Blair Barn Firing On All Cylinders

Jun 13, 2024 Kevin Kerstein

Jordan Blair has been a relatively new face on the backstretch at Churchill Downs this meet having previously been stabled at various training centers throughout the state including Churchill Downs’ Trackside Louisville. The 43-year-old trainer, who now has a string based in Barn 6A, found his stride Wednesday, winning two races beneath the historic Twin Spires with veteran claimer G T Five Hundred and future stakes runner Midnight Rising.

Blair’s Wednesday afternoon was highlighted by Surfside Stables’ Midnight Rising’s victory in a conditioned allowance contest in Race 8. The accomplished 4-year-old son of Mendelssohn gamely held off the late charge of Classic Catch by a scant nose to win the featured race, earning a solid 93 Brisnet Speed Rating. The now four-time winner will head to stakes company next out, according to Blair, with a long-term goal of competing in the Ack Ack Stakes (GIII) which is run during the September Meet at Churchill Downs.

Earlier in the card, Blair tallied another victory with CIPS Racing’s G T Five Hundred, who was subsequently claimed for $20,000 in a 14-way shake by Steve Asmussen.

Known as one of the few trainers on the backstretch with a master’s degree, Blair had a unique start to his career in the horse racing industry. A native of Lexington, Ky., Blair received an undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky then went to Mississippi State where he received a master’s degree in Agribusiness Management. Following several jobs working at farms in the Lexington area, Blair headed to the racetrack where he most notably worked as the assistant for trainers Mike Maker and Kenny McPeekbefore taking out his trainer’s license in 2013.

Following the Spring Meet, Blair is scheduled to remain at Churchill Downs with a partial string of horses with his other trainees going to Colonial Downs in Virginia.

Blair’s next starter at Churchill Downs is slated for Sunday with Triple Elvis in Race 8.