Leading Change cashes in during Grade 3 $300,000 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis

The connections have been high on their horse, Leading Change, for good reason. The sophomore just proved himself with a big step up to score the win in the 32^nd running of the Grade 3 $300,000 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

Guided by prominent North American jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Leading Change came into the race off one start, a win in a maiden special weight at Churchill Downs in early June. He has been nothing but impressive from day one, prompting a step up into Graded Stakes action for the Indiana Derby, a race trainer Brad Cox has won three times before.

“Obviously this horse was a big reason we brought Irad in here,” said Cox. “He’s a nice colt that’s lightly raced, just had the one run. Big ask here today. It was definitely a bit of an unknown with going straight from a maiden race to a Grade 3 for a 3-year-old, running against seasoned horses. But he showed that he’s got a lot of class and talent.”

Leading Change and Ortiz Jr. powered out of post six and sat just to the outside of Out of the Woods and Luis Saez, who claimed the top spot early in the one and one-sixteenth mile race. Local horse Mister T and Mitch Murrill also used early speed but settled into fourth with Creole Chrome and Junior Alvarado taking over third.

Fractions of 23.40 and 46.42 set up the first half of the race with Leading Change never wavering on the outside of Out of the Woods.

At the head of the lane, Leading Change took over and began to power home. Our Moneyman and Axel Concepcion began to close in on the outside. The top two were in a battle to get to the wire first as Leading Change held off Our Moneyman for the win by a neck in 1:41.36. Out of the Woods finished third.

Leading Change was the people’s choice, paying $3.00 for the win. The son of Gun Runner now has nearly a quarter million on his card in only two starts. Wathnan Racing owns the product of WinStar Farm, who was purchased as a yearling from Keeneland for $800,000.

“He (Leading Change) started out at seven furlongs, which really isn’t his bag,” said Case Clay, racing manager for winning owner Wathnan Racing’s U.S. operation. “But he won that impressively. The thought was to come here and give him hopefully a good experience going two turns. Even if he had not won the race but had a good experience, we would have been happy. And he fought until the end. He got a good experience.”

Leading Change also provided a good experience for his maternal family. He continued the family tradition of winning a Graded Stakes race at Horseshoe Indianapolis as his older half-sister, Shedaresthedevil, won the 2020 Grade 3 Indiana Oaks for Cox. She retired with nearly $3 million in earnings as a multiple Grade 1 winner.

“We’ve dealt with several of the foals from this mare (Starship Warpspeed) and they have been very good to us,” added Cox. “We’ve had a couple of her foals now. This one is definitely a good one.”

For Irad Ortiz Jr., it was his first stakes victory in Indiana. The five-time Eclipse Award winning outstanding jockey from Puerto Rico understands the capabilities of Leading Change.

“He broke fresh,” said Ortiz Jr. “So, we went easy the first part of it. I was trying to make him come back to me, which he did. At the three-quarters he slowed down a little bit, so I was happy there. He was doing it easy. I let him be him. Then turning for home, I asked him, and he had another run. Good horse.

“Second race, a good step up against this kind of horse. First time two turns, and he showed up again. He worked for it. It was a good race, and he kept going. I’m so happy to see him in the winner’s circle. He’s been so nice in the mornings. We were high on him since day one.”

As for the next stop for Leading Change, Cox is looking at a couple of options on the Grade 1 schedule. His team will reevaluate the plan following the Indiana Derby.

“We will let him regroup from this race and hope for another Graded Stakes win,” said Cox. “Working him against Commandment helps (laughs). No, he’s really well. Worked a few times against Commandment, held his own. His work last week with Commandment was a really good move. When you have other horses in the barn you can test them and they can sometimes give you a line.”

For runner up finisher Our Moneyman, he was traveling in the same path as his father, Mr. Money did. Now a sire, Mr. Money won the 2019 Grade 3 Indiana Derby for the same connections of Allied Racing Stable and trainer Bret Calhoun. The team felt the start worked against their horse in the latter stages of the race.

“I think we had the best horse,” said Calhoun. “The gate break beat us. He was moving around in there, wouldn’t stand up, hopped the start, and got shuffled back too far, and he had to move him a little early, had to move him into a quick pace, a half in 46 and he was moving forward pretty good on them there. He ran a great race. Can’t take anything away from the winner or us. I just think if we’d have broken from the gate a little better, it might have been a different race.”

One thing Our Moneyman did accomplish was raising a little money for Homeless Veterans and Families of Central Indiana (HVAF). Part of the winning package for Road to Louisville winner Randy Franklin was to place a $3,000 wager across the board on his choice for the Indiana Derby. Franklin’s choice was Our Moneyman, who brought in $2,450 for HVAF.

The day hosted a full clubhouse and trackside level to usher in the Indiana Derby, which has become one of Central Indiana’s biggest summer sporting event.

Indiana Derby Day once again set an all-sources handle record with $9,536,346 wagered on the 13 race card. Last year’s record handle was $9,163,693. On track wagering was also up with $433,220 collected from racing fans trackside compared to $385,488 last year.

Attendance for the 2026 event was 4,754.

The 24^th season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse extends through Nov. 13.

For more information on racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis/racing or find details on social media @HSIndyRacing.

 The Shelby County Post is a digital newspaper producing news, sports, obituaries and more without a pay wall or subscription needed.