text: mucho macho man mucho macho man ( foaled june 15 , 2008 ) is a retired american thoroughbred racehorse notable as the winner of the 2013 breeders ' cup classic . he was foaled in florida and named after the village people song " macho man " . his breeders were carole and john rio of florida , who owned his dam . his nickname was " lazarus " because he appeared lifeless at birth , but spontaneously revived . he grew to be a very large horse , standing over 17 hands ( 68 inches , 173 cm ) high . throughout most of his racing career , mucho macho man was primarily owned by dean and patti reeves of reeves thoroughbred racing of suwanee , georgia . they purchased a majority interest in him after his first race in 2010 , and in 2012 became his sole owners . in february 2014 , frank stronach purchased an undisclosed share in the horse on behalf of his adena springs farms , owner of mucho macho man 's sire , macho uno . the stallion now lives at adena springs and began to stand at stud in the 2015 breeding season . when dean and patti reeves purchased the horse , they placed him with horse trainer tim ritvo , who shortly thereafter began a job with gulfstream park . training duties were turned over to tim 's wife and fellow trainer kathy ritvo , who trained mucho macho man from his fourth race on . his racing career was supported by a close - knit team , led by ritvo and the reeves as well as reeves ' racing manager finn green . mucho macho man was ridden in races by several top jockeys , including rajiv maragh , ramon dominguez , mike smith , edgar prado and gary stevens . because mucho macho man was born late in the year for a thoroughbred foal , as a growing two- and three - year - old he had to compete against horses that were several months older and more mature . he was also very tall , and as a young racehorse sometimes got in his own way ; as a three - year - old , he stepped on his front feet with his hind feet and tore off a horseshoe in two different races . in 2011 , he competed in all three triple crown races , coming in third in the kentucky derby . following a five - month layoff due to surgery that addressed a problem with his breathing , he returned to the track in november 2011 with a win , won three graded stakes races in 2012 , and finished a close second to fort larned in that year 's breeders ' cup classic . in 2013 , after overcoming a respiratory virus early in the year , he ran two races on the east coast , finishing third both times , and then was shipped early to santa anita park to prepare for that year 's breeders ' cup . he won a preparatory race , the awesome again stakes , his seventh win overall and his first grade i win . this qualified him for the 2013 breeders ' cup classic , which he won , narrowly defeating will take charge and declaration of war . his success earned him the secretariat vox populi award and the national thoroughbred racing association moment of the year as well as two eclipse award nominations and 2013 florida - bred horse of the year . sportswriter steve haskin , who followed the horse 's career for the blood - horse , stated that the saga " provided enough uplifting human interest stories to fill a book " . mucho macho man returned to the track in january 2014 with a decisive win in the sunshine millions classic , but finished fourth in the santa anita handicap . he remained in training , still essentially sound , but following the discovery of bruising on his fetlocks and other signs of " wear and tear " , he was retired in july 2014 . background mucho macho man is a bay horse with white markings that include a star and stripe on his face , a sock on his left hind leg , and a coronet on his front right leg . he stands over 17 hands ( 68 inches , 173 cm ) high . he was sired by macho uno , who won the breeders ' cup juvenile and was named american champion two - year - old colt in 2000 . macho uno was a son of hall of fame champion holy bull . mucho macho man 's dam is the 2001 stakes winner ponche de leona . both sire and dam were owned by frank stronach 's adena springs farms at the time of mating ; the pregnant mare was subsequently purchased by john and carole rio of florida , where mucho macho man was foaled , and thus the rios are officially listed as his breeders . mucho macho man was ponche de leona 's second foal and was born extremely late in the foaling season on june 15 , 2008 ; this meant that as a two- and three - year - old , not yet fully grown , he had to compete on equal terms with horses who were as much as five months older than he . ponche de leona delivered mucho macho man three weeks after her due date . at birth , the foal was lifeless with no heartbeat . farm staff tried to revive him by massaging and shaking him . he was unresponsive for several minutes , then his eyes opened and he " just got up and galloped away " . as a result , his nickname was " lazarus " . in addition to being a late foal , he was very big and hence slow to reach full development . because the young horse was so tall and skinny , john rio called him " mr. green jeans " , though no one else did . his official name is derived from the village people song " macho man " , and owner dean reeves ' nickname for him is " macho " . the rios sold the horse as a two - year - old to jim culver of dream team one racing stable , keeping an ownership share for themselves . after mucho macho