Classic Empire
| Classic Empire | |
|---|---|
Classic Empire before the 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile | |
| Sire | Pioneerof the Nile |
| Grandsire | Empire Maker |
| Dam | Sambuca Classica |
| Damsire | Cat Thief |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | March 21, 2014 (age 11) |
| Country | United States |
| Color | Bay |
| Breeder | Steven & Brandi Nicholson |
| Owner | John C. Oxley |
| Trainer | Mark Casse |
| Record | 9: 5–1–1 |
| Earnings | $2,520,220 |
| Major wins | |
| Bashford Manor Stakes (2016) Breeders' Futurity Stakes (2016) Arkansas Derby (2017) Breeders' Cup wins: Breeders' Cup Juvenile (2016) | |
| Awards | |
| American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse (2016) | |
Classic Empire (foaled March 21, 2014) is a retired American Thoroughbred race horse who was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse of 2016 after winning the Breeders' Futurity Stakes and Breeders' Cup Juvenile. After several setbacks at the start of his three-year-old campaign, he won the Arkansas Derby, finished a troubled fourth in the Kentucky Derby, then second by a head in the Preakness Stakes. Classic Empire was retired due to multiple setbacks from an abscess on his right front hoof, as well as slight back problems which plagued him throughout his career. He stands stud at Ashford Stud, in Kentucky.