Winning thoroughbred Private Creed captures hearts in Aiken

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Every year since 2002, Aiken’s Park and Recreation and Tourism Department has been honoring the city’s thoroughbred roots with the Aiken Trained Horse of the Year award.

To be considered for the Aiken Trained Horse of the Year Award, nominees must have trained in Aiken, have won at least one stakes race or exceed $500,000 in career winnings.

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2023 was no exception.

Private Creed has won again. The colt was a prospect of Mason Springs Training Center, owned and operated by Marcus and Crystal Ryan. Creed was purchased in 2021 by the Aiken couple at Keenland.

“He was quite a large, big, strong, good size of a horse. He looked like he could just go into a race with a saddle on his back there and then,” said Marcus.

Private Creed spent eight months training on the grounds of Mason Springs and the Aiken Training Track.

The colt checked all the boxes.

This past year, in seven starts Private Creed had two first-place finishes, two second-place finishes and earned $729,853. Overall, Private Creed has five first-place finishes and finished second and third in two races each in 12 races. His career earnings amount to $1,329,166.

His most recent first-place finish was at Churchill Downs in November. The colt won the Franklin-Simpson Stakes (Gr. 2) at Kentucky Downs in September.

“To win at Kentucky Downs as he did, as a juvenile it really cemented that he was going to be a good horse because that’s a tough course,” said Marcus.

Winning can put it all into perspective.

“To be up there at the top, I mean, it doesn’t happen very often. So when it happens in your own good horses, you need to be very, very grateful because it’s like being around a really outstanding athletes like LeBron James,” said Marcus.

He is the fourth two-time Horse of the Year award winner. Only Quality Road, Palace Malice and Curalina have reached such a feat.

“There was a little while where we thought we were in over our heads. We thought we should try something else. That {award} came up and it felt like a real sign to keep going,” said Crystal.