Bango’s quest to stand alone atop Churchill Downs’ all-time wins leaderboard hit another roadblock Thursday.
The 7-year-old dark bay, trained by Oldham County native Greg Foley, finished fourth in the $200,000 St. Matthews Overnight Stakes — a race he and jockey Tyler Gaffalione won by 5 lengths last year.
O Besos, with 7-2 odds and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, won the 6-furlong race in 1:08.72, besting runner-up Bourbon Bash (5-1). Surveillance (12-1) placed third.
O Besos returned $9.12 on a $2 wager for the win. Bourbon Bash paid $4.28 to place, and Surveillance returned $5.04 to show.
Bango’s winning time last year was 1:08.75.
For now, the son of Congrats remains tied at 11 victories with the late Ready’s Rocket, whose racing career spanned 2005-12. He failed to pass him in his last race at Churchill, finishing third in the Bet on Sunshine Stakes during its 2023 Fall Meet.
Owned by Tamaroak Partners LLC, Bango entered Thursday’s race 14-4-4 across 35 starts, with more than $1.5 million in career earnings. At Churchill, he was 11-2-3.
His other wins have come at Ellis Park in Henderson and Turfway Park in Florence.
One of those victories at Ellis occurred last July, when Churchill relocated the remainder of its 2023 Spring Meet to the track in the wake of 12 horse deaths during a six-week period.
Because of the move, it didn’t count toward his record under the Twin Spires.
This story will be updated.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Bango remains win away from setting Churchill Downs horse record
