2025 Kentucky Derby: Two Triple Crown Winners' Sons To Compete

Forbes

01-05-2025

Publisher trains on the track during morning work outs prior to the running of the 151st Kentucky ... More Derby at Churchill Downs on May 01, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by)
American Pharoah is still leaving his mark on horse racing, a decade beyond his 2015 triple crown achievement. But he's not the only one, as Justify, a 2018 triple crown winner, is right with him. For the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby, two horses sired by American Pharoah will enter the field, Publisher and Luxor Café, and Justify's son, American Promise, also joins the race, giving the famed kick off to the triple crown three sons of two past winners in the same race.
As reported by the Courier Journal after sourcing info from HorseRacingNation.com, this becomes just the second time since 1919 that two triple crown winners' sons are in the same Kentucky Derby, and the first time since 1952 it has happened.
It's all thanks to American Pharoah and Justify. American Pharoah, 13-year-old bred in Kentucky, trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Ahmed Zayat and Zayat Stables, was sired by Pioneerof the Nile. He won the triple crown in 2015 after a successful 2014.
Now, in 2025, both Publisher and Luxor Café bear his bloodlines.
Luxor Cafe runs on the track during the morning training in preparation for the 151th Kentucky Derby ... More at Churchill Downs on April 29, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by)
Publisher, owned by Gus King and the estate of Brereton C. Jones, was sired by American Pharoah and Indian Pride was the dam thanks to the breeding of Brereton C. Jones. Publisher is trained by Steven Asmussen.
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Luxor Café, owned by Koichi Nishikawa and trained by Koriyuki Hori was bred by Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt & Westerberg Ireland. With American Pharoah the sire, Marry's Follies is the dam.
According to the Courier Journal, these are the first of the famed American Pharoah's offspring to find their way into the starting gate in Louisville at the Kentucky Derby, even if Promiseher America, a daughter, ran in the Kentucky Oaks in 2023 (she finished last).
American Promise trains on the track prior to the running of the 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill ... More Downs on May 01, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by)
Justify, a 10-year-old bred in Kentucky and trained by Baffert, was sired by Scat Daddy and had a powerful 2018. American Promise is now in the 2025 race, owned by BC Stables and trained by Wayne Lukas. Bred by Candy Meadows, American Promise was sired by Justify and the dam was Tapella.
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This is the third straight year a son of Justify has entered the Kentucky Derby, with three horses in the last two years never finishing higher than 16th.
While Justify's offspring have been a part of recent races, the Courier Journal reports that the last time a direct descendent of a triple crown winner entered the Kentucky Derby before that was Quintana, sone of Affirmed, in 1991. Getting two sons, though, that's a 1952 event when runner-up Sub Fleet and Count Flame were both sired by Count Fleet, and Cold Command, sired by War Admiral, were all in the top-nine finishers. The entries of Publisher and Luxor Café put American Pharoah on track to be the third horse other than Count Fleet and Justify having two sons in the same Kentucky Derby field.
Three times in the sport's history has the son of a triple crown winner won the Kentucky Derby. That happened first in 1935 when Omaha, son of Gallant Fox, took home the roses. Count Turf, son of Count Fleet, won the derby in 1951, and Seattle Slew's son Swale won it in 1984.
In 2025, three horses with triple crown bloodlines can add to the historic list.