2025 Holy Bull Stakes Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

The Gulfstream Park spur of the Kentucky Derby Trail is one of the most important ones in recent years, and its series gets underway Saturday, February 1, in the $265,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3). The 1 1/16-mile race drew a field of seven, including multiple Grade 1-placed Ferocious and Grade 3 winner He’s Not Joking.

The race was originally called the Preview Stakes when it started in 1990 and was renamed to honor Holy Bull in 1996. The race offers 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points on the Kentucky Derby trail. Though that doesn’t earn them a spot straight into the race, a good outing plus one or two other sharp prep races will be enough, and it also shows the winner is going in the right direction and can handle Gulfstream Park well.

In 1994, Go For Gin won this race (when it was still called the Preview) and went on to take down the Kentucky Derby. Barbaro swept the pair in 2006 as well, one year after Holy Bull winner Closing Argument only narrowly missed to Giacomo in the Run for the Roses. 2020 Belmont winner Tiz the Law also counted the Holy Bull among his conquests. White Abarrio, winner of this race in 2022, went on to win the Florida Derby that year, the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2023, and the Pegasus World Cup in 2025.

Read on to learn about the contenders in the 2025 Holy Bull Stakes!

Holy Bull Stakes 2025 Information

• Race Date: Saturday, February 1, 2025
• Track: Gulfstream Park
• Post Time: 5:13 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
• Distance: 1 1/16 miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Holy Bull Stakes Odds

This is the official field for the 2025 Holy Bull Stakes, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and official morning-line odds for each entrant.

Holy Bull Stakes Prep Results

All seven horses from the Holy Bull come out of different prep races.

Three of the runners were last seen in stakes races. The only last-out stakes winner is Guns Loaded, who won the Mucho Macho Man over the one-turn Gulfstream Park mile on January 4. Two others come from off-the-board finishes in graded races. Ferocious makes his first start since rallying mildly for fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 1. He’s Not Joking was a well-beaten eighth in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs on November 30, his first try on dirt.

The other four entrants come out of victories in maiden special weight races over the dirt. Two graduated at Gulfstream: Burnham Square won at 1 1/16 miles, the same distance as the Holy Bull, on December 28; Tappan Street won his local debut at seven furlongs on the same date. The other two runners graduated at Churchill Downs. Kinetic Control won at 1 1/16 miles on November 22, while Burning Glory won at the one-turn mile on December 1.

Holy Bull Contenders

These are the contenders in the 2025 Holy Bull Stakes, organized by post position:

1. Kinetic Control: It took him four tries to get off the mark, but he broke his maiden last out in a 1 1/16-mile race at Churchill. He won leading at every call, though he hit the board in previous races from both a stalking spot and a closing style. That suggests he has some versatility, and he also showed some grit in turning back an opponent in his maiden win. It’s a lot of tools for trainer Dale Romans, who is running red-hot at Gulfstream, though he needs to improve significantly from a speed figure perspective.
2. Ferocious: He hasn’t won since a blowout maiden victory on debut sprinting over the Saratoga mud back in August, though he has hit the board in a pair of Grade 1 races since. On speed, he fits in this field well, and if he can find a spot closer to the lead like he did in his earlier races, he may end up taking well to Gulfstream. The blinkers could help him do that. However, watch the price, as he could be an underlay given his pattern of getting bet and not getting all the way there.
3. Tappan Street: The least-experienced horse in the field, he comes out of a debut maiden win at seven furlongs over the local course, and now stretches out to a mile for the first time. Being by Into Mischief out of a Distorted Humor mare, he may be able to handle it, and trainer Brad Cox does well with both last-out maiden winners and first-time routers. He also showed good tactical speed in his debut and reunites with Luis Saez.
4. Guns Loaded: Especially if speed is holding well on Holy Bull day, he may be in a good spot. He settled for second when pressing the pace but won his next two starts on the front end. The worry is what the price will be compared to the fact that he has yet to prove he can win a race from anywhere but the front end, but in a relatively short field at Gulfstream Park, he may just get the right trip.
5. He’s Not Joking: The good news is, he had a breakout effort two starts back at 1 1/16 miles in the Grey Stakes (G3), suggesting this is an excellent distance for him. The bad news is, he flopped trying dirt for the first time later that month in the Kentucky Jockey Club. If he runs back to that effort in the Grey two back, he has a shot, though, between the surface question and the fact that he won from a closing spot, he may not get the best of it in this race for several reasons.
6. Burning Glory: It took him three tries to graduate, rallying from midfield to win a maiden mile at Churchill Downs on December 1. He was closer to the pace than he was in a good second-place finish two back, and that second two back did show some two-turn ability since he was going 1 1/16 miles that day. That gives him some upside, as does the fact that trainer Bill Mott tends to bring his horses along cautiously. He will need a modest step up, but there’s reason to think he can find it.
7. Burnham Square: He was off the pace in his first two starts and didn’t get quite there, but a more forward trip third time out got him near the pace, and he drew off an emphatic winner. He faces a tougher group this time, but he should be able to work out a nice outside stalking trip from the outside post in a field of only seven. There’s also a possibility that he is one of those kinds of horses who thrives on the Gulfstream surface, since he had such a breakout effort when trying it for the first time. It is a concern, however, that trainer Ian Wilkes tends to underperform in graded races.

