2019: 2-year-old season Authentic made his first start on November 9, 2019, in a
maiden special weight race over furlongs at
Del Mar Racetrack. He ran in stalker position just off the early pace, then took the lead as they turned into the stretch. He gradually pulled away from the early leader and withstood a late run by Jeffnjohn'sthundr to win by lengths.
2020: 3-year-old season Authentic made his three-year-old debut in the
Sham Stakes at
Santa Anita Park on January 4, 2020. He went straight to the lead while setting moderate fractions of 23.87 seconds for the first quarter-mile and 47.94 for the half. Down the stretch, he started to open up on the field, leading by eight lengths with a furlong to go, before he started to weave, ducking sharply in towards the railing at one point. Van Dyke got him back under control and he galloped out for an easy win by lengths. "I think the noise from the crowd made him react the way he did there in the stretch," said Van Dyke. "His ears went toward the crowd, so I think that's what caused it, but when he got down to the rail, he spooked himself again." The win gave Authentic 50 points on the
2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby, making him one of the leading contenders for the race that was originally scheduled to be run on May 2. However, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, racing at Santa Anita was temporarily shut down in late March and the Derby itself was rescheduled to September 5. Authentic made his next start in the
Santa Anita Derby, which had been postponed until June 2. In his first start at a distance of miles, he went off as the 1-2 favorite. Honor A. P., who had finished second in the San Felipe Stakes, was the second choice. Authentic had the outside position in the starting gate, and broke slowly and towards the outside. While challenging the early leader Shooters Shoot, he was carried wide around both turns. Honor A. P. started his move on the final turn and hit the lead at the top of the stretch. Authentic tried to respond but tired and finished lengths behind in second. "I was worried about him having the outside post," Baffert said. "He got parked wide, which you don't want to see, and he got tired at the end after doing some heavy lifting." Authentic was then shipped across the country to
Monmouth Park in New Jersey for the
Haskell Invitational, run over a distance of miles on July 18. This time, Hall of Fame jockey
Mike E. Smith rode Authentic. He got off to a good start and went straight to the lead, setting moderate fractions of 23.60 seconds for the first quarter mile and 47.52 for the half. He maintained a lead of about a length for much of the race, then started to widen the lead to lengths in mid stretch, where he started to lose interest in the race. However, Ny Traffic then started to close ground rapidly. Authentic responded to urging from Smith and managed to hold off Ny Traffic by a nose in a photo finish. Smith and Baffert both felt that the close finish was more the result of a loss of concentration rather than a lack of stamina. "He's a good horse," said Baffert, "and he'll improve a lot off this race. It was the first time he shipped, and he's very immature. He has a kid's mind."
2020 Kentucky Derby Going into the
2020 Kentucky Derby, Authentic was ranked second on the 2020 Road to the Kentucky Derby. Above him was
Florida Derby,
Belmont Stakes, and
Travers Stakes winner
Tiz the Law. Other leading contenders included
Honor A. P. (
Santa Anita Derby winner), Thousand Words (
Shared Belief Stakes winner), and Ny Traffic. Several other potential rivals missed the race due to injury, including Nadal (
Arkansas Derby – div. 2),
Art Collector (
Blue Grass Stakes), Basin (Arkansas Derby – div. 1) and Wells Bayou (
Louisiana Derby). Because of questions over his stamina, Authentic was third choice in the betting despite his strong
speed figures going into the race. On the other hand, several late scratches from the field made it more likely that he could get an uncontested early lead, allowing him to save energy. Authentic was ridden by
John R. Velazquez after Smith chose Honor A. P. He drew the outside post, saddle cloth 18, which made the start critical because he would either have to run hard to get early position or run further than most other horses because he was on the outside. However, Authentic got off to a slow start, whereas Tiz the Law got off to a perfect start and went into his usual stalker position. Velazquez urged Authentic to the lead, running the first quarter in a fast 22.92 seconds while being carried four wide around the first turn. Tiz the Law ran in fourth position and Honor A. P. was well back. Then Velazquez managed to slow the pace down a bit, running the first half in 46.41 seconds and the three-quarters in 1:10.23. Tiz the Law began to make his move on the far turn. The two horses ran head to head into the top of the stretch and Tiz the Law looked to have the advantage. However, Authentic responded to the challenge and drew off to win by lengths. The finishing time of 2:00.61 for miles was the seventh fastest Kentucky Derby in history.
2020 Preakness Stakes After the Derby win, Authentic was brought to the
Pimlico Race Course for the
Preakness Stakes, which had been postponed to October 3. He got off to a good start, but was bumped by Max Player shortly thereafter. His stablemate Thousand Words went to the front and Authentic moved alongside him. They ran the first quarter mile in a slow 24.48. In the backstretch, Authentic picked up the pace and took the lead by running the half mile in 47.65 while racing three wide. Because Authentic ran wide around the final turn, the filly
Swiss Skydiver was able to get through a hole on the rail and moved to the lead, running the first three-quarters in 1:11.24. When they were in the stretch, they ran head to head, sprinting away from the rest of the field. In the end, Swiss Skydiver won by a short neck, with the rest of the field almost 10 lengths behind. The filly ran the second fastest Preakness Stakes in history with a time of 1:53.28; only
Secretariat was faster.
2020 Breeders' Cup Classic Authentic met older horses for the first time in the
Breeders' Cup Classic at
Keeneland, held on November 7. The field in 2020 was widely considered one of the deepest of all time, including
Tiz the Law (2020
Belmont Stakes and
Travers Stakes winner),
Maximum Security (2020
Saudi Cup and
Pacific Classic winner),
Improbable (3
Grade I wins in a row – the 2020
Hollywood Gold Cup,
Whitney Stakes and
Awesome Again Stakes),
Tom's d'Etat (2019
Clark Handicap and 2020
Stephen Foster Handicap winner), Global Campaign (2020
Monmouth Cup Stakes and
Woodward Stakes winner),
Tacitus (2020
Suburban Stakes winner),
By My Standards (2020
Oaklawn Handicap and
Alysheba Stakes winner), and Higher Power (2019
Pacific Classic winner and second in the 2020 Hollywood Gold Cup). Improbable went off as the slight favorite at 7–2 while Authentic was the third choice at just over 4–1. Authentic was the first horse since
American Pharoah to win the
Kentucky Derby and the
Breeders' Cup Classic in the same year, and only the fourth in history (
Unbridled and
Sunday Silence being the others). Because there were technical problems with the timer, Equibase hand-timed the race off the video in 1:59.60 for miles, breaking American Pharoah's track record set five years ago in the same race. The time according to the Trackus system was 1:59.82, also a track record. In his eighteenth attempt, it was the first Breeders' Cup Classic win for
Hall of Fame jockey Velazquez. "The older I get, the more emotional I get," he said. "It worked out perfect. Bob said to take him to the lead so he doesn't wander so much and keep his mind on running. It worked out. He did everything I wanted him to do." After his win in the Breeders' Cup Classic, Authentic was led into retirement at Spendthrift Farm. Shortly after Authentic was retired, Hall of Fame jockey
John R. Velazquez said Authentic was one of the best horses he has ever ridden. ==Retirement==