Barn Tour: Summers is back on the Kentucky Derby trail

Chad Summers is back on the road to Kentucky Derby 2026 with Napoleon Solo and possibly a few others.

And if not for a good year last year, he might not even be in training right now.

Summers told Horse Racing Nation he thought about retiring “about every six months.” His barn had only about 11 horses last year as “I was trying to retire as we were downsizing.”

But “we had a couple of nice horses in Filoso and Cyclone State and Dry Powder and just kind of kept plugging along.”

Today, he has 37 horses, split between Florida and New York.

Summers is a funny guy, quick to offer up a joke. Asked how he got into training, he said, “I thought I was going to be a jockey. So when I was a freshman in high school, I was 4'10" and I weighed 90 pounds. And when I was tall enough to ride the roller coaster, I cried because I was no longer going to be a (jockey). And once I got tall enough to be a trainer, I decided I could eat some food. So I'm no longer 90 pounds.”

But he’s serious when it comes to family ties in the racing industry.

“I've met so many interesting people through this,” Summers said. “And now to be able to bring my son to the barn and for him to enjoy the horses like me, it's just truly a blessing.”

He owns some of his horses with his father Scott and brother Dan, who works for the New York Racing Association.

“He actually does the flowers now after the horses win Grade 1s, it's a kind of tradition in New York,” Summers said. “And so when in the last ever Grade 1 in New York, the Champagne, and him donning Napoleon Solo and the flowers. It was pretty cool. It was really cool. Him being there, my dad and my son being there for the trophy presentation was awesome.”

Side note: Summers’s son Sean turned 14 on Monday, and his first horse is named Feeling Dangerous. “He ponied Poster in the Pegasus,” Summers said. “He didn't make enough money for his college education, but at least he can say that his first horse that he ever owned ponied the Pegasus on Saturday.”

Back to the main topic of a Barn Tour feature, Summers provided updates on eight horses in his stable.

3-year-olds

Napoleon Solo. The Liam’s Map colt, owned by Gold Square, is 2-for-2 and is on the Kentucky Derby trail after winning the Champagne (G1) in his most recent start. He returned to the work tab two weeks ago. “I think around that Feb. 28, March 7 kind of time frame, there's some races at that time, between the Gotham (G3) and the Fountain of Youth (G2) and the Tampa Bay Derby (G3). I think those would be the first kind of races we're looking at. … He's a very special horse. Just fortunate that we were able to purchase him when we did, and Mr. Gold gave us the permission to buy him.” Napoleon Solo was purchased for $40,000 as a yearling.

Game for It. This Known Agenda colt is owned by Gold Square and Summers in partnership with breeder Wynnstay. He won his Dec. 10 debut despite stumbling at the start and was entered in Saturday’s Holy Bull (G3), a Kentucky Derby points prep. “I think he's pretty special. … Look, he's 1-for-1. He's got a little ways to go to keep getting better. But he's got a beautiful stride, a beautiful way of going about himself.” Summers said Game for It might be scratched from the Holy Bull. “We entered him in an allowance race and the allowance race didn't go, so. It's a big ask, but Buetane's going to scratch. He had some plane trouble. So we'll see. We're looking at the nominations for the Sam F. Davis, 45 of them. Only 44 can run, so hopefully we're not left out. And we'll make a decision in the next couple of days.”

Tartabull. This Tapit colt, also owned by Gold Square, broke his maiden in October and was third last out in the Dec. 26 Maryland Juvenile Stakes. He was entered in a Wednesday allowance at Aqueduct, but the card was cancelled because of cold weather. He also was nominated for the Withers, a Kentucky Derby points prep on Saturday, but was not entered. “He's a special dude. He's a lot of fun to be around. Had him down in Maryland with Jess and Xavier Perez, who rode (his dam) Anna's Bandit to 15 of her victories. They were there when he was foaled. … Hopefully he can just keep getting better. I think the further the distance, the better it will be. We're looking forward to getting those opportunities to kind of stretch him out a little bit further.”

Daniella Marie. Owned by Roddy Valente, this Honest Mischief filly broke her maiden in November and was third in two starts since, most recently an optional-claiming allowance at Aqueduct on Jan. 10. “Hopefully she’ll run this weekend (in an Aqueduct allowance). Waiting to see what happens. It's a lot of fun training for Roddy Valente and his family. It's the second horse he's named after his daughter. You feel a lot of pressure when you train horses named after family members. We've been blessed, both of them were able to run in the $500,000 race in the Stallion Series. First one was D's A Rock. She finished fifth, and then we ran third with Danielle Marie. So we're hoping next year to name another one after her, and hopefully we can go five, three, one.”

Life Is Gravy. This 3-year-old colt is owned by Summers with his father and brother. He broke his maiden in November in his second start and hasn’t returned. “It was a son of Mind Your Biscuits (Summers’s most successful horse). And this was a horse that we bought for like 1,700 guineas at an online auction in Ireland. And obviously, didn't know if I'd ever be able to train an offspring of Mind Your Biscuits. So to get him and to be able to win with him, you know, a maiden special weight race was pretty special. It was Breeders' Cup day. Unfortunately, I couldn't be there, but it was almost more important to, you know, the emotions of winning that race for, you know, a son of Mind Your Biscuits, it meant a lot.”

Coming soon: “There's always a few special ones in the hopper getting ready to to get running. Al Gold's always known for his names, so we have horses like No Rain, No Flowers, and I Love Giraffes, and Five Wishes, all getting ready to debut within the next month.”

Older horses

Dry Powder. A 4-year-old filly by Gun Runner, she was second by a neck in the Cotillion (G1) before finishing eighth last out in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Also owned by Gold Square, she got back to work on Dec. 31. She likely will make her next start in the Barbara Fritchie or the Royal Delta (G3), both on Feb. 14. “I'm confident. She's my heart horse.”

Filoso. The 4-year-old son of City of Light tried the Kentucky Derby trail last year but didn’t get very far. He last was seen being eased in an allowance at Aqueduct on Jan. 6 because of a condition that resulted in him being gelded. Owned by Gold Square, Summers expects him to return to Palm Meadows next week to start training. “We’re going to breeze him on the grass. City of Light had a nice grass winner (La Ville Lumiere) in a stakes race for Michael McCarthy (on Dec 29). So we're going to see if he likes the grass.”

Ducky Medwick. This 4-year-old colt by Mr. Monomoy is owned and was bred by Summers with his father and brother. He won his debut in April then was off the board his next two starts but hasn’t raced since June. He returned to the tab at Belmont last month. “He's on the comeback trail, a horse that was bred by myself, my dad, and my brother. He's named after the last National League baseball player to hit for the Triple Crown. … He'll run an allowance race in a couple of weeks. It's always great to do things with family. And this is one that we had the mother (Coyote Pretty), had a few foals out of the mare. He's the third foal. And he was able to win first time out, which was really cool. And my brother's daughter, she was just born. It was one of her first winner's circle pictures. It's certainly emotional when you raise them and you have the mother and you do the matings and all that kind of stuff. It's really cool when they can come together and win first time out.”