Kerness K, a 4-year-old gelding, won his 12th consecutive race to kick off the 28th annual Claiming Crown card Saturday at Churchill Downs, extending his lead as North America's most victorious Thoroughbred in 2026 with six weeks remaining in the season.Among the 39,087 horses to start on the continent at least once this year, Kerness K now ranks two wins ahead of one mare with 10 victories and six other horses tied with eight.In the $100,000 Ready's Rocket Express (restricted to horses who have started for an $8,000 or lower claiming price at any time in their careers), the compact gray by Great Notion rated patiently behind dueling leaders, allowing them to establish a too-brisk tempo before swooping through the lane to win going away by 2 3/4 lengths in 1:10.55 as the 1.39-1 favorite under Martin Chuan.The Claiming Crown began in 1999 as a way to showcase and reward horses who compete in the types of races that form the backbone of day-to-day American racing.While a number of nationally prominent claiming outfits routinely gamble at the claim box to try and acquire horses early in the season with the goal of having them eligible and competitive for the Claiming Crown come November, owners Morris E. Kernan, Jr. and Jagger, Inc. (the stable name for trainer Jamie Ness) in some respects knew what they were getting when they dropped the $7,500 slip for Kerness K on Mar. 13, 2026, haltering him out of the six-length score at Laurel Park that started his current streak.That's because 2 1/2 years prior, at the start of the gelding's career, Kernan and Ness had campaigned Kerness K before losing him via a $40,000 claim on Dec. 14, 2024.Since the reclaim, Kerness K has feasted on starter-allowance dirt sprints at mid-Atlantic tracks.Even considering his winning form, the trek to Churchill Downs was a step up in class.Churchill was also a first for Ness, who despite training for 27 years and routinely being among the continent's leaders in victories, said he had never raced at the Louisville track.“Winners win, and he knows how to win,” Ness said of Kerness K. “You know, I gave him all the credit. He's an easy horse to train–little, sound, just does everything right. We've well-spotted him. We've run him all over: Colonial, Delaware, Laurel, Parx, now Churchill. So we've moved him around, moved him distances, and it doesn't seem to faze him. He gets up [to win] by a nose, neck, head. But winners win.”The Claiming Crown “gives us, as trainers, kind of a blue collar stable, blue collar owners, a chance to compete at [what] we feel [is] a higher level,” Ness said.“This is the first time I've run a horse at Churchill. I run all over the country. You know, I'm 1-for-1 [here]. So maybe I only come back if I've got a [GI Kentucky] Derby horse someday,” Ness quipped.Goats On a Tree wins the four-horse scramble on the line | Coady MediaThe Claiming Crown expanded from eight to nine races this year. Per usual, all races were conducted under starter-allowance conditions pegged to previous-race claiming prices. The course conditions were fast and firm.In the feature, the $200,000 Jewel at nine furlongs with a $35,000-or-less claiming eligibility cutoff in 2025-26, Groveland (Street Sense), who had competed as high as the Grade III level as a sophomore, essentially made three moves to win by 3 1/4 lengths at 7-1 odds.The 6-year-old gelding broke running but Francisco Arrieta backed him off the early pace. Stalking just behind the leader, Groveland took over on the far turn, then hit a higher gear with a wall of contenders in close pursuit at the quarter pole.He extended fluidly in deep stretch, stopping the timer in 1:50.15 for his fifth lifetime win and the second for co-owners HRH Racing (Tate C. Hubbuch) and Eddie Kenneally, who trains.They had claimed him for $30,000 at Churchill on Nov. 23, 2025, the only time in Groveland's career that he was claimed.In the $150,000 Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial, for the second straight year, Shape Note (Mendelssohn) won the 5 1/2-furlong sprint for horses who raced for a $25,000 or less claiming price in 2025-26.The 1:02.81 off-the-pace victory under Jose Ortiz-by 3 1/4 lengths as the 1.99-1 favorite after having to shift off heels in mid-stretch-was a record-extending 24th career Claiming Crown win for trainer Michael Maker.The 5-year-old gelding was claimed for $25,000 at Ellis Park in July 2025 by current owners Paradise Farms (Peter Proscia) and David Staudacher, and Maker said he began planning for a 2026 Claiming Crown start shortly after winning last year's edition of this race.