Informed Decision (foaled February 5, 2005 in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

) is an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...

who won the 2009

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint is a 7-furlong (1408 m) Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred fillies and mares three years old and up. As its name implies, it is a part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year- ...

on her way to being named the

American Champion Female Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Female Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to the top female horse in sprint races usually run at a distance of 6 or 7 furlongs. This category honoring female sprinters became pa ...

Background

Informed Decision is a gray mare who was bred by Charles Kidder and Nancy Cole in Kentucky. She is sired by

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 ...

winner

Monarchos Monarchos (February 9, 1998 – October 22, 2016) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2001 Kentucky Derby in the second fastest winning time and overall third fastest time in the race's history. Background Monarchos was s ...

, becoming his first

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

winner. Her dam is Palangana, by His Majesty. She was sold at the 2006 Keeneland yearling sale for $150,000, then was resold at the Fasig-Tipton sale as a two-year-old for $320,000. She was trained by

Jonathan E. Sheppard Jonathan E. Sheppard (born December 2, 1940 in Ashwell, Hertfordshire, England) is an English Hall of Fame trainer in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Sheppard came to the United States in 1961 and in 1966 won his first race with Haffaday in ...

and owned by George W. Strawbridge, Jr.'s Augustin Stable.

Racing career

Informed Decision did not start racing until age three, but won in her first start on January 3, 2008 at Gulfstream Park. She finished the year with five wins from seven starts, including setting a new track record of 1:20.86 for the seven furlong distance on the polytrack surface at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for i ...

in the Grade II Raven Run Stakes. At age four, she won six of seven starts, including the Grade I

Humana Distaff Handicap The Derby City Distaff Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged three and older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held annually in early May on the Kentucky Derby day meeting at Churchill Dow ...

and

Vinery Madison Stakes The Madison Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are four years old or older, over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held annually in early April at Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky dur ...

. Her only loss of the year came in the

Ballerina Stakes The Ballerina Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are three years old or older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Spring ...

on a sloppy track. On November 6, 2009, she entered the

, where she was the second betting choice behind defending champion Ventura. Informed Decision got the early jump on her rival, then withstood Ventura's late charge to win by over a length. For her performances in 2009, Informed Decision was voted the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected America ...

as the

. Informed Decision returned to racing at age five in 2010 but managed only three wins from eight starts. The highlights were wins in the Grade III Chicago Handicap and

Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes The Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are three years old or older, over a distance of furlongs on the all weather track held annually in September at Presque Isle Downs & ...

. She finished seventh when attempting to defend her title in the Filly & Mare Sprint.

Retirement

Informed Decision became a broodmare in 2011, delivering her first foal, a bay colt by Street Cry, on March 11, 2012.

References

{{reflist
Informed Decision at the NTRA

Informed Decision at Breeders' Cup.com with race video
2005 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 1-l Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winners Eclipse Award winners