diff --git a/freerelay/core/execution/executor.py b/freerelay/core/execution/executor.py
index 085e053..dc76332 100644
--- a/freerelay/core/execution/executor.py
+++ b/freerelay/core/execution/executor.py
@@ -151,11 +151,7 @@ async def execute_hedged(
         provider_keys = [(p, k) for p, k, _ in providers]
         circuits = {p.name: c for p, _, c in providers}
         try:
-            response = await hedged_execute(provider_keys, request)
-            # Record success on the circuit breaker of whichever provider won
-            for _name, circuit in circuits.items():
-                await circuit.record_success()
-            return response
+            result = await hedged_execute(provider_keys, request)
         except Exception as e:
             # Record failure on all involved circuit breakers
             for _name, circuit in circuits.items():
@@ -163,6 +159,26 @@ async def execute_hedged(
                 await circuit.record_failure(status)
             raise
 
+        # Only the winning provider's circuit breaker should observe a
+        # success. The loser's provider either timed out, raised, or
+        # completed after the winner — calling record_success on it
+        # would mask the failure that triggered the hedge in the first
+        # place and prevent the circuit breaker from ever tripping on
+        # that provider.
+        winner_circuit = circuits.get(result.winner_name)
+        if winner_circuit is not None:
+            await winner_circuit.record_success()
+        for loser_name in result.loser_names:
+            loser_circuit = circuits.get(loser_name)
+            if loser_circuit is not None:
+                # The loser completed but slower than the winner, so its
+                # response was discarded — not strictly a "failure" but
+                # also not a success the breaker should credit. Record a
+                # non-status failure (None) to nudge the breaker toward
+                # opening without the aggressive weight of a real 5xx.
+                await loser_circuit.record_failure(None)
+        return result.response
+
     async def execute_stream(
         self,
         provider: BaseProvider,
diff --git a/freerelay/core/execution/hedging.py b/freerelay/core/execution/hedging.py
index 39a40bc..5057581 100644
--- a/freerelay/core/execution/hedging.py
+++ b/freerelay/core/execution/hedging.py
@@ -21,10 +21,32 @@
 logger = logging.getLogger("freerelay.hedging")
 
 
+class HedgedResult:
+    """Result of a hedged execution, identifying which provider won."""
+
+    __slots__ = ("response", "winner_name", "loser_names")
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        response: ChatCompletionResponse,
+        winner_name: str,
+        loser_names: tuple[str, ...],
+    ) -> None:
+        self.response = response
+        self.winner_name = winner_name
+        self.loser_names = loser_names
+
+    def __repr__(self) -> str:
+        return (
+            f"HedgedResult(winner={self.winner_name!r}, "
+            f"losers={self.loser_names!r})"
+        )
+
+
 async def hedged_execute(
     providers: list[tuple[BaseProvider, str]],
     request: ChatCompletionRequest,
-) -> ChatCompletionResponse:
+) -> HedgedResult:
     """
     Fire the same request at up to 2 providers in parallel.
     Return the first response. Cancel all others.
@@ -34,10 +56,13 @@ async def hedged_execute(
         request: The chat completion request.
 
     Returns:
-        Response from the fastest provider.
+        HedgedResult with the winning response, the winner's name, and
+        the names of any losing providers (so callers can update their
+        circuit breakers accordingly).
 
     Raises:
-        Exception: If all providers fail.
+        ValueError: If no providers were given.
+        Exception: If all providers fail. The first error is re-raised.
     """
     if not providers:
         raise ValueError("No providers for hedged execution")
@@ -55,22 +80,53 @@ async def hedged_execute(
         return_when=asyncio.FIRST_COMPLETED,
     )
 
-    # Cancel all pending tasks immediately
+    # Cancel all pending tasks immediately. Use CancelledError-specific
+    # suppression: when a task is cancelled, awaiting it raises
+    # CancelledError. A bare Exception in the suppress tuple would also
+    # swallow the original failure if the task had raised before we got
+    # here, which would mask real provider errors in our logs.
     for task in pending:
         task.cancel()
-        with contextlib.suppress(asyncio.CancelledError, Exception):
+        with contextlib.suppress(asyncio.CancelledError):
             await task
 
-    # Check all done tasks for a successful result
-    # done may contain 1 or 2 tasks (both completed before cancellation)
+    # Walk done tasks once. If more than one finished before we could
+    # cancel (e.g. both providers returned on the same scheduler tick),
+    # the first task we pick with no exception is the winner; the rest
+    # are losers that need their result fetched (or exception ignored)
+    # so the asyncio task machinery doesn't warn about un-awaited tasks.
+    winner_task: asyncio.Task[ChatCompletionResponse] | None = None
+    winner_provider: BaseProvider | None = None
+    loser_providers: list[BaseProvider] = []
     errors: list[BaseException] = []
+
     for task in done:
-        if task.exception() is None:
-            winner = tasks[task]
-            logger.info("Hedged winner: %s", winner.name)
-            # Cancel any remaining done tasks that weren't checked yet
-            return task.result()
-        errors.append(task.exception())  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+        exc = task.exception()
+        if exc is None and winner_task is None:
+            winner_task = task
+            winner_provider = tasks[task]
+        elif exc is None:
+            loser_providers.append(tasks[task])
+        else:
+            errors.append(exc)
+
+    if winner_task is not None:
+        logger.info("Hedged winner: %s", winner_provider.name)
+        # Drain any leftover successful losers so their task objects
+        # aren't GC'd in a 'pending result' state — that's a common
+        # asyncio footgun that produces "Task was destroyed but it is
+        # pending!" warnings at shutdown.
+        for loser in loser_providers:
+            for t in done:
+                if tasks.get(t) is loser:
+                    with contextlib.suppress(asyncio.CancelledError, Exception):
+                        t.result()
+                    break
+        return HedgedResult(
+            response=winner_task.result(),
+            winner_name=winner_provider.name,
+            loser_names=tuple(p.name for p in loser_providers),
+        )
 
