On Friday, September 18, 2026, Presque Isle Downs in Erie, PA hosts the Masters Stakes Race Day which features the Grade 2 $300,000 Masters Stakes and includes the $75,000 Power by Far Stakes for registered PA-bred three-year olds and up going six and a half furlongs. Post time is 5:00 P.M.
Named in honor of the multiple graded-stakes-placed Power by Far, this year’s Power by Far race received twenty-two nominations. “At thirty-one, Power by Far is still amazing and going strong,” said owner/breeder Barbara Geraghty. “He’s retired now and living out the rest of his life at our farm, Castle Rock Farm, near West Chester, PA. We thought he was a special talent when he was a baby, but we never expected him to be as good as he was,” said Geraghty.
Power by Far was born in 1995 and raced from age two until five, retiring in September 2000. He retired with a record of thirty-two starts, fifteen wins, including ten stake wins, four seconds, and five thirds and earnings of $544,335. By Power of Mind out of Farrah Foxet by T.V. Commercial, Power by Far joined the Castle Rock stallion roster in 2001.
Power by Far was trained by Anthony Correnti and based at Philadelphia Park, now Parx Racing. At two, he won two out of four starts. He won his second time out and also won an allowance race at Philadelphia Park.
At age three, Power by Far’s career flourished. He campaigned and won races throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. “It was an exciting year. We traveled with him to Monmouth and Meadowlands and Maryland and Virginia. We had a great time. He was so honest, and he wanted to win every time he ran,” said Geraghty.
At three, Power by Far started eleven times and won seven races including five stake races. He won the Peppy Addy Stakes and the Long Clover Stakes at Philadelphia Park, and he won the Bergen County Stakes at Meadowlands and the Montpelier Stakes at Colonial Downs. He ended the year by winning the Pennsylvania Sprint Championship Handicap at Philadelphia Park. “He was a sprinter, and he was fast. He never ran around two turns,” said Peter Giangiulio, Barbara Geraghty’s brother and part owner of Castle Rock Farm. “He always finished strong. Jockey Bobby Alvarado Jr. rode him to perfection. He broke from the gate and just steadied him and waited until he saw an opening near the quarter pole. When he asked him to run, he just took off,” said Giangiulio.
“When he was four, he was in a stake at Delaware Park, and the horse in front of him fell. Power by Far flipped over him. He wasn’t hurt, but I thought he would be hesitant or scared to pass horses or go through an opening or a tight spot the next time he ran, but he wasn’t. He won the next two in a row. He won the Mario Beneito Handicap at Penn National and the Eillo Stakes at Meadowlands,” said Giangiulio. “He was fearless.”
Power by Far was the 1998 Pennsylvania-bred champion three-year old and the co-Horse of the Year.
At age four, the Philadelphia Park fan favorite started thirteen times and won three stake races. At age five, in his last year of racing, he ran four times and won two stakes, the Hoover and the Endless Surprise, both at Laurel. He retired in September to begin his new career standing stud at Castle Rock Farm.
Power by Far, nicknamed “Garth”, moved back home to Castle Rock. “We called him “Garth” when he was a baby after Garth Brooks because he strutted his stuff like Garth Brooks,” said Giangiulio. At stud, Power by Far sired several six-figure winners and several stake winners including multiple graded-stakes-placed winner Power of Snunner.
According to farm manager, June Hillman, “Power by Far is still a character and was impressive from day one.” June Hillman started work at Castle Rock the same year Power by Far was born. “She is the backbone of the farm, and loves the horses as much as we do. She has the horses’ best interest at heart and does a great job,” said Giangiulio.
The whole team at Castle Rock love their horses and share a passion for racing. “According to Giangiulio, “if you can’t love the horses, you should race cars. We have a history of longevity here. We have a field of twenty-some year-old mares, and we do the best for all of them. I check on Power by Far every night at 10:00 and give him some feed. He was good to us, and we have to be good to him”
Cover Photo Credit to Kim Pratt
