Charles Town Classic by the numbers
Is 1 the loneliest number? Nah!
Frank Vespe
August 26, 2026
Friday marks the 18th edition of the Grade 2, $1 million Charles Town Classic, which has drawn a full field of 10 prior to scratches.
Here’s the Classic by the numbers:
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0
Number of three-time winners of the Classic. Skippylongstocking will bid to become the first.
1
Number of turf millionaires in the field. Gigante has won eight races, including a graded stake, en route to earning over $1.1 million on the turf. Bred in Virginia by the late Ann Mudge Backer and her Smitten Farm, the Steve Asmussen trainee also has three wins on the main track and is 12-1 on the morning line. Luis Saez will ride.
Grade 1 winners in the field. The lone Grade 1 winner is Skippylongstocking, who won the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational earlier this year.
2
Prior Charles Town Classic winners in the field. Two-time Classic winner Skippylongstocking is the 3-1 morning line favorite, while last year’s champ, Banishing, is 4-1. Skippy is trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr. and will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, while the David Jacobson-trained Banishing will carry Francisco Arrieta.
3
Millionaires in the field. Skippylongstocking leads the way with more than $5.9 million banked, and Banishing has earned over $3.1 million. Gigante has earned more than $1.5 million.
Horses bred in West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland. In addition to Barbadian Runner (MD) and Gigante (VA), the field also includes Xcellent Start (50-1), a West Virginia-bred son of Upstart who is based at Charles Town with trainer Wade Sanderson. Local jock Fredy Peltroche will ride.
Trainers in the top five nationally in earnings with runners in the Classic. National leader Brad Cox will send out Dragoon Guard (6-1), a two-time Grade 3 winner. Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, currently third in the nation in earnings, will saddle Gigante (12-1). And Saffie Joseph, Jr. has a pair in Full Screen (15-1), who seeks his first graded triumph, and Skippylongstocking.
Horses with pretty good shots at reaching $1 million in earnings. Three runners are on the cusp of a million bucks in earnings and would get there with a top four finish. They are Willy D’s, who’s at $972,000; Dragoon Guard ($974,000); and Barbadian Runner, who has a bankroll of $952,000.
4
Horses whose odds are between 3-1 and 5-1. Skippylongstocking and Banishing lead the way at 3-1 and 4-1, respectively. They’re followed by Maryland-bred and -based Barbadian Runner (9-2), trained by Henry Walters, and last year’s runner-up Willy D’s (5-1), trained by Mike Maker.
Horses in the field with wins over the strip. The Charles Town-based Xcellent Start leads the way with eights win at CT. He’s followed by Skippylongstocking, who has two in three starts. Barbadian Runner and Banishing have one apiece.
Number of two-time winners of the Classic. That list includes the first winner, Researcher, trained locally by Jeff Runco, who won in 2009 and 2010; Skippylongstocking (2023-2024); the Bill Mott-trained Art Collector (2021-2022); and Imperative, the only non-consecutive two-time winner. He won in 2014 when trained by George Papaprodromou and then again in 2017 under the tutelage of Robert Hess.
5
Jockeys in the top 10 nationally in earnings with mounts in the Classic. They are Tyler Gaffalione (4th, Skippylongstocking), Manny Franco (5th, Dragoon Guard), Luis Saez (7th, Gigante), Paco Lopez (8th, Full Screen), and Francisco Arrieta (10th, Banishing).
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Graded stakes winners in the field. In addition to Skippylongstocking, that group includes Gigante, a graded winner on the turf; Willy D’s, who won the Grade 3 Kentucky Cup Classic in March; Grade 3 winner Bullard, trained by Michael McCarthy; two-time Grade 3 winner Dragoon Guard; and last year’s winner Banishing.
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