Prat Earns First New York Riding Title, Brown Takes Ninth Belmont at the Big A Training Title

[Wandering Eyes]

Flavien Prat, the reigning Eclipse Award-winner as Outstanding Jockey, earned his first riding title at a New York Racing Association meet when posting 43 wins at the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet which ran from May 1 through July 6.

Statistics for the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet include the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and four-day July 4th Racing Festival, both of which were held at Saratoga Race Course.

Prat, a 32-year-old native of Melun, Siene-et-Marne, France, enjoyed a major milestone at the meet when he notched his 2,000th North American victory June 27 at the Big A, guiding Iron Max to the winner's circle in one of five wins on the card.

He posted another five-win day on the July 5 card at Saratoga, highlighted by graded wins with Fionn in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational and with Obliteration in the GIII Sanford Stakes.

“The last few weeks, I've had good things happen and I try to take it all in,” said Prat. “My agent [Brad Pegram] and the support of trainers and owners and everybody that's part of the crew are important.”

Of his first New York riding title, Prat said, “Obviously I'm very grateful and proud, and it's an achievement. There's a lot of people that supported me and I feel very grateful.”

The meet's training title went to five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown for the ninth time in his career after a prosperous meet yielded 27 wins for the powerhouse stable.

“I feel very fortunate that we have so many nice horses to work with,” Brown said. “My team does an unbelievable job, including with all of the logistics of this meet, shipping horses from all different divisions to run at NYRA. I'm always just so amazed with the day-to-day fluidity of it–they just make things happen. I'm amazed with their teamwork and talent. All of the credit goes to them.”

Brown, who won Belmont spring/summer titles from 2016-22 and in 2024, was winning his 34th training title at a NYRA circuit track.

With 13 wins, Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables claimed its 30th owners' title at a NYRA meeting and it sixth at a Belmont spring/summer meet.

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