Gamine (horse)

Gamine didn't run any races as a two-year-old.

Gamine ran her first race on March 7th at Santa Anita Park in a Maiden race. She won this race by going straight to the front and never looking back with easy 6¼ lengths.

Her next race should be an Allowance Optional Claiming on May 2nd at Oaklawn Park. As in her last start, she went straight to the front. At the end of the race, she slowed down but still managed to win by a neck. Shortly after the race, Gamine tested positive for lidocaine. The Arkansas Derby (Div. 1) winner Charlatan also tested positive.

 As a result, both were disqualified. Bob Baffert said in a statement that he believes both horses were “unknowingly and innocently” exposed to lidocaine by one of his stable employees. The employee had broken his pelvis and was suffering from back pain in the days leading up to May 2. He applied a pain relieving patch, which contained small amounts of lidocaine, according to Baffert’s statement.

After Gamine was disqualified, she ran in the Acorn Stakes on June 20 at Belmont Park. The filly ran fast fractions right from the start, when they were in the stretch, she started opening daylight and won with an incredible 18 ¾ lengths. She broke You's race record by 1,55 seconds and was only 0,31 seconds slower than the track record. After the Acorn Stakes, Gamine became the favorite for the Kentucky Oaks and got 50 points for the 2020 Road to the Kentucky Oaks.

She was then taken to Saratoga for the Test Stakes on August 8th. She won extremely easily with 7 lengths and again ran a race record. Gamine was only 0,43 seconds slower than the track record.

Although Gamine showed a great dominance over the other fillies in her last two races, many asked themselves whether she would be able to do it over longer distances.

On September 4th, Gamine should start at Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Oaks. There she would meet the Alabama Stakes winner Swiss Skydiver, who was the 2nd favorite after Gamine. Again Gamine went to the front, but slowed down in the stretch and was overtaken by the Longshot Shedaresthedevil and the filly Swiss Skydiver. Gamine finished third. After the Kentucky Oaks, Gamine tested positive again, this time for betamethasone.

"The medication was administered to Gamine on August 17 by her veterinarian and on the veterinarian's recommendation. Importantly, the veterinarian followed established medical and regulatory guidelines in administering the medication, The withdrawal guidelines published by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission recommend that the medication not be given within 14 days of a race. In this instance, as an additional layer of protection, Gamine's veterinarian last treated her with betamethasone 18 days before the Oaks."

Gamine was again disqualified to last place.

After Gamine failed in the distance, she should start in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, which took place on November 7th in Keeneland. There she should meet mares like Serengeti Empress and Bell's the One. The first time Gamine did not go straight to the front, but the 4 year old mare Serengeti Empress. Gamine ran in second position to take out Serengeti Empress in the stretch to break the race and track record again.

In the 2020 World's Best Racehorse Rankings, Gamine was rated on 122, making her the equal twenty-first best racehorse in the world and the best three-year-old filly alongside Love and Swiss Skydiver.[2]