Quarter Horse racing has a new all-time money winner. The 4-year-old gelding KJ Desparado went to the top of the list, at $2,796,363, with an easy win in his 2023 debut in a $39,600 allowance race at 400 yards at Ruidoso Downs on Saturday. KJ Desparado ($2.40) won by 1 1/2 lengths over Stone Cold Leader, collecting $23,760. With those earnings, KJ Desparado passed the previous record of $2,779,603 held by Ochoa, one of the leading runners of the early 2010s. The remaining top five are Danjer ($2,499,432), Apocalyptical Jess ($2,251,556), and Heza Dasha Fire ($2,240,112). KJ Desparado, who races for John and Kathy Lee and Ruben Mares and is trained by Wes Giles, has won 13 of 19 starts, including the $3 million All American Futurity at Ruidoso Downs in 2021. The All American Futurity is Quarter Horse racing’s richest race and was worth $1.5 million to KJ Desparado. KJ Desparado had a single win in his first four races, but has since won 12 of 15 starts. The allowance race on Saturday was KJ Desparado’s first start since a second-place finish in the Championship at Sunland Park last December. Giles and John Lee have mentioned the All American Gold Cup at 440 yards at Ruidoso Downs on Sept. 4 as a late summer goal. By the end of the year, the top five money winners may have a new addition. Empressum, the 2022 World Champion, won for the 21st time in his 28-race career with a narrow victory in Saturday’s $52,400 Bank of America California Regional Challenge at Los Alamitos. Empressum has earned $1,743,044 in his career, which began in 2020. Rated as the nation’s leading older horse, Empressum has several lucrative stakes on his proposed calendar later this year, including the $750,000 Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos on Dec. 9. Empressum won the 2022 Champion of Champions to clinch the world champion title. In Saturday’s California Regional Challenge at 440 yards, Empressum ($2.60) dueled with Scoops Dynasty before winning by a nose, earning a berth to the $250,000 Bank of America Challenge Championship at Lone Star Park on Oct. 21. Empressum, who races for Steve Holt and Jeff Jacobs and trainer Heath Taylor, did not qualify for the 2020 All American Futurity, but has since won nine stakes. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.