American Pharoah got no farther than Barn 62 on Wednesday morning at Keeneland, as the steady rain that has soaked this area for 48 hours left the track sloppy and prompted trainer Bob Baffert to keep American Pharoah inside.
Key contenders for the Breeders' Cup Mile on Saturday.
A Breeders’ Cup billed as a homecoming event will have a special shine for British-born jockey Sophie Doyle. Not only will she be riding her first Breeders’ Cup in her adopted home state of Kentucky, but her younger brother James Doyle will have a mount in the Juvenile Turf.
Despite being the lesser of the two Breeders’ Cup programs, Friday’s 10 races at Keeneland still comprise an excellent card of highly competitive racing. The four Cup races are bookended by a pair of strong Grade 2 races, the Fayette and the Marathon, and there are three guaranteed multirace pools: a $500,000 Pick 5 on races 1-5, a $750,000-guaranteed pick 6 on races 5-10, and a $1.5 million pick 4 on the quartet of Cup races.
Afternoon Tango will be making a rare start around two turns Friday night, when she puts her perfect Delta Downs record on the line in the $100,000 Magnolia Stakes.
Key contenders for Saturday's $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland.
Winning a Breeders’ Cup race is a remarkable accomplishment for any trainer, but for a select few with close ties to Lexington, winning one at the first Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland would be all that more special.
Jockey Frankie Dettori said Golden Horn felt good in a training-track gallop Wednesday morning at Keeneland, but a larger question is how the Keeneland grass course will feel Saturday in the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Turf, intended to be Golden Horn’s swan song before a stud career.
You would have thought that by now Larry Jones would have won at least one running of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff by accident, especially after training such talented female Thoroughbreds as Havre de Grace, Proud Spell, Believe You Can, Island Sand, and Joyful Victory.