man 's first race in 2010 , a majority share in the colt was purchased by dean and patti reeves , owners of reeves thoroughbred racing of suwanee , georgia , near atlanta . when the reeves purchased their controlling interest , he was sent into training with tim ritvo , but when ritvo was appointed director of racing at gulfstream park in florida , the conditioning of the colt was turned over to his wife and fellow trainer , kathy . jonathan " finn " green joined the reeves ' program as racing manager in september 2011 . mucho macho man overcame several health issues in 2011 and 2013 . he had surgery to address a breathing problem in 2011 , and suffered from a respiratory virus and hoof problems , including a quarter crack , in 2013 . not only did the horse survive near - death in 2008 , so did kathy ritvo , who had a heart transplant in november 2008 . she was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy in 2001 , limiting her horse training career . by 2008 her condition deteriorated to the point where she was hospitalized for several months , and she was near death when an organ became available . less than six months after transplant surgery , she returned to training race horses . in a 2011 interview , she compared her own rapid recovery to the spontaneous recovery of the horse as a foal , and stated , " from the moment i opened my eyes [ following surgery ] , i felt fantastic . he 's mucho macho man and i 'm macho woman . " in 2012 , reeves thoroughbred racing bought out dream team one 's 30 - percent interest and became the sole owners of mucho macho man . later , mike and laura obtained a minority share . also in 2012 , the team added a permanent exercise rider to their roster : ritvo 's nephew , former jockey nick petro , jr . petro actually rode mucho macho man more than anyone else . a strong support staff also worked consistently with the horse , including assistant trainer marcelino valencia , stable groom tapia , and hot walker karina lopez . the horse 's connections remained unchanged through 2013 . in february 2014 , anticipating the stallion 's future retirement to a stud career after the 2014 season , adena springs farms purchased an interest in mucho macho man , but he remained in training with the same team and raced under reeves ' colors . frank stronach , noting that adena arranged the mating between macho uno and ponche de leona , described the sale as " a homecoming of sorts " . mucho macho man was given his basic start under saddle by carole and john rio . still tall and lanky , he was sent to bill white for race training , with carole telling the trainer , " physically this horse is late , but mentally he 's way ahead . " throughout his racing career , mucho macho man has been described as a generally calm horse with a good temperament , a " happy " horse who " likes his job " , " businesslike " and easy to rate . however , he disliked being whipped , and was notorious for his dislike of wet conditions , performing poorly when asked to run in the mud ; his worst races were on sloppy tracks . though viewed as " laid back " , he was generally very fast out of the starting gate , which caused him problems twice in his three - year - old season when he tore off a front horseshoe by stepping on his own front heels with his hind feet . ritvo said " i think he 's so excited to get out of the gate that he 's springing before his front feet are gone . " his quickness out of the gate , described by one of his jockeys as akin to that of a quarter horse , became an asset once he matured . steve haskin noted that the horse was undefeated whenever he had the lead by the eighth pole but had never won when he did not . racing career 2010 : two - year - old season mucho macho man first raced at calder race course . he was scratched by the track veterinarian from the first race into which he was entered ; he had been slightly injured when the horse next to him reared and flipped over in the starting gate . he was entered in another race a week later , a maiden race in which he finished second , losing to a colt named gourmet dinner . after that race , mucho macho man was purchased by reeves thoroughbred racing . dean and patti reeves had considered purchasing gourmet dinner , but dean reeves recalled saying at the time , " call me crazy , but i like the second horse . " after the sale , tim ritvo took over the training of mucho macho man from his original trainer , bill white . the colt came in third at his next race , at saratoga in new york state ; he won his first race on september 19 , 2010 , at monmouth park in new jersey . after that race , the colt 's training was turned over to kathy ritvo when tim began working for gulfstream park . in november 2010 , mucho macho man moved up to graded class and finished second behind to honor and serve twice in a row at aqueduct racetrack in new york city , first in the nashua stakes and then in the remsen stakes . throughout his two - year - old year the young horse was easily distracted , so he raced with blinkers for both white and ritvo . 