When it comes to steeplechase racing, Sean Clancy has pretty much done it all. He was a champion steeplechase jockey, bought horses at sales and put together numerous partnerships for flat and steeplechase horses. He rode Hokan to a 1998 victory in the Grade 1 New York Turf Writers Steeplechase. He competed in over 1,000 jump races, won 152, and his horses bankrolled over $2.9 million in purses from a riding career that extended from 1986 to 2000. He is also a three-time Eclipse award winning journalist, having written about the sport for decades in both flat and jump publications, including his own. And now, he is uniquely poised as a leading candidate for an Eclipse Award Thursday in the Top Steeplechase Horse category.
With purse winnings of $190,500 from six starts last year, the prize star of his 2025 stable — Cool Jet — is one of three horses nominated as Top Steeplechase Horse of 2025. The 10-year-old Jet Away gelding won three graded stakes including the Grade 1 Commonwealth Cup at Great Meadow during the Virginia Gold Cup’s spring card which helped him secure the Lonesome Glory Award as the sport’s leading earner. The Jack Fisher trainee also captured a pair of Grade 3 stakes — the Mariann de Tejada Memorial at Foxfield & the Noel Laing at Montpelier. The other two Eclipse-nominated horses are Swore and Zanahiyr.
“Cool Jet had a terrible year last year,” said Clancy, who owns and operates Riverdee Stables with his wife Anne. “Everything went wrong. But to see how he came back in 2025 was a real thrill. He tries hard. He’s an overachiever and is just a neat horse.”
After taking third at the Blue Ridge Hunt meet April 12 last year, Cool Jet came back two weeks later and was a runner-up at Foxfield. Just one week later, he wired the field in the Grade1, $150,000 Commonwealth Stakes, crossing 7-1/4 lengths the best with veteran rider Bernie Dalton up. “Only in steeplechase racing can you wheel a 9-year-old back in a week, put a 57-year-old jockey on and win a Grade 1,” said a smiling Clancy.
He has operated Sean Clancy Bloodstock and the Riverdee Stable since the early 2000’s, but the 2025 season may go to the front of his highlight reel. Riverdee earned its first ever NSA leading owner championship this past year with 13 jump wins from 54 starts, good for $516,800 in purse money.
Other stablemates contributing to Riverdee’s dream season include William O’Keefe Memorial Stakes winner Ethics —- who tied for leading 3-year-old NSA honors — and a trio of horses who won two jump races each — Potus (Middleburg, Pennsylvania Hunt Cup), Cyber Ninja (Colonial Downs & Shawan Downs) and Vintage Year (Foxfield, Old Dominion Hounds). Single win seasons were authored by De La Cruz and Welshman — both at Fair Hill — along with Roja Redemption (Colonial) and Penicillin Success (Blue Ridge Hunt)
“What a year,” said Clancy. “I’m very proud of the trainers, jockeys, team members and partners. And thanks most of all to the horses. Cool Jet anchored the team. His Grade 1 win was the highlight of an amazing season. Winning the owner’s title has been a goal of ours and it’s been fun to accomplish it.”
“We’ve dabbled and owned some horses over the years but really ramped it up about six years ago,” Clancy continued. “Riverdee wasn’t meant to be a career initially. I’d find a few horses and had a few partners but that was pretty much it. My wife is the one who really pushed it though. She could see the growth potential, excitement, satisfaction and competitive side of it. Once we started to get more partners, we were able to acquire some better horses.”
Riverdee’s big initial step forward came in 2018 — in a coffee shop in Middleburg. Clancy sat alone at a table listening in on a horse auction taking place in England. He thought highly of a horse named Gibralfaro but assumed he might go for as much as 100,000 pounds — which was way out of his budget. Clancy found himself going back and forth with another bidder though at a much lower price than he first thought. When the gavel hit, he had a 28,000-pound purchase — but had no clients lined up at that point. Thanks to Clancy’s trainer, Jack Fisher, he acquired some clients, and a very consistent horse. Gibralfaro went on to record nine “in-the-money” finishes in 17 starts and provide Riverdee with purse winnings of $268,300.
