Up to the Mark began his 2023 campaign as a 12-1 shot in a first-level allowance race at Gulfstream Park. He ended it clearly the best turf horse based in North America after a seven-start season strong enough to make him an Eclipse Awards finalist in the older turf male division and merit Horse of the Year consideration. Up to the Mark at various times was utterly dominant and fantastically versatile, and the richness of his accomplishments during the year came despite the fact physical issues forced a four-month break between starts. Up to the Mark came back from his layoff at least as good as he went into it and in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita fell three-quarters of a length shy of a truly epic campaign. In the Turf, Up to the Mark endured a more difficult trip than the winner, Auguste Rodin, a 3-year-old who was in receipt of four pounds from Up to the Mark, benefited from a rail-skimming journey that might have been the difference between victory and defeat. Auguste Rodin, lest it be forgotten, won the 2023 Derby at Epsom as well as two other overseas Group 1s. :: Full list of 2023 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories Up to the Mark, trained by Todd Pletcher for Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables, as a 3-year-old of 2022 was considered a dirt prospect. Switched to turf on Jan. 28, Up to the Mark found his calling, and in that first-level allowance win it was not who he beat but how he won, with a dazzling turn of foot, that pointed out an exciting grass prospect. Connections did not aim low when the time came to try stakes racing, running Up to the Mark in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile in April at Keeneland, where his lone 2023 loss before the Breeders’ Cup came under less-than-ideal circumstances. For starters, victorious Chez Pierre ran the race of his life that day, cruising to an open-lengths win while, Petcher has said, Up to the Mark’s jockey remained too focused on what favored Modern Games was doing rather than riding his own race. One mile, in the end, sits at the very short end of Up to the Mark’s ideal distance range. The next month, he left no doubt in the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic over 1 1/8 miles at Churchill Downs, and Up to the Mark was similarly dominant in the 1 1/4-mile, Grade 1 Hill ‘n’ Dale Manhattan on the Belmont Stakes undercard. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. At the height of his powers, Up to the Mark then sat out the summer, going back to Keeneland in October to make his comeback in the Grade 1 Coolmore Turf Mile. Master of The Seas, a true miler, was coming off a win in the Grade 1 Ricoh Woodbine Mile and would go on to capture the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and still, Up to the Mark ran him down and won by a nose. With just one race in four months and one race beyond 1 1/8 miles, Up to the Mark looked like a strong candidate for the BC Mile. Instead, connections went for glory, trying Up to the Mark for the first time at 1 1/2 miles and nearly hitting their mark. By Not This Time out of Belle’s Finale, by Ghostzapper, Up to the Mark was bred by Ramspring Farm and sold for $450,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale. And in 2023, he was simply incredible. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.