photo by Jim Lisa

One of racing’s oldest graded stakes winners has retired at the age of 11. Live Oak Plantation’s Revved Up ended a decorated nine-year racing career that included 14 stakes victories – three graded – from an overall record of 20 wins from 43 starts. He retires to pasture at his birthplace of Live Oak Stud in Ocala, FL with earnings of $1,548,653.

Revved Up was a turf campaigner who toured most of North America’s top courses through the span of this decade under the care of trainer Christophe Clement. The gray-turned-near-white gelding ran at 13 different racetracks and captured stakes over nine different courses in his career.

From 2005-07, Revved Up became the first horse to win three consecutive runnings of the Bonnie Heath Turf Cup H. on the Florida Million program, and he won the Chris Thomas Turf Classic S. at Tampa Bay Downs for the second straight year in May of 2008, which was his final start.

Revved Up’s biggest career win came in the Niagara Breeders’ Cup H. (G2) at Woodbine in 2005.

“He’s an amazing horse. To race for as long as he did and win nearly half of his starts is a remarkable feet,” said Clement. “He was extremely unusual how long he lasted and how consistent he was. He always ran his race. He is one that is difficult to replace in your stable.”

Revved Up is an all-Live Oak homebred. He is by former Live Oak color bearer and stallion Sultry Song out of the With Approval mare Win Approval. Revved Up is also renowned for being the older half-brother to Miesque’s Approval, who was the 2006 Eclipse Champion Turf Male and Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner for Live Oak.

“Revved Up is an absolute pleasure for Mrs. Weber and the Live Oak staff, and we look forward to having him back at the farm as a full-time resident. He is family,” said Bruce Hill, general manager at Live Oak Stud. “Revved Up's racing career was the embodiment of Mrs. Weber's breeding program. He was sound, durable and talented, and his record speaks for itself through nine years of racing.”