(Lil Gin N Class Wins Piedi Bianchi at Horseshoe Indy on Wednesday / All Photos by Coady Media)

From the Horseshoe Indianapolis Media Team / Tammy Knox:

Lil Gin N Class continues legacy for Eggleston barn with $150,000 Piedi Bianchi win at Horseshoe Indianapolis

 

SHELBYVILLE, Ind. (Wednesday, September 30, 2026) – Lil Gin N Class has always been tough on the track. Now, she has a second premier racing victory to her credit and the biggest win of her career in the 30th running of the $150,000 Piedi Bianchi at Horseshoe Indianapolis. The race is named in honor of one of the top Indiana bred Thoroughbred mares of all time, Piedi Bianchi, who was named 2020 Indiana Horse of the Year and won more than $829,000 before retiring to become a brood mare in 2021.

Lil Gin N Class and jockey Emmanuel Esquivel, aboard for the first time, wasted no time getting out of the gate and getting on the lead. They established the tempo of the race with Temple Paynter and Joe Ramos applying a little pressure to their outside early on. Temple Paynter began to move up on Lil Gin N Class, but she wasn’t having any part of being overtaken around the final turn.

In the stretch, Lil Gin N Class had a little bit more to give. She began to slowly pull away from the field, gliding under the wire as a one and one-quarter length winner over Itzforever and Santo Sanjur, who closed in from the back of the pack for second. Temple Paynter finished third.

Lil Gin N Class paid $9.00 for the win. The five-year-old Coal Front mare was bred by Nancy Winchel and was raised on the Eggleston farm in southern Indiana. Matt Kwiatkowski’s 514 Racing now owns Lil Gin N Class, who has been with Trainer Tim Eggleston since the very beginning.

“This mare (Lil Gin N Class) is a sister to Keepin It Classy, who got my Thoroughbred career started,” explained Eggleston, who handles a stable of both Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses at Horseshoe Indianapolis. “We have the whole family at our farm. My wife (Keli) named this mare, which is connected to Keepin It Classy.”

Lil Gin N Class has surpassed her older brother’s earnings tally with an accumulated bankroll of more than $400,000 but still has a few races to go to catch his 10 wins on the track. She is now two for four in 2026 with six career wins. Keepin It Classy raced earlier this year as his racing career is winding down with 40 career starts worth more than $240,000 for Winchel, a longtime owner with the Eggleston barn.

“Lil Gin N Class’s name came from her mother and her brother (Keepin It Classy),” explained Keli, who was watching from the Eggleston’s farm in Scottsburg, Ind. “Lil Gin is just like her mother and her older brother when it comes to personality and heart. She was born right here on our farm.”

Besides the family connection, the Eggleston barn has a strong bond with Lil Gin N Class. She has been a consistent performer for the team and has hit the board in 19 of 26 career starts, showing the hard work from the Eggleston crew is paying off.

“She (Lil Gin N Class) has been really good for us,” added Tim Eggleston in a post-race interview with Guest Racing Analyst Matt Carothers. “She digs in every time. She is a very solid horse every race and is always in contention somewhere during a race. She is definitely special to us.”

The 24th season of live Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse extends through Friday, November 13. Indiana’s top Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses will be featured Saturday, October 24 during the seventh annual Indiana Champions Day. For more information on racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, visit www.caesars.com/horseshoe-indianapolis/racing or find details on social media @HSIndyRacing.

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