Fernando Mendoza has won several accolades in 2025, adding another when his name became the inspiration for a racehorse.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has been a lot of things this year.
The Hoosiers’ leader on offense, the single-season touchdown pass record holder, the Big Ten Football Championship game MVP and the Heisman Trophy winner. Now he’s another: the namesake of a Bob Baffert horse.
Mendoza, a yearling born from two Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorses Gun Runner and Songbird,
Tom Ryan, a managing partner at SF Racing, had been searching for a name for the colt when he saw Mendoza’s interactions with the media after the Heisman Trophy ceremony. To him, the star quarterback’s name felt a perfect fit.
“Fernando Mendoza is a star in the world’s most American sport. An incredibly talented young man who can inspire millions of young NFL fans,” Ryan wrote on Twitter. “Here’s to a great 2026 for the man and the horse.”
Mendoza (the racehorse) will train under the famed Bob Baffert, who’s trained two Triple Crown winners in American Pharoah and Justify. Horses trained by Baffert have won the Kentucky Derby a record six times, tied with Ben A. Jones.
Category: General Sports
