Horse of the year and longtime stallion Mineshaft is pensioned

Mineshaft has been pensioned from stud duty at Lane's End farm.

As of Monday morning, Mineshaft was listed as pensioned on the website of Lane's End, where he has stood for 21 years. Mineshaft's pensioning was previously reported by Thoroughbred Daily News.

Minecraft is a 26-year-old son of A.P. Indy out of the multiple Grade 1-winning Mr. Prospector mare Prospectors Delite. He went 18: 10-3-1 with $2,283,402 in earnings during a career that ran through his 3-year-old and 4-year-old seasons.

He began his racing career in Europe for trainer John Gosden and was Group 3-placed in France. But he came into his best form when returned to the U.S. and moved to the dirt.

Mineshaft made his first stateside start in November 2002, when he won an allowance-level dirt mile at Churchill Downs for trainer Neil Howard. As a 4-year-old he won six graded-stakes races, including the Pimlico Special (G1), Suburban Handicap (G1), Woodward (G1) and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1). He earned Eclipse awards for horse of the year and champion older horse after that condition and entered stud at Lane's End the next year.

Among Mineshaft's progeny, his top earner is 2024 Saudi Cup (G1) winner Senor Buscador, who amassed a 23: 7-2-3 record and $12,944,427 in winnings. Other top-level winners he has produced include Grade 1-winning U.S. sires Dialed In, Effinex and True Timber, Grade 1 winner and Uruguay-based sire Discreetly Mine, multiple Grade 1 winner and Grade 2 producer It's Tricky, Grade 1-winning sophomore Weep No More and Grade 1-winning juvenile Bond Holder.

The Whirlaway Handicap at Fair Grounds, in which Mineshaft finished second behind Balto Star in 2003, was renamed for Mineshaft in 2005. The race still honors him and is a fixture of the Risen Star (G2) undercard in February.