2025 OTTB Madness Champion- Detroit Cowboy

After four rounds of competition, our 2025 OTTB Madness Champion was crowned on Monday, April 7th. Congratulations to Cowboy!

The tournament

OTTB Madness with sixteen off-track Thoroughbreds, all of whom were formerly part of the Wasabi Ventures Stables family. They ranged in age from 3 to 12. There were slightly more geldings (10) than mares (6) in the competition.

Both the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight rounds consisted of four days of voting. With a longer period of time, the voting was steady. For the Final Four and the Championship, each was a one-day event. This made for flurries of votes and a frenzy of activity.

The champion

The final round of OTTB Madness 2025 took place on Monday, April 7th. This final contest featured Detroit Cowboy and Benevengo. At the start of voting, it was an evenly matched battle. However, as the hours ticked on, Cowboy grabbed the lead and never looked back.

Cowboy is a 12 year old gelding, who raced for Wasabi Stables for six months in 2019. His human best friend is Lilli. When asked to describe Cowboy, the answer was easy, “To know him is to love him.”

As this year’s champion, Cowboy will receive a bag of horse cookies. New to this year’s championship is the addition of two more prizes. First, Lilli will receive a gift card to the Wasabi Aftercare swag store. Second, one voter who participated in all four rounds of voting will also receive a swag store gift card. The randomly chosen voter is Rick W.

Thanks to all who participated in OTTB Madness 2025! While we crown only one horse, we know the truth is that all of our retirees are champions.