Bayern (USA)
May 3, 2011 – Living
Offlee Wild (USA) x Alittlebitearly (USA), by Thunder Gulch (USA)
American Family 4
May 3, 2011 – Living
Offlee Wild (USA) x Alittlebitearly (USA), by Thunder Gulch (USA)
American Family 4
A horse with marked talent, Bayern was brilliant when he could dictate the tempo of a race but much less effective when he could not. At his best, he was among the leaders of his crop and a dangerous horse any time he had the lead, but he failed to win again after taking a controversial running of the Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1) at the end of his 3-year-old season. To date, his stud career has been much less impressive than his racing career.
Race record
15 starts, 6 wins, 1 second, 3 thirds, US$4,454,930
2014:
2015:
Honors
Eclipse Award runner-up, American champion 3-year-old male (2014)
Assessments
Rated at 125 pounds in the Mile and Intermediate categories on the 2014 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, 5 pounds below highweighted Just a Way (the Japanese champion older male) but tops for dirt runners worldwide. Bayern was also rated at 118 pounds in the Sprint category, tops among sprinters on dirt.
As an individual
A bay ridgling, Bayern is rather light-bodied with a good shoulder and hip and a straight, strong hind leg; his head is rather large and plain. He was a confirmed front-runner.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Bayern has sired 11 stakes winners as of January 9, 2025.
Notable progeny
Speed Boat Beach (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Bayern was bred by Helen Alexander. He was owned by Kaleem Shah Inc. and was trained by Bob Baffert. He was ridden to his win in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic by Martin Garcia. He entered stud in 2016 in Kentucky at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms. In 2021, Bayern was sold to Dr. Sangil Choi of South Korea and was exported to that country to stand at Choi’s Great Hill Farm.
Pedigree notes
Sired by 2005 Suburban Handicap (USA-G1) winner Offlee Wild (by Wild Again), Bayern is inbred 5x5 to two-time American Horse of the Year Native Dancer. His dam, Alittlebitearly, is an unraced half sister to 1998 TNT International July Stakes (ENG-G3) winner Bertolini (by Danzig) and to listed stakes winner Amelia (by Dixieland Band), dam of multiple Grade 2 winner Rainha da Bateria (by Broken Vow), 2017 Kansai Telecasting Corporation Sho Rose Stakes (JPN-G2) winner Rabbit Run (by Tapit), 2012 Sycamore Stakes (USA-G3) winner Kindergarten Kid (by Dynaformer), 2014 Dr. James Penney Memorial Handicap (USA-G3) winner Assateague (by Stormy Atlantic; dam of stakes winner Explorationist, by Pioneerof the Nile), and 2017 Kojura Nisai Stakes (JPN-G3) winner Asakusa Genki (by Stormy Atlantic; also a stakes winner over jumps). Amelia is also the third dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Deterministic.
Returning to Alittlebitearly, she is also a half sister to restricted stakes winner Alchemilla (by Deputy Minister). Their dam, Aquilegia (by Alydar) won the 1993 New York Handicap (USA-G2) and is one of nine stakes winners produced from 1983 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Courtly Dee (by Never Bend), including Aquilegia’s full sisters Althea (the American champion 2-year-old filly of 1983) and Aishah, winner of the 1990 Rare Perfume Stakes (USA-G2).
Books and media
Footage of Bayern’s win in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tp8mT3b0NE.
Fun facts
Last updated: January 9, 2025
Race record
15 starts, 6 wins, 1 second, 3 thirds, US$4,454,930
2014:
- Won Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-G1, 10FD, Santa Anita)
- Won William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Monmouth)
- Won Pennsylvania Derby (USA-G2, 9FD, Parx Racing; new track record 1:46.96)
- Won Woody Stephens Stakes (USA-G2, 7FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Derby Trial Stakes (USA-G3, 8FD, Churchill Downs; disqualified from first)
- 3rd Arkansas Derby (USA-G1, 9FD, Oaklawn Park)
2015:
- 3rd Awesome Again Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd San Diego Handicap (USA-G2, 8.5FD, Del Mar)
Honors
Eclipse Award runner-up, American champion 3-year-old male (2014)
Assessments
Rated at 125 pounds in the Mile and Intermediate categories on the 2014 Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, 5 pounds below highweighted Just a Way (the Japanese champion older male) but tops for dirt runners worldwide. Bayern was also rated at 118 pounds in the Sprint category, tops among sprinters on dirt.