2011 : three - year - old season mucho macho man began his second year of racing by finishing fourth behind winner dialed in in the grade iii holy bull stakes at gulfstream park , and once again finished behind gourmet dinner , who was third . mucho macho man was then sent to new orleans for the risen star stakes at the fair grounds race course . ridden by rajiv maragh , he recorded his first graded stakes win , prevailing by one and a half lengths over . ritvo took away the blinkers for a workout prior to the race and kept them off , stating that the colt had matured and was more at ease without them . at the risen star , he first came to the notice of one of his future jockeys , gary stevens , then a sports analyst , who noted the colt 's calm demeanor , describing him as " a chilled out customer ... very relaxed " . the next race was the louisiana derby , a major preparatory race for the kentucky derby . in that race , he lost his right front horseshoe at the start when he " grabbed a quarter " — tearing off the shoe and a bit of his hoof when he stepped on the heel of his front foot with one of his back feet . he finished third behind pants on fire and nehro . before he was a full 36 calendar months old , mucho macho man contested all three legs of the american triple crown . he finished third to animal kingdom and nehro in the kentucky derby . he was described as having a " babyish look " prior to the derby , and ritvo said that he was still growing , but stevens noted during the derby 's television broadcast , " when he fills into this frame , he 's going to be a big , powerful horse . " mucho macho man was sixth behind shackleford in the preakness . at the start , he again tore off a shoe , this time from his left front hoof , even though ritvo had switched him to glued - on horseshoes . the misstep may have accounted for his low placing . before the belmont , ritvo brought in a farrier specialist , who gave the horse custom made glued - on horseshoes made of a wire - framed synthetic composite and who also squared off the toes of mucho macho man 's hind shoes to make it harder for him to accidentally step on his front heels . at the belmont , ramon dominguez took over from maragh as the colt 's jockey , and went on to ride him for a total of five races . that day , the track was sloppy and the horse ran seventh behind winner ruler on ice . after the belmont , he did not race for several months because he needed surgery to fix a problem with his breathing . in september , finn green , a recovering alcoholic with his own story of triumph over adversity , began working for reeves . a knowledgeable horseman , green insisted that as a condition of employment he had the right to advocate for what was best for a horse under his management , even if that meant expressing disagreement and imposing " tough love " on the owners . he and ritvo saw eye to eye on mucho macho man , and they began planning the colt 's return to the track . after a break of almost five months , mucho macho man raced in november and won an allowance race at aqueduct , beginning a three - race winning streak . he had lost his " babyish " look , put on weight , and as ritvo put it , " his shoulders [ caught ] up with his behind . " ritvo and green then mapped out a 2012 workout and racing schedule for mucho macho man , intending to run him every six to ten weeks with recovery time after each race . 2012 : four - year - old season for his four - year - old debut , mucho macho man ran at gulfstream park , defeating ron the greek in the sunshine millions classic , a race restricted to horses bred in florida or california . he had finally grown into his tall frame . dominguez returned as his jockey and was pleased with what he saw , saying , " you can really tell how much he 's grown up since i rode him in the belmont . back then , he was just a big skinny horse that had a lot of maturing to do . now he looks like he 's grown up and has everything figured out . " dominguez further described him as " forward " out of the gate and said the race was an " easy " win . he raced again in march , winning the grade ii gulfstream park handicap by two lengths . in may at churchill downs , he finished third behind successful dan and fort larned in the grade ii stakes , carrying top weight of 123 pounds ( 56 kg ) . his next race was the grade ii suburban handicap at belmont park on july 7 . ridden for the first time by mike smith , who was his jockey for the remainder of the year , he took the lead in the straight and won by 2 . 5 lengths . it was considered his most significant win of the year . in the woodward stakes at saratoga on september 1 , he finished second by a neck , having been pushed toward the outside of the track by the winner , to honor and serve , in the final furlong . on november 3 , mucho macho man was one of twelve horses to contest the breeders ' cup classic at santa anita in california . starting at odds of 6 – 1 , he was always in the first two and finished second , half a length behind fort larned . there was a 6 1 ⁄ 2 - length gap back to the other runners , who included flat out , game on dude , to honor and serve , and ron the greek . he ended the year seventh in the nation for total race earnings , and tied for thirteenth in the world thoroughbred rankings . 