2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra – the first-ever 3-year-old filly to be named Horse of the Year – delivered her first foal on January 22 at Stonestreet Farm, Lexington, Ky. The bay colt, owned by Stonestreet Farm and Harold McCormick, was sired by 2007 and 2008 Horse of the Year Curlin.

“Rachel is a natural mother and took to the colt immediately,” said Stonestreet Farm manager Gary Megibben.

Rachel Alexandra made headlines in 2009, when she became the first filly in 85 years to win the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. That same year she scored eight victories in eight starts, including five Grade I stakes, three of which were against males, and earned the year’s highest Beyer Speed Figure of 116.

The climax of her 3-year-old season came when Rachel Alexandra won the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga against older male horses, in what many have called “one of the most courageous performances in modern racing.”

The victory made her the first 3-year-old filly to win a Grade I dirt route against older males in New York since Lady Primrose in 1887.

Rachel Alexandra will be bred to 2006 champion 3-year-old Bernardini in 2012.