen races.
McKinzie is sired by 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and out of the graded stakes winning Petionville mare Runway Model.
Through his dam, McKinzie is a descendant of Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew and was born at Summer Wind Farm in Georgetown Kentucky, home of, among others Littleprincessemma, Careless Jewel, and Eblouissante, a half sister to Zenyatta.
McKinzie, a bay colt with a star and two rear half stockings, was sold at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $170,000 to The Three Amigos Racing Stable LLC, a partnership made up of Karl Watson, Michael E. Pegram, and Paul Weitman.
Piloted by Mike Smith, McKinzie sat fifth in the first quarter mile, drew up to the front of the field and pulled away in the stretch to win by over five lengths in a time of 1:22.70 over He's Stylish and the favored Shivermetimbers.
McKinzie's next start came in the GII San Felipe on March 10, in a widely anticipated showdown with the highly regarded 2017 Eclipse Award finalist Bolt d'Oro.
Sent off as the 2-1 favorite, he won by one and three quarter lengths over Axelrod, Trigger Warning, and Hofburg, with Core Beliefs, King Zachary, Bravazo, Mr.
McKinzie arrived at Churchill Downs with the rest of the Baffert string early on Breeder's Cup week, often training at the same time as West Coast, Marley's Freedom, and 2017 Kentucky Oaks winner Abel Tasman.
[9] Drawing post 6 of 14, McKinzie pressed a hot pace set by fellow three-year-old Mendelssohn and tired after six furlongs, finishing 12th of 14 and beating only Catholic Boy and Roaring Lion.
Following the Breeder's Cup, McKinzie was given a brief break before being put into serious training for the GI Malibu on December 26, 2018, opening day at Santa Anita.
Ridden again by Mike Smith and sent off at 6/5 odds as one of four Baffert trainees in the race, he uncharacteristically laid at the back of the field in 10th place of 14 after the first quarter mile.
[12] On January 12, 2019, Bob Baffert announced that the colt was unlikely for the Pegasus, as his goal was for McKinzie to be the best older horse of 2019 and didn't want to ask him to do too much in the first month of the year.
"[13] Baffert listed the Santa Anita Handicap and Met Mile as spots in which he hoped to enter McKinzie in the first half of the year.
[14] On February 2, McKinzie was sent off as the slight favorite and high weight over 2017 Breeder's Cup Dirt Mile winner Battle of Midway in the GII San Pasqual at Santa Anita.
McKinzie, drawing the rail for the Santa Anita Handicap and again carrying more weight than the rest of the field, stalked the pace set by Gift Box and Prime Attraction.
Breaking from the rail in an eight horse field in the Alysheba, McKinzie broke second behind Tom's d'Etat and took the lead on the backstretch with six furlongs to go.
McKinzie was set to carry the co-high weight of 124 pounds along with two time Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow.
The horse ran into traffic trouble, with the official chart stating "...having been caught behind a wall of equines, was about three wide at the commencement of the stretch run, still lacking room of any sort with which to launch a rally of his own, checked when in close proximity to the heels of Thunder Snow just inside the eighth pole, was then steadied a few strides later when beaten to position by the same opponent, angled into a firm fit on path two right afterwards, attaining racing clearance for the first time during the stretch drive, kicked in willingly when given his cue, split foes late and got up for the place.
"[20] Mitole was the winner, finishing less than a length ahead of McKinzie and extending the winning streak that he had begun in March 2018 to seven straight races.
Steve Haskin published an article on Bloodhorse on October 23, arguing that perhaps McKinzie is ready to get that elusive win at a mile and a quarter, due to his sire Street Sense winning at the distance twice, the conditioning McKinzie obtained in the Awesome Again, and the way he hugged the rail - as opposed to drifting, as horses usually do when tired - at the end of his seven furlong work.
Settling off of pacesetter War of Will, McKinzie made a bid for the lead around the far turn and was the first horse to reach the stretch, a narrow half length in front of Vino Rosso.
The week before the Classic, Bob Baffert stated that the plan was for McKinzie to continue to race as a five-year-old, providing he stayed healthy.
In the Saudi Cup, McKinzie raced behind a wall of horses down the rail and made only moderate progress when asked to run.
Bob Baffert reported that McKinzie came out of the race fine and simply didn't fire, and declared the horse out of the Dubai World Cup.
Following two starts with Joel Rosario in the saddle, neither of which resulted in a win, Mike Smith had the mount once again, and he settled McKinzie near the back of the small field before making his move on the turn.
Breaking from the #3 post position, McKinzie wound up four wide on the turn and in the five path during the stretch, and lacked his usual kick, finishing fifth, though only two lengths behind the winner, Vekoma.
[32] Following the Met Mile, McKinzie was initially considered for the Whitney, a race he'd won in 2019, but ultimately it was decided to keep him in California to run in the G1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar, a Win and You're In for the Breeder's Cup Sprint.
Pinned down at the rail through a very slow half mile, McKinzie struggled for racing room coming into the stretch and flattened out when clear, finishing fourth behind By My Standards, Owendale, and Silver Dust, though only a couple lengths behind the winner.