Tapit (foaled February 27, 2001, inKentucky) is an AmericanThoroughbredracehorse who won three of his six races, including theWood Memorial Stakes, then aGrade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, becoming the leading freshman sire in North America of 2008 with Breeders' Cup winnerStardom Bound becoming his first Grade I winner. He was theleading sire in North America in 2014, setting an earnings record that he broke in 2015 and again in 2016. For the 2015 season, his stud fee was raised to $300,000, the highest in North America.^[2] In 2021,Essential Quality became his fourthBelmont Stakes winner (Tonalist,Creator andTapwrit being the others), tying him for the all-time record of winners sired in this race with the greatLexington.

Tapit is agray horse. He isheterozygous for thedominant gray gene, which he inherited via his dam, Tap Your Heels. As such, there is a 50-50 chance that any given foal sired by him on a non-graymare will be gray. His base coat color before turning gray waschestnut.^[3]

Tapit was purchased as a yearling in 2002 for $625,000 byVerne Winchell, a prominent California owner, under the recommendation of his bloodstock advisor Dr. David Lambert.^[4] Winchell died soon afterwards and left the horse to his son, Ron. The manager ofWinchell Thoroughbreds, David Fiske, placed the horse in the hands of trainerMichael Dickinson.^[5]

Tapit has been described as an attractive, well-balanced, elegant horse whose appearance reflects the Thoroughbred’sArabian ancestors.^[6] He stands 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm) high.^[7]

Tapit raced twice at age two, winning both times. On October 19, he won a one-mile maiden special weight at Delaware Park by 7 3/4lengths. He then won theGrade IIILaurel Futurity Stakes on November 15 by five lengths, earning aBeyer Speed Figure of 98. Veteran sportswriterAndrew Beyer wrote, "No 2-year-old in America had looked more impressive."^[5]

His return to the racetrack was delayed due to lingering shin problems.^[5] He made his 3-year-old debut in theFlorida Derby on March 13 and finished sixth in the Grade 1 race, but his poor finish was later explained by the discovery of a lung infection. He bounced back in April, coming from last to win theGrade IWood Memorial Stakes by half a length over Master David. “I was dreading the race, because I knew he wasn’t fit,” trainer Michael Dickinson said. “He’s a very generous horse, and he has such a big heart. I felt I was putting him into battle unprepared. And if anything had happened I would have blamed myself. But the horse carried me through, and I’m indebted to him. He’s such a generous horse and we love him dearly.”^[8]

Tapit was the 6–1 third betting choice in the2004 Kentucky Derby and finished ninth behindSmarty Jones.^[9] He was scheduled to race in the 2004Belmont Stakes but was scratched due to a return of the lung infection. In his last race, the Sept. 6, 2004,Pennsylvania Derby, he finished ninth.^[6]

Tapit was retired to stud atGainesway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky in 2005 for a stud fee of $15,000. His first foals were of racing age in 2008 and he made an immediate impact, making him the leading freshman sire that year. His first crop was led bychampion 2-year-old fillyStardom Bound, winner of the 2008Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, and included 15 stakes winners overall.^[6]

His next few crops were not as strong but he was still third on the 2009 second-crop sire list (including 2009Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winnerTapitsfly), and third on the 2010 third-crop sire list. In 2011, he was third on the general sire list. His leading performer,Hansen, won theBreeders' Cup Juvenile and was namedchampion two-year-old. Tapit finished fourth on the general sire list in 2012, and seventh in 2013.^[6]

In 2014 Tapit led thesire list for North America, setting an earnings record in the process. His top performers of 2014 wereUntapable andTonalist. Tonalist became Tapit's first American Classic winner when he won the2014 Belmont Stakes; Untapable won theKentucky Oaks andBreeders' Cup Distaff, and was namedchampion 3-year-old filly.^[10]

In 2015, Tapit led the sire list for the second time, breaking his own earnings record. Top performers that year included Tonalist andFrosted. In 2015, he also led North America by number of winners with 174. He was the leading sire in every "black-type" category tracked byThoroughbred Daily News, with 23 Black-Type Winners, 47 Black-Type Horses (meaning that 47 of his foals finished first, second or third in qualifying stakes company), 16 Graded/Group Stakes Winners, 29 Graded Stakes Horses, five Grade I/Group 1 winners and 10 Grade/Group 1-placed horses.^[11]

In 2016, he once again headed the sire list, with top performers including Frosted and2016 Belmont Stakes winnerCreator.^[12] Two fillies sired by him dead-heated in the Grade I Spinaway Stakes, the two being Pretty City Dancer and Sweet Loretta. He also sired two Grade I winners on the turf, Ring Weekend and Time and Motion. David Firsk, the stallion manager of Winchell Stable, said, "The versatility he has and everything else, I mean, you could subtract his turf earnings from his total ... and he'd still be the leading sire. Turf runners are like a hobby for him."^[13]

In 2017, his sonTapwrit won the Belmont Stakes, marking the third time a son of Tapit had won the race in four years.^[14] His other leading performers includedCupid (Gold Cup at Santa Anita), Actress (Black-Eyed Susan), and Unique Bella (American Champion Female Sprint Horse,Las Virgenes,Santa Ysabel Stakes, La Brea Stakes).^[15]

With his record of siring winners, his stud fee steadily increased, from the original $15,000 to $80,000 in 2011, $125,000 in 2013,^[16] and to $150,000 in 2014. For the 2015 breeding season, his fee was doubled to $300,000, and in 2017 was the highest in the United States.^[2] In 2014, a single share in Tapit, providing a guaranteed breeding right for the rest of his career, was sold for $2.8 million. This made his total value an estimated $140 million.^[17]

Tapit has produced the most successfulfoals from mares that "nick" or complement the genetic strengths in his pedigree. Tapit isinbred toNijinsky, a son ofNorthern Dancer, and many of his best offspring are out of mares who also carry Northern Dancer breeding, but via different lines.^[18] Frosted is an example of how Tapit crosses well on mares that carry the bloodlines ofSeattle Slew.^[19]

^† Prior to 2015, the Leading Sire Lists published byThe Blood-Horse excluded earnings from Hong Kong and Japan due to the disparity in purses. Starting in 2015, earnings from Hong Kong and Japan are included on an adjusted basis.^[21]

His major stakes winners include:^[22][23]

c =colt, f =filly, g =gelding

Tapit is byPulpit, who stood atClaiborne Farm. Pulpit is byA.P. Indy, the 1992 Horse of the Year and an outstanding sire. A.P. Indy is by Triple Crown winnerSeattle Slew, and out of Weekend Surprise bySecretariat. Pulpit's female family traces back to one of Claiborne's foundation mares, Knight's Daughter, the dam ofRound Table.^[18]

Tapit's dam is Tap Your Heels, a stakes-winning mare byUnbridled. Her dam, Ruby Slippers, also produced champion sprinterRubiano, and is the third dam of championSummer Bird. Tapit's third dam, Moon Glitter, was a stakes-winning full sister to important sireRelaunch.^[18] Tap Your Heels is inbred toIn Reality, a descendant ofMan o' War.

• Tapit isinbred 3s × 4d to Mr Prospector, meaning he appears in the 3rd generation on the sire side and 4th generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

He has seven strains tracing to the influential broodmareLa Troienne.^[25]

• TT TapitArchived May 6, 2009, at theWayback Machine
• Gainesway Farms web site

• 2001 racehorse births
• Racehorses bred in Kentucky
• Racehorses trained in the United States
• Thoroughbred family 3-o
• United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires

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