Holy Bull Past Winners Past Performances

Over the last ten years, Holy Bull winners have come from a variety of places. The tightest trend is that they have been hitting the board in their most recent races: over the last ten years, five Holy Bull winners won their last race, two were second, and three were third.

The Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) has been the most live last-out spot in that term, as two winners in the last ten years have come from it. Neither won, but both Tiz the Law (2020) and White Abarrio (2022) were third.

Two other stakes races have been last-out destinations for Holy Bull winners in the last ten years. Mohaymen (2016) won the Remsen before winning the Holy Bull, and Irish War Cry (2017) came out of a victory in the ungraded Marylander at Laurel. The last time a horse who came out of a stakes at Gulfstream won the Holy Bull was just outside the ten-year window: in 2013, Itsmyluckyday came into the Holy Bull off a win in the Gulfstream Park Derby, the race now run as the Mucho Macho Man.

Five of the last ten Holy Bull winners scored in their stakes debut—in fact, it’s a recent enough trend that all of those winners happened in the last seven years. Audible (2018) came out of an allowance win at Aqueduct, Harvey Wallbanger (2019) and Greatest Honour (2021) came out of maiden special weights at Aqueduct and Gulfstream, Rocket Can (2023) came out of a second-place run in an allowance at Churchill Downs, and Hades (2024) was most recently seen winning an allowance at Gulfstream.

Holy Bull Stakes Undercard

The Holy Bull Stakes is the 11th of 12 races on Saturday’s card at Gulfstream. The card features five stakes races for three-year-olds, with the two graded events at the end of the card. The one race after the Holy Bull is the Forward Gal (G3), a 20-point Kentucky Oaks prep that is the first points race of the Gulfstream season for the fillies. Other stakes races include the Sweetest Chant for two-turn turf fillies, the Swale for dirt sprinters, and the Kitten’s Joy for turf route males. With big fields and class horses all day long, including maiden and allowance races that may produce further Derby or Oaks prospects, make sure to tune in all day on FanDuel TV and bet at FanDuel!

Gulfstream Park History

Gulfstream Park is the historic racetrack that hosts the Florida Derby each year. It is the only American racetrack that offers all three racing surfaces: conventional dirt, turf, and a synthetic Tapeta surface. The outer track is a dirt course measuring 1 1/8 miles around, complete with a chute that allows for classic one-turn dirt mile races. The next track inward is a one-mile and seventy-yard Tapeta track that opened in 2021. The inner course is a seven-furlong turf track.

Gulfstream Park has hosted many major races over the years, including the Breeders’ Cup in 1989, 1992, and 1999. In 2017, the race ran the rich Pegasus World Cup Turf for the first time, which was at one time the world’s richest horse race. But the Florida Derby, run along the road to the Kentucky Derby, remains Gulfstream Park’s most established and famous race.

Holy Bull Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Holy Bull Stakes?

A: The 2025 edition of the Holy Bull happens on Saturday, February 1, at Gulfstream Park. The race is the 11th on the 12-race card.

Q: Where is the Holy Bull Stakes?

A: It takes place at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Holy Bull Stakes?

A: Two trainers are tied for the most victories in the Holy Bull, with three: Nick Zito and Kiaran McLaughlin. Zito, whose first two wins came while it was still called the Preview Stakes, is still training but has no entrant in the Holy Bull this year. McLaughlin has stopped training, but he is the jockey agent for both Luis Saez, rider of Tappan Street, and John Velazquez, who has the call on He’s Not Joking.

The only trainer in the 2025 Holy Bull who has won the race before is Bill Mott. He won in 2023 with Rocket Can and can add another win with Burning Glory.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2025 Holy Bull Stakes?

A: Ferocious, coming out of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite for the Holy Bull. However, make sure to take note if 5-2 morning-line second choice Guns Loaded, a talented but less seasoned runner, challenges at the top of the market.

Q: Who is the best Holy Bull Stakes jockey?

A: Jerry Bailey rode five Holy Bull and Preview Stakes winners between 1990 and 1998 but has since retired. Among jockeys taking calls in the 2025 Holy Bull, both Junior Alvarado (Kinetic Control) and Javier Castellano (Ferocious) have won twice before. Alvarado won with Mohaymen (2016) and Rocket Can (2023), while Castellano won with Algorithms (2012) and Audible (2018).

Q: Who won the 2024 Holy Bull Stakes?

A: Hades won the 2024 Holy Bull for trainer Joe Orseno and jockey Paco Lopez. Neither returns to the fray for 2025.

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