Tributes from all over the racing world poured in Tuesday, remembering Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, who died Tuesday of undisclosed causes. The Saudi prince and nine-time Eclipse Award winner as owner and breeder was 83. A member of the Saudi Royal Family, Prince Khalid owned Juddmonte Farms, which announced the […]
Tag: Breeders’ Cup Classic
Awesome Again, Champion and Sire of Champions, Dies at 26
Awesome Again, who went from champion horse to prolific sire of champions, died suddenly at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm in Kentucky. He was 26. The cause of death is unknown, but a full necropsy and veterinary report is pending, according to an announcement from Old Friends founder and President, […]
Tiz The Law Rides Into 2021 with a New Jockey: John Velazquez
Five days after Tiz the Law came home a disappointing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, ownership group Sackatoga Stable announced that Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez replaces Manny Franco in the irons for the colt’s 2021 season. That season begins at the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup at […]
Maximum Security Retires: Closes Book On Wild, Accomplished Career
Three days after finishing off the board for only the second time in his career, Maximum Security retired from racing. The Eclipse Award 3-year-old Champion of 2019 heads to Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud, where he’ll begin his stud career in 2021 standing for $20,000. The move comes after Maximum Security […]
After Breeders’ Cup Classic Win, Authentic Rides Off to Retirement
After watching his gate-to-wire victory in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, it took Authentic’s owners barely 24 hours to retire the three-time Grade 1 winner at the end of his 3-year-old season. The Kentucky Derby champion heads to Spendthrift Farm, the large Kentucky breeding farm and majority owner of Authentic. He […]
On Record-Setting Day, Breeders’ Cup Handle Takes Mild Dip
With Kentucky Derby champion Authentic, standout filly Gamine, and Knicks Go all winning Breeders’ Cup races in record time – and without general public tickets available – the Breeders’ Cup World Championships managed its sixth-highest all-sources handle since 2007. That was the year the Breeders’ Cup expanded to two days. […]
Breeders’ Cup Classic: Picking a Winner in this All-Star Field is a Puzzle
If you’re grasping to understand how good the field is for this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic truly is, it’s easiest to picture what an All-Star horse race would look like. The Mid-fall Classic, as it were. If the Mid-fall Classic offered a $6 million purse, two Triple Crown race winners, […]
Breeders’ Cup Speed Figures: Looking at an Instant Classic
As you parse the speed figures for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, you understand there is truth in advertising to this year’s edition of the Breeders’ Cup’s flagship race. Putting aside the eight Grade 1 winners in the 10-horse field, these speed figures should make this Classic well … an instant […]
Improbable Takes Favorite Status, Outer Post in Breeders’ Cup Classic
The last time Bob Baffert turned loose a Breeders’ Cup Classic favorite at Keeneland, that horse – American Pharoah – won him his second of three consecutive Classics. Now, Baffert has more than an outside chance of winning his fourth. He has three outside chances. That’s because his three mainstays, […]
Breeders’ Cup Rolls Out Lucrative Wagering Menu, Race Schedule
Along with announcing its race schedule, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships announced a wagering smorgasbord for horseplayers consisting of seven multi-race pools offering a combined $8 million in guaranteed money. The two-day Breeders’ Cup is Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland. Even running spectator-free due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it provides bettors […]
Baffert’s Classic Trio, O’Brien’s Turf Duo Head Breeders’ Cup Pre-Entries
Bob Baffert has six entries, including three in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Aidan O’Brien counters with 10 entries. And just like that with Wednesday’s pre-entries, lineups for the 14 Breeders’ Cup World Championships races are falling into place. All told, 201 horses pre-entered into the Nov. 6-7 racing festival at […]
Circa Sports Makes Improbable the Breeders’ Cup Classic Futures Favorite
One day after opening the first domestic Breeders’ Cup Classic futures board, Circa Sports puts Improbable as the favorite to capture the $6 million Breeders’ Cup’s marquee event on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. Improbable opened at +380, then moved up slightly to +410. His best odds overseas are 4/1. The […]
Serengeti Empress, McKinzie Take Different Paths to Breeding Shed
Serengeti Empress has one more race before the breeding shed awaits. McKinzie is headed to stud immediately. And so drops the curtain on two of the more prominent Thoroughbreds of the last three years. Serengeti Empress will make her final start in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Nov. […]
Decorated Tacitus Seeks Elusive Grade 1 Win in Jockey Club Gold Cup
Once again, even-money Tacitus is your favorite in a Grade 1 race – the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park. And once again, Tacitus enters a Grade 1 favored – without a Grade 1 victory. In this race, he has plenty of company in the latter category, even if […]
Belmont Park Takes the Stakes Spotlight This Weekend
Two weeks ago, Santa Anita put on a stakes-packed weekend card that sent seven horses to various Breeders’ Cup races. This weekend, Belmont Park captures the spotlight, featuring five graded stakes races on Saturday, including four Grade 1s. Among Belmont Park’s 11 Saturday races are four Breeders’ Cup “Win and […]
Winning Preakness Complicates Swiss Skydiver’s Breeders’ Cup Plans
She’s run with the boys. Now, with her Preakness victory last Saturday, Swiss Skydiver beat the boys. So what’s the next challenge for one of the great North American fillies of her generation? That would be the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland. That much, we know. But what are […]
Awesome Again Defines Two Favorites in Santa Anita’s Marquee Stakes
Between them, Maximum Security and Improbable are 5-for-6 in 2020, which makes a race called the Awesome Again Stakes the perfect meeting place for two of the top older horses in the nation, if not the world. The two Bob Baffert charges take each other on for the first time […]
Keeneland Gets 2022 Consolation After Breeders’ Cup Goes Fan-Free
The Breeders’ Cup became the latest major racing event going spectator-free, announcing it will go without fans for its upcoming event, Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland in Lexington, KY. At the same time, the Breeders’ Cup announced Keeneland will play host to the 2022 event. This means that all four major […]
For the First Time, Preakness Joins Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series
For the first time in the Breeders’ Cup’s nearly 40-year history, a Triple Crown race will be part of its “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series of races. The 145th Preakness Stakes became one of 44 Challenge Series races offering spots in the Breeders’ Cup field over the next two […]
Maximum Security Passes His First Test Back By a Nose
All the pieces were in place to beat Maximum Security. He had a new jockey, a new trainer, a new track he hadn’t seen before — one that some of the best horses of their generations couldn’t figure out. And yet, while Saturday’s San Diego Handicap was the best opportunity […]