“He won a Grade 2. He ran four years. He did everything for us. Every stable has a critical horse,” said Clancy. “With every trainer, every owner and every jockey, there is that pivotal horse. You look back years later and realize that was the one. That was ours. If we didn’t end up with that horse, we wouldn’t have some of the clients we have now. That horse got us on our way. I was very nervous at purchase time, but it turned out to be very rewarding.”
“Riverdee has a constantly evolving ownership group,” continued Clancy, who operates the business out of Middleburg, Virginia where he and his family reside. “There are more partners from Virginia in the ownership group than from any other state. Initially, we found lots of people that enjoyed fox hunts in Middleburg but they didn’t know how to get involved in a partial horse ownership program. Investors and fans have since bought small shares in these horses. We actually have more partners that have never owned a racehorse before than ones who previously had. They found a way to get involved and enjoy it.”
Clancy’s role in Riverdee helps fuel a competitive spirit that riding horses used to offer. “You don’t ride races for as long as I did and not miss the competition. Owning horses serves as a gap to that competitive outlet. In the ownership of horses, it’s your team, instincts, education and knowledge that goes into it. It’s your life’s work. I get a kick out of that aspect.”
Clancy acknowledged earlier in life that a career riding horses wouldn’t last forever. After graduating college in 1992 from the University of Delaware, he worked for Hall of Fame steeplechase trainer Janet Elliott in 1993 and soon after, reached that conclusion.
“It became so clear to me that I needed something else to do other than being in the barn and riding in races. I Ioved it, but needed to do more. I knew riding races would be a short-lived career. My older brother Joe was a journalism major. I got fired up about the lack of steeplechase coverage at the time and ran an idea by Joe about starting a periodical dedicated to jump races.”
The publication “Steeplechase Times” was born in 1994, grew from there and lasted for almost 20 years.
“It was baptism by fire,” said Clancy. “That was the beginning. I wasn’t a writer, Joe was. I didn’t know what I was doing but my brother was a mentor, knew the craft and helped me to get better at it. I knew at that point I could have a career as a writer.”
Seven years later, the brothers Clancy introduced a second project, “Saratoga Special”, in 2001. After freelancing for Blood Horse, Daily Racing Form and all the trade publications, Clancy now had two publications going to press.
“I’m very proud of Steeplechase Times,” he said. “That was the first one and if it wasn’t for that, we couldn’t have expanded. Rolling out a daily publication like “Saratoga Special” is challenging, rewarding, energetic and fulfilling. We’ve done it for 25 years now. As a writer, that’s a real kick. You’re at deadline every night. At one point, we put out 35 issues during the Saratoga meet.”
“I went from the thrill of riding a race to the thrill of writing a story and meeting a deadline,” he added. “Writing and riding horses are similar in my case. I always say to jockeys, ‘You’re never going to find anything to replace the rush of riding and winning a race, but you’ve got to find something that gives you the feeling of meeting a challenge. For me, writing was very much that. Winning three Eclipse awards for my writing is close to winning a Grade 1.”
Clancy stays busy in Virginia. He has served on various boards over the years and is currently serving a Board term with the Virginia HBPA.
“Virginia is a very strong state for steeplechase racing,” said Clancy. “I was a little bit involved in getting the Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point meet several NSA sanctioned races to create another hybrid-type meet in addition to ones that were already in place at the Blue Ridge and Loudoun Hunts. That is a big deal for horsemen and from a stability and growth standpoint, are really important. And at Colonial Downs, the opportunity we have there is key. I ran Cyber Ninja there last summer. It was an expensive purchase for me, but to be able to compete and win a $60,000 maiden race over jumps there is incredible.”
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