After 32 years of the Breeders’ Cup, the patterns of sire lines and female families of the race winners are well established. The Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector male lines will dominate, and Bruce Lowe female family No. 1 will provide more winners than any other female line.
DRF handicapper Dan Illman provides his best plays on Saturday's program at Aqueduct.
On Friday afternoon, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced new appointments to the Texas Racing Commission. The panel is operating on a temporary funding plan that runs through Nov. 30. The new appointments are Margaret Martin and Rolando Pablos, while Gary Aber was reappointed to the commission, according to a release. Their terms expire Feb. 1, 2021.
When John Gaines came up with the idea for the Breeders’ Cup, he started by organizing meetings in Lexington, Ky. This was for a number of reasons, not the least being that Lexington is the heart of the Thoroughbred industry, and local breeders and stallion owners were being asked to fund the effort in its entirety, with a collective commitment in excess of $10 million required just to get the inaugural running held.
Brewster Smith's analysis of the Monday 11/9 card at Yonkers Raceway.
Garnet Barnsdale's analysis of the Monday 11/9 card at Woodbine Harness.
Special Rate, a leading Texas stallion, has been moved to Oklahoma for the 2016 breeding season. He will stand at Glasses Creek Ranch in Madill, Okla., the farm announced Friday. His fee will be $3,000
To fulfill a minimum-dates requirement, there is live racing at Aqueduct on Monday, a nine-race card topped by a $69,000, first-level allowance race for fillies and mares going a mile on turf. Ten were entered, but that includes three who would run only if the race were to be transferred to the main track, which, given the forecast, is unlikely.
A day after Maria Borell was unceremoniously sacked after winning a Breeders’ Cup race and half a world away, the Melbourne Cup provided horse racing with a palate cleanser that helped dilute the Runhappy mess. Michelle Payne, 29, became the first woman to ride a Cup winner in the 155-year history of “the race that stops a nation” aboard the 100-1 shot Prince of Penzance. For context, Frankie Dettori finished second and Ryan Moore was far back.
A Texas Racing Commission request to extend funding for its administrative costs beyond Nov. 30 is under review, according to a representative of the state’s legislative budget board. The commission is operating under a temporary funding plan, and if its request is not granted by the end of the month, racing in Texas would be forced to shut down.
