The Texas Thoroughbred Association has announced that Kissthatbabygoodby will be named the 2017 Texas Champion Claimer after winning an online poll conducted on the TTA website. The TTA created the award to recognize the hard-working claiming horses who fill the majority of race cards every day. An online vote determined the winner among the Texas-breds with at least three claiming wins at Texas tracks and at least $30,000 in overall earnings in 2017.

Claimed by N 2 Win Racing and trainer Bret Calhoun for $12,500 out of a winning effort in May at Lone Star Park, Kissthatbabygoodby finished the Lone Star meet with two more victories for a $25,000 tag in allowance/optional claiming races. The son of Sing Baby Sing then won a $36,300 allowance race at Remington Park. All told, the Texas-bred had a record of 10-5-2-2 in 2017 with earnings of $86,512. His five victories on the year all came in five-furlong sprints on the turf. The lifetime earner of $136,439 was bred by Tom Durant.

In addition to Kissthatbabygoodby, this year’s candidates were Colonial Kendra, Fred’s Lucky Boy and Prince Isaac. Kissthatbabygoodby will be honored at the TTA’s annual meeting and awards luncheon on June 23 at Lone Star.