Points Offthebench (February 27, 2009 – October 26, 2013) was an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

best known for his performances over sprint distances. Campaigned exclusively in California, he was lightly raced in his early career, running twice a two-year-old in 2011 and once in the following year. As a four-year-old in 2013 he began by racing against moderate opposition before emerging as one of the best sprinters in North America with

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

victories in the

Bing Crosby Stakes The Bing Crosby Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The Grade 1 race is open to horses three years of age and up. It is run on Dirt at a distance of six furlong and presently off ...

and the

Santa Anita Sprint Championship The Santa Anita Sprint Championship is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old or older over the distance of six furlongs on the dirt scheduled annually in September at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. ...

. Preparing for the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...

, he fractured his leg during a workout and was euthanized. At the end of the year, he was posthumously named

American Champion Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a ...

Background

Points Offthebench was a lightly made dark bay or brown gelding with a white

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

bred in California by Gary Rocks. He was sired by Benchmark, a multiple graded stakes winner who had previously sired the Grade I winners Brother Derek (

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of . It is one of t ...

) and Idiot Proof (

Ancient Title Stakes The Santa Anita Sprint Championship is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old or older over the distance of six furlongs on the dirt scheduled annually in September at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. ...

). Points Offthebench is the second foal of the unraced mare Mo Chuisle: her first foal, Bench Points, won five races including the Grade III Lazaro Barrera Memorial Stakes. During his racing career, Points Offthebench was owned by Donnie Crievier and Charles V. Martin and trained by Tim Yakteen. He was considered a major contender for the

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in t ...

but was fatally injured in a training accident at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

on October 26. Three months later, he was named

for 2013.

Racing career

2011: two-year-old season

Points Offthebench made two appearances as a two-year-old, both of them on the

Polytrack The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...

surface at

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is an event venue in Del Mar, California. It hosts the annual San Diego County Fair. The venue sits on a property along the Pacific Ocean coastline. It includes the Del Mar Racetrack, built in 1936 by the Del Mar Thoroug ...

in August. He began in a five and a half

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

maiden race In horse racing, a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the s ...

in which he started at odds of 4.1/1 and finished third of eight runners. Eighteen days later he appeared in a similar event over six furlongs in which he was ridden, as on his debut, by the Mexican jockey Alonso Quinonez. Starting the 2.4/1 second favorite, he raced just behind the leaders before taking the lead in the straight and winning by one and a quarter lengths.

2012: three-year-old season

Points Offthebench began his second season in a six-and-a-half-furlong Optional claiming race on the dirt at

on February 17. Ridden by

Joel Rosario Joel Rosario (born January 14, 1985) is a Dominican jockey who mainly competes in American thoroughbred horse racing, originally from the Dominican Republic. In the space of five weeks in 2013 he rode the winners of the Dubai World Cup and the Ke ...

, he tracked the odds-on favorite, Three Vases, before taking the lead on the final turn and drawing away in the closing stages to win by two and a quarter lengths. He did not race again in 2012.

2013: four-year-old season

Almost a year after his last race, Points Offthebench returned in a six-furlong claiming race at Santa Anita in which he finished second by half a length to the favored Italian Rules. In April, he was ridden by

Tyler Baze Tyler Baze (born October 19, 1982) is an American Champion jockey from Seattle, Washington. He was born into a racing family, since both of his parents were jockeys, as is his uncle, Gary Baze. His second cousin is U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jocke ...

in another claimer over six and a half furlongs at the same track and started second favorite at odds of 2.2/1 in a field of ten runners. He raced just behind the leaders before taking the lead in the straight and holding off the challenge of the favorite, Oliver's Tale, to win by half a length. The gelding remained in claiming company for his next race over six furlongs at

Hollywood Park Racetrack Hollywood Park was a thoroughbred horse racing, race course located in Inglewood, California, about 3 miles (5 km) from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to The Forum (Inglewood, California), the Forum indoor arena. In 1994, t ...

on May 27. Ridden again by Baze, he took the lead in the straight and went clear in the closing stages to win by two and a quarter lengths from Cyclometer, with the favored Italian Rules a neck away in third. Points Offthebench was then moved up sharply in class for the

Bing Crosby Stakes over six furlongs at Del Mar on July 28 in which he was ridden for the first time by Mike Smith. The gelding was fourth choice in the betting for the race behind previous Grade I winners

Goldencents Goldencents (foaled March 7, 2010) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning consecutive runnings of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. As a two-year-old he ran three times, winning the Delta Jackpot Stakes and finishing second in ...

(

), Jimmy Creed (

Malibu Stakes The Malibu Stakes is a race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses of either gender held each December at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The race is at a distance of seven furlongs and is the first leg of Santa Anita Park's Strub Series. ...

), and Comma to the Top (

CashCall Futurity The Los Alamitos Futurity is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds run over a distance of one and one sixteenth miles ( furlongs) on the dirt held annually in early December at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, California ...

). Points Offthebench tracked the leaders before moving up on the outside to take the lead entering the straight. In the closing stages, he was challenged by Goldencents but prevailed by a head, with a gap of over three lengths back to Jimmy Creed in third. Tim Yakteen, who recorded the first Grade I success of his eight-year training career, commented: "He was training great, we drew a great post and he was ready for the task, so I felt confident going into the race. He ran huge and Mike gave him a great ride." On October 5 at Santa Anita, Points Offthebench met Goldencents again in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (formerly the Ancient Title Stakes) in a field which also included

winner Trinniberg. Ridden again by Smith, the gelding moved up on the outside on the turn before overtaking the leader Distinctiv Passion in the final furlong. Despite lugging towards the inside in the closing stages, he held on to win by half a length from Goldencents. After the race, Smith commented: "He has some turn of foot, and I hit the front too soon, but he still held on. He pulled up nice and happy, well within himself. He's a very talented horse." After four consecutive wins, including two at Grade I level, Points Offthebench was considered a leading contender for the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita on November. In a routine four-furlong workout at the track on October 26, the gelding was approaching the sixteenth pole when he broke down on his right foreleg with what was described as "an inordinately loud, sickening sound". He had sustained a condlyar fracture to his right foreleg and was

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...

within fifteen minutes. His owner, Charles Martin, said, "He's been a tremendous horse. He was the nicest horse you would ever find... He was as much a pet as an awesome racehorse... everyone in the barn is devastated".

Assessment and honors

On January 18, 2014, almost three month after his death, Points Offthebench was named

at the

Eclipse Awards 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. The trophy is made by a few small selected Am ...

, taking 125 of the 249 votes. He was the first horse to be posthumously awarded an Eclipse Award since

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

in 2002. In the 2013 World's Best Racehorse Rankings, Points Offthebench was given a rating of 117, making him the highest-rated sprinter competing on dirt.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2009 racehorse births 2013 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in California Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 9-c Eclipse Award winners