Tapit (foaled February 27, 2001, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three of his six races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, then a Grade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, becoming the leading freshman sire in North America of 2008 with Breeders' Cup winner Stardom Bound becoming his first Grade I winner. He was the leading sire in North America in 2014, setting an earnings record that he broke in 2015 and again in 2016. For the 2015 season, his stud fee was raised to $300,000, the highest in North America. In 2021, Essential Quality became his fourth Belmont Stakes winner (Tonalist, Creator and Tapwrit being the others), tying him for the all-time record of winners sired in this race with the great Lexington. Background Tapit is a gray horse. He is heterozygous for the dominant gray gene, which he inherited via his dam, Tap Your Heels. As such, there is a 50-50 chance that any given foal sired by him on a non-gray mare will be gray. His base coat color before turning gray was chestnut. Tapit was purchased as a yearling in 2002 for $625,000 by Verne Winchell, a prominent California owner, under the recommendation of his bloodstock advisor Dr. David Lambert. Winchell died soon afterwards and left the horse to his son, Ron. The manager of Winchell Thoroughbreds, David Fiske, placed the horse in the hands of trainer Michael Dickinson. Tapit has been described as an attractive, well-balanced, elegant horse whose appearance reflects the Thoroughbred’s Arabian ancestors. He stands high. Racing career Tapit raced twice at age two, winning both times. On October 19, he won a one-mile maiden special weight at Delaware Park by 7 3/4 lengths. He then won the Grade III Laurel Futurity Stakes on November 15 by five lengths, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 98. Veteran sportswriter Andrew Beyer wrote, "No 2-year-old in America had looked more impressive." His return to the racetrack was delayed due to lingering shin problems. He made his 3-year-old debut in the Florida Derby on March 13 and finished sixth in the Grade 1 race, but his poor finish was later explained by the discovery of a lung infection. He bounced back in April, coming from last to win the Grade I Wood Memorial Stakes by half a length over Master David. “I was dreading the race, because I