Jockey Corey Nakatani and modern Thoroughbreds Arrogate, California Chrome, and Songbird head a class of eight set to be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame this summer. Those four, elected in the contemporary category, will be joined in enshrinement by jockey Fernando Toro, selected via the Historic Review Committee, and John W. Hanes II, Leonard W. Jerome, and Stella Thayer, who were selected as Pillars of the Turf for their contributions to the sport. The induction ceremony will be held 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 4 at the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Nakatani, who first appeared on the ballot in 2018, became the first contemporary jockey selected for induction since Craig Perret in 2019. Arrogate, California Chrome, and Songbird were selected in their first year appearing on the ballot. Nakatani, Arrogate, California Chrome, and Songbird were the only four among 16 finalists who received the 50 percent plus one vote needed to be elected into the Hall of Fame. The finalists who did not garner sufficient support were horses Blind Luck, Game On Dude, Havre de Grace, Kona Gold, Lady Eli, and Rags to Riches and trainers Christophe Clement, Kiaran McLaughlin, Graham Motion, Doug O’Neill, and John Sadler. Voters were able to vote for as many candidates as they wished. A total of 153 ballots were received from 166 eligible voters. The Hall of Fame does not release vote totals. Nakatani, 52, won 3,909 races, and his horses earned $234,554,534 in purse money during a career that spanned 1988-2018. He won 341 graded stakes, including 10 Breeders’ Cup races. At a time when the Southern California jockey colony was arguably the deepest in North America, Nakatani won 10 riding titles on that circuit between Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, and Del Mar. Among his significant horses were Lava Man, Serena’s Song, Shared Belief, Jewel Princess, Lit de Justice, My Miss Aurelia, and Sweet Catomine. Though Nakatani never won a Triple Crown race, he was a two-time winner of the Kentucky Oaks and a five-time winner of the Santa Anita Oaks, Santa Margarita Handicap, Santa Maria Handicap, and Eddie Read Handicap. Arrogate had a brief but brilliant career winning 7 of 11 starts, and his $17,422,600 in earnings make him the richest earner in North American history. Arrogate was the champion 3-year-old male of 2016, a year he won the Travers at Saratoga by 13 1/2 lengths in a stakes-record time of 1:59.36 for 1 1/4 miles, and defeated California Chrome in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. After he finished third in his career debut, Arrogate won seven consecutive races capped by a brilliant last-to-first performance in the 2017 Dubai World Cup when he blew the break and rallied from last under Mike Smith to beat Gun Runner, who came back to win five consecutive Grade 1 stakes, four in 2017 in which he was named Horse of the Year. Arrogate, a Kentucky-bred son of Unbridled’s Song, was owned by Juddmonte Farms, bred by Clearsky Farms, and trained by Bob Baffert. California Chrome, the California-bred son of Lucky Pulpit owned and bred by Steve Coburn and Perry Martin and trained by Art Sherman, had a record of 16-4-1 from 27 starts and earned $14,752,650. He was twice voted Horse of the Year, first in 2014 as a 3-year-old when he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and again in 2016 at age 5 when he went 7 for 8 with wins in the Dubai World Cup, Pacific Classic, and Awesome Again. Overall, he won 10 graded/group stakes. Songbird, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, won 13 of 15 starts with two seconds when racing from 2015-17 for owner Rick Porter and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. She was bred by John Antonelli. Songbird was the champion 2-year-old filly of 2015 when she won three Grade 1 stakes capped by the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She was the champion 3-year-old filly of 2016 when she won the Santa Anita Oaks, Coaching Club American Oaks, Alabama, and Cotillion. Songbird, who won her first 11 career starts, suffered her first defeat in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, losing a nose decision to Beholder, a 2022 Hall of Fame inductee. :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  Fernando Toro, 82, won 3,555 races, and his mounts earned $56,299,765 in a North American career that spanned 1966-90. He rode his first winner in Chile in 1956. Based in Southern California during his time in the United States, Toro won 80 graded stakes, four – including the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Mile in 1984 – aboard the champion mare Royal Heroine, a 2022 Hall of Fame inductee. Toro won graded stakes at Woodbine, Oaklawn Park, Arlington Park, Churchill Downs, Belmont Park, Gulfstream Park, and Hialeah. John W. Hanes II raced horses with his second wife, Hope Hanes, in the United States and abroad. They were part of various syndicates that purchased top stars for breeding, including Bold Bidder, My Babu, Nashua, and Royal Charger. Either solo or in partnership, Hanes bred 19 stakes winners including the champion Idun. Hanes played a key role in the revitalization of New York racing in the 1950s. Elected a steward of The Jockey Club in 1953, Hanes was on a committee along with Christopher Chenery and Harry Guggenheim to improve New York’s racetracks. Hanes helped secure $109 million to revitalize Aqueduct, Belmont, and Saratoga. He also helped get legislation passed that established the management corporation that eventually became the New York Racing Association and served as NYRA president from 1954-60 before transitioning to NYRA chairman. Hanes served as president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame from 1968-70. Learned Jerome (1818-91) built a significant fortune on Wall Street and became the driving force in the creation of three racetracks in New York – Jerome Park, Sheepshead Bay Race Track, and Morris Park. The Belmont Stakes was run at Jerome Park from 1867-90. Jerome established the Coney Island Jockey Club in 1879, and the organization held races cards at Prospect Park in New York City until Sheepshead Bay opened in 1880. The Jerome Stakes, first run in 1866, was named in his honor. Jerome’s daughter, Jennie, became the mother of Winston Churchill. Stella Thayer, 82, purchased Tampa Bay Downs in 1986 with her brother, Howell Ferguson, and today remains the track’s president. In 1990, Tampa Bay Downs became the first track in Florida to accept a simulcast signal. In 2005, Thayer was elected the ninth president of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, the first woman to hold that position. She served as president until 2014 and has been a museum trustee since 1994. As a Thoroughbred owner, Thayer won the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in France in 2018 with the 2-year-old filly Wonderment. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.