Baffert heavily favored to win twice at 5 p.m. Eastern

ARCADIA, Calif. – Breeders’ Cup Friday at Keeneland is maiden-race Friday at Santa Anita. Seven of the 10 races at Santa Anita are for maidens.

While the cards contrast in quality and significance, a common denominator is a race at each track with a heavily favored 2-year-old colt trained by Bob Baffert. Coincidentally, the races are scheduled to be run at the same time.

Cave Rock is one of the most well-fancied runners Friday at Keeneland. Post time for the BC Juvenile is 5 p.m. Eastern. Fort Bragg will start as one of the most heavily favored runners Friday at Santa Anita. Post time for the race-4 maiden race is 2 p.m. Pacific.

In deference to the Breeders’ Cup, Santa Anita could drag the fourth race until after the Juvenile is run. And regardless of how Cave Rock fares at Keeneland, stablemate Fort Bragg is one of the most probable winners on the Santa Anita card.

Fort Bragg, who will run 1 1/16 miles, is a maiden only due to his own immaturity. He crossed the wire first as the odds-on favorite in a similar race Oct. 10, but was disqualified for interference.

Fort Bragg lugged out at the top of the stretch and forced Practical Move to alter course to the inside. Fort Bragg then veered sharply left, soundly bumped Practical Move, and proceeded to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Stewards disqualified Fort Bragg and placed him second behind runner-up Practical Move.

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Baffert adds blinkers Friday to Fort Bragg, a Tapit colt likely to flirt again with odds-on. Edwin Maldonado inherits the mount; regular rider Juan Hernandez is at Keeneland to ride Cave Rock. The main rival for Fort Bragg is stablemate Reincarnate, moving to the main track after finishing second twice in turf routes.

Reincarnate, also ridden previously by Hernandez, will be ridden by Drayden Van Dyke. Reincarnate is the first horse Van Dyke has ridden for Baffert in more than a year. Others in the maiden race include Grade 1-to-maiden dropper Odonata and Alexander Helios, a sibling to Preakness winner Rombauer.

The maiden route for 2-year-olds is the only unrestricted maiden race Friday, the remaining maiden races are maiden-claiming or California-bred.

While Baffert has won more 2-year-old races in California this year (19) than any trainer, Phil D’Amato has won the most turf races in California (89). D’Amato’s total will likely increase in the final race Friday.

Midnight Jostar is the likely winner of race 10, a one-mile entry-level allowance, based on his bad-trip fifth last out at 1 1/8 miles. He broke from an outside post, was four wide the first turn and five wide the rest of the way. He still ran his final three furlongs in 35.01 seconds and missed by 1 1/4 lengths.

Midnight Jostar shortens in distance Friday and is reunited with Ryan Curatolo, who rode him to a highly rated runner-up finish at Santa Anita early this year. Others include stretch-out Go On, front-runner Balladeer, and D’Amato-trained import Agatino.

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