Carina Mia (4) draws clear in the 2016 Acorn Stakes.
Three Chimneys Farm’s Carina Mia earned her first career Grade I victory in style, besting an immensely talented field of five other rivals to win Saturday’s $671,000 Acorn Stakes (GI) by 1 1/4 lengths over Belmont Park’s main track. Ridden by regular jockey Julien Leparoux, the Bill Mott-trained daughter of Malibu Moon completed the one-mile main track test in last-to-first fashion and stopped the clock in 1:34.97 over a fast main track.
As the public’s second choice at odds of 2-1, Carina Mia returned $6.10, $3.90 and $2.40. Runner-up Off The Tracks, who also closed from near the back in the early going, was good enough to claim second and was good for $8 and $3.20 at odds of more than 9-1. Favored Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Cathryn Sophia paid $2.10 at odds of 4-5 when she crossed the wire another length back in third.
Go Maggie Go, Paola Queen and Forever Darling completed the order of finish.
Carina Mia earned $375,000 to bring her career earnings total to $684,120. Her record now stands at 6-4-1-0. She also won the Eight Belles Stakes (GII) and last year’s Golden Rod Stakes (GII). She was purchased by her current owners for $410,000 as a Keeneland September yearling in 2014.
California native and lifelong horsewoman Margaret Ransom is a graduate of the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program. She got her start in racing working in the publicity departments at Calder Race Course and Hialeah Park, as well as in the racing office at Gulfstream Park in South Florida. She then spent six years in Lexington, KY, at BRISnet.com, where she helped create and develop the company’s popular newsletters: Handicapper’s Edge and Bloodstock Journal. After returning to California, she served six years as the Southern California news correspondent for BloodHorse, assisted in the publicity department at Santa Anita Park and was a contributor to many other racing publications, including HorsePlayer Magazine and Trainer Magazine. She then spent seven years at HRTV and HRTV.com in various roles as researcher, programming assistant, producer and social media and marketing manager.
She has also walked hots and groomed runners, worked the elite sales in Kentucky for top-class consignors and volunteers for several racehorse retirement organizations, including CARMA.
In 2016, Margaret was the recipient of the prestigious Stanley Bergstein Writing Award, sponsored by Team Valor, and was an Eclipse Award honorable mention for her story, “The Shocking Untold Story of Maria Borell,” which appeared on USRacing.com. The article and subsequent stories helped save 43 abandoned and neglected Thoroughbreds in Kentucky and also helped create a new animal welfare law known as the “Borell Law.”
Margaret’s very first Breeders’ Cup was at Hollywood Park in 1984 and she has attended more than half of the Breeders’ Cups since. She counts Holy Bull and Arrogate as her favorite horses of all time. She lives in Pasadena with her longtime beau, Tony, two Australian Shepherds and one Golden Retriever.
