Code of Honor (May 23, 2016 – December 23, 2022) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2019

Dwyer Stakes The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade III stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over a ...

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds acco ...

, and

Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the ...

, and came second in the 2019

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

. He was euthanized on December 23, 2022, following an inoperable bout of

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out. ...

Racing career

2018: Two-year-old season

Code of Honor won his debut on 18 August 2018 at Saratoga Racecourse, and then came second in the

Grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called '' Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples b ...

Champagne Stakes on October 6. He stumbled at the beginning of the race but mounted a comeback.

2019: Three-year-old season

On 5 January 2019, Code of Honor came in fifth in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes, then rebounded to win the

Grade 2 Grade 2 may refer to: * Grade 2, the second year of primary education. * Grade 2 horse races, the second tier in worldwide horse racing. * Grade 2, the English punk band. Grade II may refer to: * Grade II listed buildings In the United King ...

Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 2, where he defeated future Grade 1 winning sprinter Vekoma. His jockey

John Velazquez John R. Velazquez (born November 24, 1971) is a Puerto Rican jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his career in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in 1990. In 2004 and 2005 he was the United States Champion Jockey by earnings and both ye ...

called it an impressive win. He then came in third in the Grade 1

Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Satu ...

on March 30 and second in the Grade 1

on May 4. He crossed the finish line third but was placed second after the disqualification of the winner,

Maximum Security Maximum Security may refer to: * Supermax, "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons * Maximum Security (comics), a comic book miniseries published by Marvel Comics * ''Maximum Security'' (Tony MacAlpine album), 1987 * ''Maximum Security'' ...

. His trainer Claude McGaughey had planned for Code of Honor to take a break if he did not win the Kentucky Derby, and he returned after the time off to win three graded stakes. First was the Grade 3

on July 6. Code of Honor then won the two biggest races of his career, the first being the Grade 1

on August 24. He won a stretch duel over three-time

winner

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

and future Grade 1 winner

Mucho Gusto "Mucho gusto" is an instrumental piece originally recorded by Percy Faith for the 1961 album '' Mucho Gusto! More Music of Mexico''. The piece is, like the rest of the album, influenced by Mexican music. It has a high, galloping tempo and an adva ...

at 4:1 odds. On September 28, he won the Grade 1

over older horses after original winner Vino Rosso was disqualified. After his two Grade 1 wins, Code of Honor became one of the leading three-year-olds. His last race of his three-year-old season was the Grade 1

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the s ...

on November 2. Code of Honor came seventh at 4:1 odds behind the winner, Vino Rosso.

2020: Four-year-old season

Code of Honor won his first start as a four-year-old in the

Westchester Stakes on June 6. He then placed in four

graded stakes races Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also re ...

, starting with the Grade 1

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...

on July 4 where he started with odds of 5:2 and finished third behind the winner Vekoma. He followed up with a fourth place finish in the Grade 1

Whitney Stakes The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...

behind the four time Grade 1 winner Improbable. He finished his four-year-old season with second place finishes in both the

Kelso Handicap The Kelso Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older run over a distance of one mile (8 furlongs) on the dirt held annually in late October at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event offers a purse of $3 ...

on September 3 and

Clark Stakes on October 27.

2021: Five-year-old season

Code of Honor started his five-year-old season with a fifth place finish in the Grade 1

Pegasus World Cup The Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race whose first running was on January 28, 2017 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. It is run over the dirt at the distance of miles (9 furlongs) and is o ...

on 2 January 2021, which was won by three time

winner Knicks Go who had previously won the

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's incept ...

. Code of Honor had a break and is possible to make a comeback on August 4 in the Grade 1

or August 21 in the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2016 racehorse births 2022 racehorse deaths