Ways and Means, Spirit of St Louis out until 2026

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Ways and Means, who has not raced since a dominant victory in the Grade 2 Bed o’ Roses at Saratoga in June, has gotten sick for the second time in the last few months and will not race again this year, trainer Chad Brown said.

An illness kept her out of the Grade 1 Ballerina in August and, after breezing once in late August, she got sick again, Brown said.

“We’re going to rest her and race her next year,” said Brown, who trains Ways and Means for owner Seth Klarman.

:: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now.

Ways and Means, a daughter of Practical Joke, is 5 for 10 in her career, including a victory in the Grade 1 Test last year. In two starts this year, Ways and Means was third in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff before winning the Bed o’ Roses by 7 3/4 lengths and earning a career-best 111 Beyer Speed Figure.

Additionally, Brown said the 6-year-old New York-bred gelding Spirit of St Louis will not race again this year but is likely to return in 2026.

Spirit of St Louis won a pair of Grade 1 turf stakes this year – the Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream in January and the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs in May. He went off form this summer, finishing sixth in the Manhattan and eighth in the Fourstardave – both Grade 1 stakes at Saratoga – before most recently running 12th in the Mint Millions at Kentucky Downs.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.