Here’s a rewritten version of the provided content:
According to a post from the ranch, Normandy Invasion, the son of Tapit, started his racing career at the age of two, securing a win in only his second race during the inaugural event for owner Fox Hill Farms and trainer Chad Brown on November 2 at Water Duct. In his subsequent race, he placed second in the Remsen Stakes (G2), which marked the end of his career as a two-year-old competitor.
As a three-year-old, Normandy Invasion competed in the Kentucky Derby season, beginning with a fifth-place finish in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) at the Fairgrounds. He then achieved second place in the Wood Memorial (G1) held at Aqueduct. During the Kentucky Derby, he took the lead heading into the stretch but was overtaken by the winner, Orb, near the finish, ultimately placing fourth.
Returning to the track as a four-year-old, he won a one-mile allowance race on February 22 at Gulfstream Park’s main track. He also competed in the New Orleans Handicap (G2), finishing second, and the Metropolitan Handicap (G1), where he came in tenth.
After the Met Mile, Normandy Invasion was sold to trainer Larry Jones, but he did not manage to secure any further victories. At age five, he raced three times, concluding his career with a seventh-place finish in the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on August 8. Across 12 career starts, he earned two wins, five seconds, and totaled $551,900 in earnings.
Normandy Invasion began his stud career at Spendthrift Farm’s Keene Stud in New York in 2016. In 2019, he moved to Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky, and by 2020, he was relocated to Pin Oak Lane Farm in Pennsylvania.
Following the 2020 breeding season, the National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization, founded by Rick Porter of Fox Hill, retrained and rehomed him for a second career as a sport horse. On August 9, 2024, Normandy Invasion retired to Old Friends Retirement Facility in Georgetown, Kentucky.
Bred in Kentucky by Betts/Kidder/Gainsway/Graves/DJ Stable/Cole, Normandy Invasion is out of the Boston Harbor mare Boston Lady. Fox Hill Farm purchased him for $230,000 at the 2012 Keeneland April Two-Year-Old Horse Training Sale.
This article was originally published by The Paulick Report on December 7, 2025, first appearing in the Equine Care section.
Fan Take: Normandy Invasion’s journey from a promising racehorse to a cherished retiree highlights the evolving landscape of thoroughbred welfare, showing that champions deserve care beyond the racetrack. For horse racing fans, this serves as a hopeful example that the industry is increasingly valuing the long-term well-being and second careers of these magnificent athletes.
