2021 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile: Mind Control spikes temperature, won't enter

DEL MAR, Calif. – The field for Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar was reduced by one on Monday morning when Mind Control, one of two horses expected to compete for trainer Todd Pletcher, was not entered after spiking a temperature, Pletcher said.

“It’s not ideal timing,” Pletcher said. “Very unfortunate.”

Mind Control won the Parx Dirt Mile in his last start.

Pletcher said that Mind Control could now be pointed to the Cigar Mile on Dec. 4 at Aqueduct. John Velazquez was scheduled to ride Mind Control in the Dirt Mile.

Pletcher has the Dirt Mile favorite in once-beaten Life Is Good.

:: Get everything you need with a DRF Breeders' Cup package! Includes PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more.

The Dirt Mile field was expected to be Eight Rings (Juan Hernandez the rider), Ginobili (Drayden Van Dyke), Jasper Prince (Yuichi Fukunaga), Life Is Good (Irad Ortiz Jr.), Pingxiang (Yuga Kawada), Restrainedvengence (Edwin Maldonado), Silver State (Ricardo Santana Jr.), and Snapper Sinclair (Joel Rosario).