Final Score broke his maiden in impressive fashion on August 10, 2025, at Saratoga Race Course. After finishing second in his debut on July 13 in an off-the-turf sprint behind his Pletcher-trained stablemate Malus, Final Score switched to the grass and found his stride.
In the 1 1/16-mile turf maiden race, Final Score went wire-to-wire as the 9-5 favorite, controlling the tempo through fractions of :24.61, :50.88, and 1:16.61. When challenged in the stretch, he responded gamely to win by 1¾ lengths over Heeere’s Johnny in a final time of 1:45.48.
Success at a price
Final Score was a significant investment, purchased for $600,000 at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. He is out of the winning Bernardini mare Precious Dixie, who comes from an exceptional female family. Precious Dixie is a full-sister to Grade 1-placed Lady Kate and a half-sister to graded stakes-placed Prince of Arabia and Princess Theorem.
The colt represents his dam’s second winner from three foals to race, with younger half-brothers including a yearling by Good Magic and a 2025 foal by Cody’s Wish.
Not This Time’s Growing Success
This victory adds to the growing legacy of Not This Time as a successful sire. The stallion, who stands at Taylor Made Farm, has been producing high-quality runners across multiple surfaces and distances. Not This Time is perhaps best known as the sire of Epicenter, the 2022 American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse.
In 2025 alone, Not This Time has produced multiple stakes winners, including Final Gambit (winner of the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks), Way to Be Marie, and Dana’s Beauty. His offspring have proven versatile, with nearly even success rates on dirt and turf surfaces.
Pletcher’s With Anticipation Dominance
Todd Pletcher entered Final Score in the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes with considerable confidence, having won this particular race a record six times between 2008-2018. His previous winners include Bittel Road (2008), Interactif (2009), Bashart (2013), Azar (2015), Made You Look (2016), and most recently Opry (2018).