“He was eligible for it for two years, so we were looking at that. We shipped him to Belmont last [month] to run a starter race up there. When he got up there, he got an abscess in his foot, so we had to scratch. But he shows up every time. Can't say enough good things about him.”In another Claiming Crown race with an $8,000-or-less lifetime condition, the $100,000 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial over 1 1/16 miles, Metatron's Muse (Flatter) was probably surprised to be back in a familiar stall after rallying from next to last to win by a neck under Junior Alvarado at 6-1 odds.The reason? The 6-year-old gelding had been claimed in each of his last six starts at prices ranging between $10,000 and $30,000 dating back to February.Trainer Norm Casse said that when he claimed Metatron's Muse on behalf of owner Sean Morris on closing day of the Saratoga meet two months ago, “the idea was always [to] freshen him up a little bit [and] honestly, he just worked his way into this spot. He had been working so well since we got him down here, that [the Claiming Crown] just made a lot of logical sense.”Miracle Ball | Coady MediaIn the new Claiming Crown race, the six-furlong $100,000 Empress for fillies and mares with $12,500 or less claiming eligibility in 2025-26, Miracle Ball (Competitive Edge), at 3-1, displayed the tenacity that has enabled her to win seven straight races.The 5-year-old mare sprinted to the front, was headed and passed by a 47-1 shot at the quarter pole, then snatched back the lead and held off the favorite through the stretch to prevail by three-quarters of a length under Luis Saez for owner Rocket Wrench Racing (Justin Revak).Ruben Fuentes, Miracle Ball's conditioner and exercise rider, has only been training horses for three years. He rode as a jockey between 2015 and 2022, winning at the graded stakes level. But he broke two vertebrae in his neck in a spill at Canterbury Park and switched his career path.“It feels amazing. I pictured myself here as a rider. I never pictured myself here as a trainer, you know? But I guess God has different plans for us,” Fuentes said after the win.The $100,000 Glass Slipper for fillies and mares at one mile ($12,500 or less claiming eligibility in 2025-26) provided the biggest upset on the Claiming Crown card.The 3-year-old filly Stay Beautiful (Volatile), who was parked at the back of the first flight, threaded through along the inside on the turn under Albin Jimenez, tipped out three wide turning for home, then rallied with a long, lumbering run that collared the leg-weary .83-1 favorite late in the lane to win by three lengths at 79-1 odds in 1:37.30 for owner/trainer Yoni Orantes.Luckily, the Churchill tote board still functioned after that blowout score, although it had to absorb another high-priced surge later on when Magical Ways (Maclean's Music), a 34-1 shot, upset the $175,000 Emerald at 1 1/16 miles on the turf (claiming tag of $25,000 or less in 2025-26).Ruben Silvera was aboard the 7-year-old gelding for the neck victory in 1:42.40 for owner JKX Racing (Joe Klausa) and trainer Ernesto Padilla-Preciado.The $150,000 Tiara at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, for distaffers eligible under a $25,000-or-less claiming condition in 2025-26, yielded the most exciting finish of the afternoon.In a four-way photo, Goats On a Tree (Bolt d'Oro) prevailed by a head over runners-up who were separated by another head and a nose in 1:43.95.Tyler Gaffalione rode for trainer Kinnon LaRose and owner Team Adams Racing (Sal Perito and Tracy Adams).It was the ninth lifetime win for the 5-year-old mare.In the $125,000 Rapid Transit at seven furlongs for horses that have started for a $16,000 tag or less in 2025-26, Air of Defiance (Quality Road) also racked up lifetime win number nine.He stalked behind dueling leaders before taking over at the eighth pole and was confidently in hand late under Arrieta to win by three lengths in 1:22.43 at 4.95-1 odds.Crown and Thistle Stable (Steven Connolly) owns the 5-year-old gelding. Jade Cunningham trains.Air of Defiance had sold for $400,000 at auction as a yearling. In his career debut at Saratoga on Aug. 25, 2023, he had the distinction of finishing second behind Fierceness, that year's eventual 2-year-old champion. Air of Defiance then won his next start.The post Kerness K Wins Race No. 12 in 2026 With Powerful Late Run in Claiming Crown appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.