2013 : five - year - old season mucho macho man began his 2013 season by running again in the sunshine millions classic , but the track was sloppy , and on this occasion he was pulled up in the homestretch and placed last in the race . as the horse was not visibly lame , jockey smith told ritvo , " it 's gotta be something inside . " though speculation was that he simply did not like the wet track , shortly thereafter he was diagnosed with a respiratory virus . he also developed a quarter crack in his hoof and spent the rest of the spring recuperating at fair hill training center in maryland . in june , he returned to the track . ridden by edgar prado , he started as the odds - on favorite for the criminal type stakes at belmont park but finished third of the five runners . on august 3 , he finished third to cross traffic and successful dan in the whitney handicap at saratoga , with ron the greek fourth and fort larned fifth . it was at this time that his proclivity to win only when in front at the eighth pole was first commented upon in the racing press . he was once again entered in the woodward stakes at saratoga on august 31 , but ritvo scratched him on the day of the race due to the wet track , described as a " sea of slop " . ritvo then moved mucho macho man to santa anita park almost two months before the breeders ' cup races because she felt he " thrived " in california . it was a major commitment for the horse 's team , as ritvo , green , petro , tapia and lopez had to leave their home base in florida , and reeves had to cover the expenses . dean reeves said , " everybody has basically put their lives and their family second to the benefit and the best we can do for macho . " the horse 's next race was the awesome again stakes at santa anita on september 28 . because both smith and prado had prior riding commitments , ritvo and green decided to contact gary stevens . stevens ' contribution to the human interest saga included a comeback in 2013 after having been forced to retire seven years earlier due to debilitating knee pain . he also had his own near - death experience , having survived a major riding accident in 2003 . in a twist of serendipity , stevens ' agent , craig o 'brien , came by the barn to inquire about the horse 's availability about the same time ritvo and green had decided to see if stevens was available . stevens later claimed to be unaware of his agent 's machinations . noting that stevens had portrayed seabiscuit 's jockey george woolf in the eponymous film , ritvo later joked , " i was in hollywood . how could i not use a film star ? " in the course of the awesome again , mucho macho man settled behind the leaders before making a bid on the final turn . the horse led by three lengths in the homestretch , and accelerated clear of the field to win easily by 4 1 ⁄ 2 lengths over paynter . it was his first win in 2013 and his first grade i stakes win . the victory was also a " win and you 're in " qualifying race for the breeders ' cup classic , which included a waiver of the $ 100 , 000 entry fee for the classic . on november 2 , mucho macho man contested his second breeders ' cup classic and was the second favorite at 4 – 1 in a strong field that included game on dude ( the favorite ) , paynter , palace malice , fort larned , will take charge and flat out , as well as the european challenger declaration of war . the horse broke quickly from the gate and took the lead , but stevens decided to settle him just behind the leaders before going to the outside and moving to the front on the final turn . in the closing stages , he held off two strong late challenges to win by a slim nose over second - place finisher will take charge and by a head over third - place finisher , the european contender declaration of war . after mucho macho man 's victory , the 50 - year - old stevens , winning the classic for the first time after 14 previous attempts , said , " this was a tremendous experience to win this race ... it 's the icing on the cake of my career . " ritvo was credited with a " super " job of training the horse . in a moment of synchronicity , actress elizabeth banks , who co - starred with stevens in seabiscuit , playing marcella howard , presented the breeders ' cup classic trophy . in december , mucho macho man was awarded the 2013 secretariat vox populi award , recognizing the struggles the horse had overcome in reaching success , also noting the accomplishments of his connections , including trainer ritvo 's success overcoming her own health issues to train him and stevens ' comeback from retirement . dean and patti reeves stated , " it is a great honor to think that a horse with such humble beginnings could intertwine the lives and stories of so many people , and tug at the heartstrings of racing fans from all over the world . " at the end of 2013 , mucho macho man was the number one - ranked horse for the year in north american purse winnings , higher than rivals will take charge and game on dude as well as the other two top five contenders orb and wise dan . he was also nominated for two eclipse awards , horse of the year and older male horse , but finished second in both categories to wise dan . he was named florida - bred horse of the year for 2013 , noting that he was only the third florida - bred horse to win the classic , after unbridled and skip away . in the 2013 world 's best racehorse rankings , mucho macho man was given a rating of 125 , the best horse in the world running solely on dirt , a five - way tie as the seventh - best racehorse in the world , and tied with animal kingdom as the second - best racehorse in north america , behind wise dan . his win in the classic was also selected as the national thoroughbred racing association 's " moment of the year " . participation in the online polling for that award , up by more than 50 percent from the previous year , was believed to be largely due to the popularity of mucho macho man and the people around him . 