As an individual
A bay ridgling, Bayern is rather light-bodied with a good shoulder and hip and a straight, strong hind leg; his head is rather large and plain. He was a confirmed front-runner.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Bayern has sired 11 stakes winners as of January 9, 2025.
Notable progeny
Speed Boat Beach (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Bayern was bred by Helen Alexander. He was owned by Kaleem Shah Inc. and was trained by Bob Baffert. He was ridden to his win in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic by Martin Garcia. He entered stud in 2016 in Kentucky at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms. In 2021, Bayern was sold to Dr. Sangil Choi of South Korea and was exported to that country to stand at Choi’s Great Hill Farm.
Pedigree notes
Sired by 2005 Suburban Handicap (USA-G1) winner Offlee Wild (by Wild Again), Bayern is inbred 5x5 to two-time American Horse of the Year Native Dancer. His dam, Alittlebitearly, is an unraced half sister to 1998 TNT International July Stakes (ENG-G3) winner Bertolini (by Danzig) and to listed stakes winner Amelia (by Dixieland Band), dam of multiple Grade 2 winner Rainha da Bateria (by Broken Vow), 2017 Kansai Telecasting Corporation Sho Rose Stakes (JPN-G2) winner Rabbit Run (by Tapit), 2012 Sycamore Stakes (USA-G3) winner Kindergarten Kid (by Dynaformer), 2014 Dr. James Penney Memorial Handicap (USA-G3) winner Assateague (by Stormy Atlantic; dam of stakes winner Explorationist, by Pioneerof the Nile), and 2017 Kojura Nisai Stakes (JPN-G3) winner Asakusa Genki (by Stormy Atlantic; also a stakes winner over jumps). Amelia is also the third dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Deterministic.
Returning to Alittlebitearly, she is also a half sister to restricted stakes winner Alchemilla (by Deputy Minister). Their dam, Aquilegia (by Alydar) won the 1993 New York Handicap (USA-G2) and is one of nine stakes winners produced from 1983 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Courtly Dee (by Never Bend), including Aquilegia’s full sisters Althea (the American champion 2-year-old filly of 1983) and Aishah, winner of the 1990 Rare Perfume Stakes (USA-G2).
Books and media
Footage of Bayern’s win in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic can be accessed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tp8mT3b0NE.
Fun facts
- Bayern is the German name for the German state of Bavaria, the largest of the 16 German states and an area noted for its distinctive culture, cuisine, and traditions. It is also the popular name for FC Bayern Munich, a popular German professional soccer team based in Munich and the favorite team of Bayern’s owner, Kaleem Shah, who named his colt in the team’s honor.
- Kaleem Shah purchased Bayern as a 2-year-old on the advice of his teenaged son.
- Bayern’s running of the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic was marked by controversy as the colt came in sharply onto race favorite Shared Belief just after the break, forcing Shared Belief into Moreno as well. Both rivals lost all chance, and many felt that Bayern should have been disqualified given the severity of the early interference. The stewards allowed the results to stand, primarily because the interference had occurred so early in the race and the affected horses theoretically had time to recover.
- Bayern’s dam, Alittlebitearly, got her name because she was foaled prematurely on December 14, 2002, making her officially a yearling on January 1 (for racing purposes, the universal birthday of Thoroughbreds in the Northern Hemisphere) when she was just 17 days old.
- Bob Baffert nicknamed Bayern “Little Dude” after another of his trainees, the popular gelding Game On Dude, due to the similarities between the two horses’ running styles.
Last updated: January 9, 2025