Fauci, with jockey Tyler Gaffalione, is led from the paddock to the track for a race at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., on Wednesday. (Adam Coglianese/New York Racing Association via AP)

Fauci the 2-year-old colt finished a distant second to a horse named Prisoner and was well ahead of third-place Indoctrinate in his much-anticipated debut Wednesday at Belmont Park. In a sport known for topical names, Fauci is the first of a series of horses inspired by the coronavirus pandemic and the latest tribute to the respected director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Social Distancing, Self Isolation, Flatten the Curve, Herd Immunity and No Spectators have also been registered with the Jockey Club.

Co-owner Phillip Antonacci picked the name Fauci in mid-March after the 79-year-old started doing daily coronavirus briefings from the White House. The Antonacci family, like Fauci, is Italian-American and from Brooklyn.

“We wanted to honor the service that he’s given to the whole world: beside COVID, fighting all the other infectious his whole life,” Antonacci said. “Throughout the whole thing, he seemed like a voice that knew what was going on and, without trying to be too political, kind of calmed things and provided real data behind what was going on.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 16 in Washington, as Vice President Mike Pence watches. A fellow Italian named his racing horse Fauci after the nation's leading public health official. (AP file photo)

Antonacci hoped to name a filly after Dr. Deborah Birx. In the end, though, Antonacci said he didn’t have horse good enough to name after the coordinator of the White House’s virus task force.

This colt who debuted Wednesday was named Fauci in part because his owners thought he’d be a special horse. Trainer Wesley Ward has seen that since the then-unnamed horse got to his barn in September.

“He’s a beautiful colt, done everything right on the track in the mornings, got a beautiful mind on him to where he’s not fractious or anxious and seems very, very intelligent,” Ward said. “He’s just a real easygoing guy. Not much bothers him.”