     # All done tasks failed
     logger.warning("All hedged providers failed (%d errors)", len(errors))
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_hedging_winner_only_success.py b/tests/unit/test_hedging_winner_only_success.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..41b59c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_hedging_winner_only_success.py
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+"""
+Tests — Hedged execution only records circuit-breaker success on the winner.
+
+The hedged execution path fires a request at two providers in parallel
+and returns whichever responds first. The losing provider either gets
+cancelled mid-flight or completes after the winner — either way it did
+NOT successfully serve the user, so its circuit breaker must NOT be
+reset to CLOSED. Only the winner's circuit should record success.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import asyncio
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock
+
+import pytest
+
+from freerelay.core.execution.executor import Executor
+from freerelay.core.models.openai import (
+    ChatCompletionRequest,
+    ChatCompletionResponse,
+    Choice,
+    Message,
+)
+from freerelay.core.resilience.circuit_breaker import CircuitBreaker, CircuitState
+
+
+def _make_provider(name: str, delay: float, fail: bool = False) -> MagicMock:
+    provider = MagicMock()
+    provider.name = name
+
+    async def _complete(request, api_key):
+        await asyncio.sleep(delay)
+        if fail:
+            raise RuntimeError(f"{name} boom")
+        return ChatCompletionResponse(
+            id=f"resp-{name}",
+            created=0,
+            model=f"model-{name}",
+            choices=[
+                Choice(
+                    index=0,
+                    message=Message(role="assistant", content=f"{name}-wins"),
+                    finish_reason="stop",
+                )
+            ],
+        )
+
+    provider.complete = _complete
+    return provider
+
+
+def _make_request() -> ChatCompletionRequest:
+    req = MagicMock(spec=ChatCompletionRequest)
+    req.model = "test-model"
+    req.messages = []
+    return req
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_hedged_winner_records_success_only_on_winner() -> None:
+    """Provider A is faster; A's circuit becomes CLOSED but B's stays OPEN
+    because B was cancelled mid-flight (its request never completed)."""
+    a_breaker = CircuitBreaker(
+        provider_name="a", failure_threshold=3, failure_window=60, recovery_timeout=0.5
+    )
+    b_breaker = CircuitBreaker(
+        provider_name="b", failure_threshold=3, failure_window=60, recovery_timeout=0.5
+    )
+    # Pre-open both circuits with 3 failures to mimic a struggling provider.
+    for _ in range(3):
+        await a_breaker.record_failure(500)
+        await b_breaker.record_failure(500)
+    assert a_breaker.state == CircuitState.OPEN
+    assert b_breaker.state == CircuitState.OPEN
+
+    # Wait past the recovery window so the auto-transition can fire when
+    # record_success is called.
+    await asyncio.sleep(0.6)
+
+    a = _make_provider("A", delay=0.05)
+    b = _make_provider("B", delay=0.50)  # loser (will be cancelled)
+    executor = Executor(enable_hedging=True, max_retries=0)
+    result = await executor.execute_hedged(
+        [(a, "key-a", a_breaker), (b, "key-b", b_breaker)],
+        _make_request(),
+    )
+
+    assert result.choices[0].message.content == "A-wins"
+    # The winner's circuit went OPEN → HALF_OPEN → CLOSED with failures cleared.
+    assert a_breaker.state == CircuitState.CLOSED, (
+        f"winner A should have success recorded and circuit reset to CLOSED, got {a_breaker.state}"
+    )
+    assert a_breaker.get_score() == 1.0
+    # The loser's circuit was NOT marked successful.
+    # It auto-transitioned to HALF_OPEN during the sleep, but the loser's task
+    # was cancelled, so no failure was recorded — the circuit should remain
+    # HALF_OPEN (a probe slot is still open for it to retry). It must NOT
+    # be CLOSED, because that would mean we silently treated the loser as healthy.
+    assert b_breaker.state != CircuitState.CLOSED, (
+        f"loser B must NOT be marked successful; got {b_breaker.state}"
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_hedged_all_fail_records_failure_on_both() -> None:
+    """When every provider fails, every circuit breaker should see the failure."""
+    a = _make_provider("A", delay=0.01, fail=True)
+    b = _make_provider("B", delay=0.02, fail=True)
+    circuit_a = CircuitBreaker("A", failure_threshold=5)
+    circuit_b = CircuitBreaker("B", failure_threshold=5)
+    executor = Executor(enable_hedging=True, max_retries=0)
+    with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+        await executor.execute_hedged(
+            [(a, "key-a", circuit_a), (b, "key-b", circuit_b)],
+            _make_request(),
+        )
+
+    # Both should still be CLOSED (threshold=5, only 1 failure each)
+    assert circuit_a.state == CircuitState.CLOSED
+    assert circuit_b.state == CircuitState.CLOSED