Open Mind (NJ)

Biography

A two-time Eclipse Award winner, Open Mind was a chestnut filly bred in New Jersey by Due Process Stables. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Open Mind won seven Grade 1 races in her career and owned a 10-race win streak.

Open Mind won her career debut on Aug. 15, 1988, in her home state at Monmouth Park. She won the New Jersey Breeders’ Stakes in her next start before finishing second in consecutive races — the Maryland Lassie Stakes and Frizette Stakes — prior to the Breeders’ Cup.

At Churchill Downs, Open Mind made a late drive to defeat Darby Shuffle by 1¾ lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Two weeks later, Open Mind added her second Grade 1 victory of the year when won the Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct, closing out her juvenile season with a record of 4-2-0 from six starts and earnings of $724,064 to be voted the Eclipse Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Filly.

As a sophomore, Open Mind became a sensation. Including her two wins at the end of her 2-year-old campaign, Open Mind stretched her win streak to 10. She won the Forward Gal, Bonnie Miss, and Pimlico Oaks before returning to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Oaks, which she easily won by 2¼ lengths.

Open Mind was then sent to New York, where she won the Acorn, Mother Goose, Coaching Club American Oaks (by disqualification), and Alabama in succession. The Coaching Club American Oaks victory completed a sweep of the New York Filly Triple Crown. Open Mind became the seventh horse to win the Acorn, Mother Goose, and Coaching Club American Oaks, joining Hall of Famers Dark Mirage, Shuvee, Chris Evert, Ruffian, Davona Dale, and Mom’s Command.

After winning the Alabama Stakes for her 10th straight victory, Open Mind finished third in both the Ruffian Handicap and Breeders’ Cup Distaff, concluding her 3-year-old season with a record of 8-0-2 from 11 starts and earnings of $1,120,308. She won the Eclipse Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Filly.

Following her 3-year-old season, Open Mind was sold to Kazuo Nakamura for $4.6 million when owner Eugene Klein decided to liquidate his racing stock. Open Mind raced twice as a 4-year-old without hitting the board before she was retired with a career record of 12-2-2 from 19 starts and earnings of $1,844,372.

Open Mind died in Japan in 1998 at the age of 12.   

Achievements

Eclipse Award Champion 2-Year-Old Filly — 1988
Eclipse Award Champion 3-Year-Old Filly — 1989

Breeders' Cup Highlights

Won the Juvenile Fillies — 1988

Notable

Won the Demoiselle Stakes — 1988
Won the Acorn Stakes — 1989
Won the Alabama Stakes — 1989
Won the Bonnie Miss Stakes — 1989
Won the Coaching Club American Oaks — 1989
Won the Forward Gal Stakes — 1989
Won the Kentucky Oaks — 1989
Won the Mother Goose Stakes — 1989
Won the Pimlico Oaks — 1989

Horse Profile for Open Mind | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information