Blackout Time Has Derby Winner Gasaway Dreaming Again

One wouldn't blame Thoroughbred owner Lance Gasaway for spending some time on Google this week researching second lightning strikes. Gasaway, along with partners Brookdale Racing (Nader Alaali) and Sherri McPeek's Magdalena Racing, will send out Blackout Time in the $650,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland. While the juvenile son of Not This Time will be making a big jump from maiden winner to grade 1 race, he made a big impression with his connections in that initial win. After racing near the lead throughout that mile maiden special weight race Aug. 2 at Ellis Park, Blackout Time drew off to lead by 5 1/2 lengths in midstretch and then 9 3/4 lengths at the wire to defeat 11 other 2-year-olds. Gasaway, who of course captured the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1) with Mystik Dan, attended that head-turning race at Ellis. While he fully understands the challenges to come, Gasaway couldn't help but think about a return to America's biggest races—the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), the 2026 Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown races—as he made his way to the Ellis Park winner's circle. "We thought he would put a good effort in, but we didn't expect him to run away with it. So it's very exciting to have one when they do something like that," Gasaway said. "You can't help but get excited when you see something like that. And the first thing that goes through your head is, 'Is it possible I have another Derby horse?' "Then you kind of pinch yourself and say, 'There's no way that I could be blessed enough to have two horses in the Derby this quick.' But it's exciting. It's exciting but I'm also trying to stay low key for now." As a co-breeder and co-owner of Mystik Dan, Gasaway is plenty familiar with how the Derby, inexplicably, can seem to be both a long way off and just around the corner. So many hurdles are in the path, but at the same time it may only be five or six races away. Mystik Dan started three times as a juvenile, earning a maiden win. His stakes debut would come on New Year's Day when he finished fifth in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park. How far away did the Kentucky Derby seem that day as connections turned their attention to cleaning up from the previous night's parties and watching college bowl games? But the son of Goldencents would break through with an 8-length win in the Southwest Stakes (G3) ahead of a third-place finish in the Arkansas Derby (G1). Using the same rail rally he delivered in the Southwest, Mystik Dan captured the Kentucky Derby by a nose for owners Gasaway, Valley View Farm (Scott Hamby), 4 G Racing (Lance's cousin Brent and his wife Sharilyn), and Daniel Hamby III, as well as trainer Ken McPeek and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. Blackout Time will break from the rail Saturday in the Breeders' Futurity, which has drawn seven entries. The 1 1/16-mile test is a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In race to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The likely favorite will be Spendthrift Farm's Ted Noffey off his 8 1/2-length win in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) Sept. 1 at Saratoga Race Course. For good measure, the race also offers qualifying points to the 2026 Kentucky Derby. The connections of Blackout Time believe their son of Not This Time is talented. Lance Gasasway said that soon after he lost a 6-furlong maiden race in June at Churchill Downs, McPeek told him the plan would be to win a maiden at Ellis, go to the Breeders' Futurity, and then the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. On the BH Monday podcast, McPeek said Blackout Time is "a horse that we think may be one of the best young horses we've ever handled." Months after winning the Derby, McPeek went to $210,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale to purchase Blackout Time. Gasaway, who attended the sale and was impressed by the yearling, made sure to be included in the partnership. "We're very excited about him," Gasaway said. "He's just such a professional; he just does everything so easy. The odd thing about it is this horse, Blackout Time, is eerily similar to Mystik Dan; his personality, his demeanor. He's just calm. "He'll put his head on your shoulder—just a real laid-back horse." Part of the team will not be able to compete Saturday as Hernandez, first-call rider for McPeek, suffered injuries that included seven broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a liver laceration in a Sept. 21 spill at Churchill. Gasaway said his fiancé, Bobbie Jo Harris, has stayed in touch with Hernandez and he is hoping to see the rider in Lexington this weekend, if Hernandez can make it out. Cristian Torres will ride Blackout Time Saturday after Hernandez was aboard for his first two starts. On the BH Monday podcast, McPeek noted that the rider has been a key part of the barn's success. "The thing people don't realize about Brian is that he rarely checks a horse in a race," McPeek said. "I think what he's great at is the flow of a horse underneath him. You don't have to be the strongest rider in the world but you do have to feel a horse to get him to utilize all their energy to the wire. "That's really the main reason I use Brian Hernandez. Beyond that, he's a class act and complete gentleman. And, his work ethic is beyond others'." While Blackout Time searches for big wins and provides Derby dreams for his connections, Derby winner Mystik Dan also is going strong. He won the $500,000 Lukas Classic Stakes (G2) Sept. 27 at Churchill, with trainer McPeek noting the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) would be the next target. That would be Gasaway's first Breeders' Cup starter. And, should Blackout Time run well Saturday? "I was talking to my son the other day. I said, 'It'd be crazy to finally get a horse in the Breeders' Cup and then actually have two in there,'" Gasaway said. "That'd be something." With Mystik Dan racing at 4 this season, Gasaway has enjoyed seeing first-hand the powerful connection between a Kentucky Derby winner and fans. He noted that it's been great to see many of the 3-year-old stars of 2024 return to racing in 2025. "I think some of these horses are shut down too early and sent off to stud. I like to see them run. And it's not about the money; it's about the good of the sport. These are the types of horses that bring the fans," Gasaway said. "Everybody wanted Mystik Dan back at Oaklawn, and then at Churchill—they really seem to like him there. "Everywhere we went, whether it was Santa Anita, or Gulfstream for the Pegasus, he was the star. People want to see a Kentucky Derby winner." This year's Breeders' Cup World Championships could see a pair of Kentucky Derby winners as this year's victor, Sovereignty, is being pointed to the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Gasaway manages an 18,000-acre farm in Arkansas with other family members and also is involved in some business ventures in the state. Since childhood, his family would regularly attend the races at Oaklawn. A football hall of famer for the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Gasaway initially purchased some state-bred runners in 2012. Since Mystik Dan's classic score, Gasaway has enjoyed introducing some more family members and friends to the ownership experience. "I've got a lot of people wanting to partner now," Gasaway said. "They were around us for the Triple Crown run and the races before that. I think they kind of got hooked. I did tell them, 'Y'all are seeing the best. I love this game and want you to enjoy it too, but I just want to give you a heads-up: It's not always like this.'" After experiencing those heights first-hand, Gasaway always will savor the Kentucky Derby win. He also wants to try for more big scores. "I'm a very, very competitive person, probably to a fault," Gasaway said. "I like to win, so the next thing for me is, 'Hey, I want to win another one.' I've never won a Breeders' Cup. I'd love to win a Breeders' Cup. I've never won an Arkansas Derby. I'd love to win it."