Empire Line became the seventh individual 2-year-old winner for West Point Thoroughbreds when he scored in a NY-bred maiden special weight at Aqueduct on Friday. The colt earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure — a serious number for a first-time starter.

As expected, Empire Line was quick from the gate and close to the pace early under Hall of Famer pilot Johnny Velazquez. After sitting just off pacesetter Flash Drive (who’s by former WPT runner Flashy Bull), he got into gear on the turn and rolled by his rival in the final yards of the six-furlong contest.

Empire Line became the seventh individual 2-year-old winner for West Point Thoroughbreds when he scored in a NY-bred maiden special weight at Aqueduct on Friday. The colt earned an 85 Beyer Speed Figure — a serious number for a first-time starter.

As expected, Empire Line was quick from the gate and close to the pace early under Hall of Famer pilot Johnny Velazquez. After sitting just off pacesetter Flash Drive (who’s by former WPT runner Flashy Bull), he got into gear on the turn and rolled by his rival in the final yards of the six-furlong contest.

Trained by George Weaver, the West Point buying team selected the son of Morning Line at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale held just after the Preakness outside of Baltimore. We have two sons of Morning Line in the barn, and both are stone cold runners. The Pennsylvania Derby winner is a young sire with a bright future.

Several West Point Partners enjoyed their first trip to the winner’s circle on Friday afternoon. Amongst the owners of the colt are members of our Young Professionals Initiative. This was created by our own team of young professionals to give the "under 40" crowd the opportunity to get involved in a group of high potential racehorses for a modest investment.

Wondering how he got his name? The “Empire Line” is another name for the train that runs from Albany to New York City that many of our team members and Partners use to get to Belmont and Aqueduct.

Empire Line is now under consideration for the $100,000 Damon Runyon Stakes (NYB) run on Saturday, December 30 at Aqueduct.