According to the Korea Horse Racing Administration, Cowboy Cal, a distinguished racehorse who secured five major stakes victories and placed ninth in the 2008 Kentucky Derby, passed away on January 11 at the age of 21. He remains an enduring top sire in South Korea. The exact cause of death for stallions is not disclosed in the Administration’s records.
Cowboy Cal, a son of Giant’s Causeway, started his breeding career at Pin Oak Stud in Kentucky in 2010 and later relocated to South Korea in the summer of 2017. Bred by Bob and Janice McNair’s Stonerside Stables, he was trained by Todd Pletcher. After a modest two-year-old season at Saratoga, he was transitioned to turf racing, winning his next three races, including the Listed Laurel Futurity and the Grade 3 Tropical Park Derby at the start of his three-year-old season.
Before the establishment of the Road to the Kentucky Derby points system, eligibility was based on graded stakes earnings regardless of location or timing. Cowboy Cal entered Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby on natural dirt for the first and only time. Following his Tropical Park Derby win, he placed second in the Listed Hallandale Beach Stakes and then narrowly lost to Momba in the Grade 1 Bluegrass Stakes, run on Keeneland’s all-weather polytrack.
In the 2008 Kentucky Derby, ridden by John Velasquez from an auxiliary gate, Cowboy Cal challenged for the early lead and maintained a strong position until he was overtaken on the backstretch by Recapture the Glory and Big Brown. He started to tire towards the final stretch and ultimately finished ninth behind Big Brown.
Returning to turf in the fall after a summer break, Cowboy Cal won the Grade 3 Bryan Station Stakes via disqualification and was second in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby by just three-quarters of a length. From age four onward, he competed frequently on grass and synthetic surfaces across California, Kentucky, and New York, securing wins in notable races such as the San Pascal Handicap, Strub Stakes, and Oak Tree Mile Stakes.
He retired with a record of seven wins in 19 starts and career earnings exceeding $1 million. Beginning his stud career at Pin Oak Stud in Kentucky, Cowboy Cal stood there for eight seasons. His standout domestic progeny includes Fear the Cowboy, a multiple Grade 3 winner with over $1.7 million in earnings. Internationally, he sired champions like Peru’s Mr. Ninja and Panama’s Pancha Mancha.
Cowboy Cal was sold to South Korea before the 2011 breeding season. The most successful Korean-bred horse related to him has been Cowboyson, named South Korea’s Champion Imported 3-Year-Old Stallion in 2014, along with Group 2 winner Vincero Cavallo. In South Korea, Cowboy Cal was a favored sire, covering more than 100 mares annually for his first four seasons and never fewer than 50 overall. From 2021 to 2025, he ranked as the second-highest stallion by offspring acquisition value every year except 2024, when he placed third.
Altogether, Cowboy Cal has sired 208 winners with progeny earnings surpassing $17 million.
This article originally appeared in the Paulick Report on February 9, 2026.
Fan Take: Cowboy Cal’s legacy is a testament to the global impact one horse can have, bridging top-level American racing with the emerging South Korean breeding industry. His success as both a competitor and sire highlights the growing international influence in horse racing, inspiring fans and breeders alike to appreciate the sport’s expanding horizons.