2014 : six - year - old season in december 2013 , ritvo and green confirmed that mucho macho man would return to race as a six - year - old , and their goal for the horse was to " target the breeders ' cup again " . though presumed full - grown , he still had continued to fill out from the previous year . ritvo announced that the horse would begin his racing season for a third time with the sunshine millions classic , if the track was dry . on january 18 , 2014 , ritvo and the horse got a clear day and a fast track . mucho macho man won the six - horse race by 14 lengths . the field included his former nemesis , gourmet dinner , who finished fifth . stevens returned as his jockey and stated , " i geared him down at the end to try not to overdo it . " his connections next entered him in the santa anita handicap , nicknamed the " big ' cap " , on march 8 , returning to california rather than shipping him overseas to run in the $ 10 million dubai world cup later that month , again stating that they considered it to be best for the horse . with the announcement that will take charge was also coming to california , the 2014 race became the most highly anticipated running since the matchup of and ferdinand in 1988 , the only other time that the previous year 's breeders ' cup top two finishers returned to challenge one another at the santa anita handicap . additional interest came from the return of game on dude , who won the big ' cap in 2011 and 2013 . mucho macho man was assigned the highest impost at 124 pounds ( 56 . 2 kg ) . will take charge was assigned 123 pounds ( 55 . 8 kg ) and game on dude , 122 pounds ( 55 . 3 kg ) . eight horses entered , with mucho macho man the morning line favorite . game on dude , described as " on fire " that day , won the race and broke the stakes record in doing so , will take charge was second , but mucho macho man started to lose energy at the three - eighths pole and finished fourth behind . ritvo had no excuses for his finish , noting only that he had missed a few training days due to rain , and the extra moisture had also changed the condition of the santa anita track . on may 1 , 2014 , georgia governor nathan deal proclaimed mucho macho man day in the state of georgia , recognizing the accomplishments of the horse and the attention he and his owners brought to georgia . he returned to florida for training after the big ' cap , but after performing poorly in a june workout was found to have some bruising of his fetlocks , and was given lighter duty . on july 15 it was announced that mucho macho man was officially retired from racing and would stand at stud at adena springs beginning in the 2015 breeding year . in a further twist of synchronicity , in the same week stevens announced he was taking a break from race riding due to the need for a total knee replacement . ritvo explained that mucho macho man was sound , but " [ a ] fter five seasons of training and racing , he shows signs of some minor wear and tear . he is still sound and happy , but we have decided that it is in his best interests to retire him . he has nothing more to prove to any of us . " racing statistics conversions of distance and abbreviations for the owners are given after the table . pedigree mucho macho man is sired by macho uno , who stands at stud at adena springs farms in kentucky . as of january 2014 , macho uno had sired 27 stakes winners . besides mucho macho man , they include : , winner of the hollywood oaks ; macho again ; and wicked style . macho uno is a son of holy bull , who was the 1994 american horse of the year , and breeders ' cup classic winner awesome again is a half - brother to macho uno ; both horses were out of the mare primal force . the sire line of mucho macho man traces back to the 1898 kentucky derby winner , . because macho uno carries no lines to stallions northern dancer , seattle slew , hail to reason , or in reality , who commonly appear in thoroughbred pedigrees , he is valued as a near - total outcross for most thoroughbred mares in north america . mucho macho man 's dam is stakes - winning ponche de leona , whose pedigree is not particularly well known . her sire , ponche , won five stakes races and sired five stakes winners . her dam won one race in 19 starts . mucho macho man thus has very little linebreeding ; only a 4 × 4 cross to the sire mr. prospector , meaning that this horse appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree . ponche de leona was purchased at the keeneland sale in november 2007 by john and carole rio for $ 33 , 000 when in foal with mucho macho man , the relatively low price partly owing to having been bred late in the year ; late foals are difficult to sell . however , by november 2011 , after the success of mucho macho man in his three - year - old year , and in foal to macho uno again , the rios resold her at keeneland for $ 300 , 000 . following mucho macho man 's breeders ' cup win in 2013 , and having also produced the stakes - placed mucho man 's gold , she was again sold at the keeneland january 2014 sale , this time in foal to distorted humor , bringing $ 775 , 000 . in 2013 , she was named florida broodmare of the year by the florida thoroughbred breeders ' and owners ' association .