Notional is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

. He was sired by In Excess and out of the mare Truly Blessed. His damsire, French Deputy, is a son of the 1997/98 Leading sire in North America

Leading sire in North America

The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...

, Deputy Minister

Deputy Minister (horse)

Deputy Minister was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred horse racing Champion. At age two, he won eight out of his nine starts and was voted the 1981 Sovereign and Eclipse Award winner as North American Champion 2-Yr-Old, and was also voted Canada's Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year...

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Notional is trained by Doug O'Neill for owner J. Paul Reddam

J. Paul Reddam

John Paul Reddam B.A. M.A. Ph.D. is a former professor of philosophy at California State University, Los Angeles and a businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner.Known by his middle name, J...

, who also have three-year-olds Great Hunter

Great Hunter

Great Hunter is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sold by his breeder through the September 2005 Keeneland Sales to Ilona Whetstone. The colt was resold in June 2006 to J...

 and Liquidity in their stable. Racing at age two, Notional's best showing in a stakes race was a third in the 2006 Hollywood Prevue Stakes

Hollywood Prevue Stakes

The Hollywood Prevue Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. Raced in late November, the Grade III event is open to two-year-old horses. It is contested on Cushion Track synthetic dirt at a distance of seven furlongs.-Winners...

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In his three-year-old debut, Notional won January's Grade II

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 San Rafael Stakes

San Rafael Stakes

The San Rafael Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Santa Anita Park, located in Arcadia, California. The race is a Grade III event with a purse of $150,000 and is open to three-year-olds willing to race one mile on the facility's Cushion Track synthetic dirt race track.Prior to...

 at Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...

 in Arcadia, California

Arcadia, California

Arcadia is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and located approximately northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains....

 by four lengths under jockey Corey Nakatani

Corey Nakatani

Corey S. Nakatani is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He got his big break in 1990 when he rode Itsallgreektome to win big stakes races.Nakatani currently resides at Belmont Park...

. Sent to the Fair Grounds Race Course

Fair Grounds Race Course

Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC....

 in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 in February, Notional scored a 2 1/4 length win in the Risen Star Stakes

Risen Star Stakes

The Risen Star Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course. It is open to three year old horses and is raced over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. A Grade II event, it offers a purse of $300,000. The race is a prep to the...

 under jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

 Robby Albarado

Robby Albarado

Robby J. Albarado is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 12 at bush tracks in his native Louisiana and after turning professional, earned his first win at Evangeline Downs in 1990...

 in a race where favorite Circular Quay

Circular Quay (horse)

Circular Quay is a thoroughbred racehorse who was a 2007 Kentucky Derby contender. The son of 1995 Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch is owned by Michael Tabor and trained by Todd Pletcher....

 was seriously impeded as a result of a race accident.

Notional came in a close second to Scat Daddy

Scat Daddy

Scat Daddy is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by Johannesburg and out of the mare Love Style, he was bred by Swiss book publisher and racing enthusiast, Axel Wend...

 in the Florida Derby

Florida Derby

The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida on the Saturday closest to the end of March or the first of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade 1 race is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt...

 in his last prep before the Kentucky Derby. While he was set to run the Triple Crown races, Notional suffered a fracture of his front cannon bone during a workout at Keeneland three weeks before the running of the Kentucky Derby. He will undergo surgery for the injury which is not life threatening, but there is question about whether he will be able to return to racing. He did not run in any of the Triple Crown races.

Having an uneventful four-year-old season, Notional returned to form winning the July 5th, 2008 running of the Salvator Mile Handicap

Salvator Mile Handicap

The Salvator Mile Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt at a distance of one mile . A Grade III event, it offers a purse of...

 under Joe Bravo

Joe Bravo (jockey)

Joe Bravo is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. The son and grandson of jockeys, he began his professional career in Thoroughbred flat racing at Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens, Florida during the latter end of 1988.According to his NTRA profile, Joe Bravo has dominated the New...

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