September was a month of revival for 59-year-old jockey Mike Smith. Smith won his first Grade 1 stakes of the year aboard Bottle of Rouge in the Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 6 and another Grade 1 aboard Nevada Beach in the Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 27. This weekend, those runners – as well as Kopion, who starts in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint; Tamara, a contender in the $1 million BC Filly and Mare Sprint; and Will Take It, an outsider in the $1 million BC Dirt Mile – can make Smith the oldest rider to ever win a Breeders’ Cup race. “Wouldn’t that be something,” Smith said at Santa Anita on Sunday. Yes, it would. In a sports world that celebrates the longevity of such active stars as NFL quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers (aged 41) and Joe Flacco (40), the NBA legend LeBron James (40), and NHL goal scorer Alex Ovechkin (40), Smith has them all beat by a generation. The standard for Thoroughbred racing in Breeders’ Cup races was set in 1987 when Bill Shoemaker, 56, rode Ferdinand, the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner, to an epic nose win over Alysheba, the 1987 Kentucky Derby winner, in the BC Classic at Hollywood Park. ON SALE NOW: DRF Breeders' Cup Packages! Get everything you need to win and save big. Smith’s career was well underway in 1987. He won his first Breeders’ Cup race with the mighty turf runner Lure in the 1992 Mile and has won a record 27 Breeders’ Cup races. Smith’s Breeders’ Cup mounts have earned more than $38.5 million, second only to John Velazquez, whose mounts have earned more than $39.3 million. Velazquez, a mere 53, has won 21 Breeders’ Cup races. Smith has not won a Breeders’ Cup race since Caledonia Road won the Juvenile Fillies in a 17-1 upset at Del Mar in 2017. Last year at Del Mar, Smith had one Breeders’ Cup mount, finishing fourth in the Filly and Mare Sprint on Scylla. He had two unplaced mounts at Santa Anita in 2023. Smith’s last top-three finish in a Breeders’ Cup race was aboard Taiba, who finished third in the 2022 Classic at Keeneland. Bob Baffert, 72, trains Bottle of Rouge and Nevada Beach and has no hesitation in employing a rider with Smith’s experience. “Mike is a Hall of Famer,” Baffert said. “As long as they’re younger than me, it’s okay. If they’re older than me, it’s a no go.” Smith will be busier at this Breeders’ Cup than in recent years. Bottle of Rouge runs in Friday’s $2 million Juvenile Fillies with appealing credentials, while Nevada Beach will be a longshot in Saturday’s $7 million Classic. Smith was named to ride Kopion last weekend by trainer Richard Mandella. “You can’t ask for more than that,” Smith said of gaining the mount. :: Get Breeders' Cup Betting Strategies from Brad Free and David Aragona for exclusive wager recommendations and play the races with confidence! Kopion zoomed three furlongs in 33.20 seconds in a workout at Santa Anita on Sunday with Smith aboard. The BC Sprint will be the first time that Smith has ridden Kopion since she finished fourth of five, beaten 16 lengths, in the Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks in April 2024. Kopion, owned by Spendthrift Farm, has since won 3 of 5 starts, including an authoritative three-length victory in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs on May 3 with Kazushi Kimura aboard. “She seems to have grown up since I was last on her,” Smith said. In the BC Sprint, Kimura rides the Mandella-trained Big City Lights. Smith has been aboard Tamara for all five of her starts since she made her debut in the summer of 2023. On Oct. 4, in her lone race this year, Tamara won the Grade 3 Chillingworth Stakes for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita by 3 3/4 lengths as the 2-5 favorite. Smith did not urge Tamara in the final sixteenth. The BC Filly and Mare Sprint will be a more hectic race. “We know she has ability,” Smith said. “I don’t think there’s any question. If she runs her A-plus race, she can run with them. They go fast and they keep running. It’s a demanding distance.” Tamara won the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs in September 2023, her most prestigious victory. That win may give Tamara something of a home-track edge on Saturday. “She’s not without a good chance, especially at Del Mar,” Smith said. “She loves it there. She gets over the surface.” Smith’s book of Breeders’ Cup mounts is a contrast to his position in the current jockey standings in Southern California. At the Del Mar summer meeting, he had four wins from 58 mounts, compared to nine wins from 63 mounts at the 2024 summer meeting. At the Santa Anita autumn meeting that ended on Sunday, Smith had five wins from 26 mounts. For the year through Sunday, Smith has 24 wins, compared to 41 last year. He insists he is content emphasizing quality mounts over everyday activity. “As much as ever, I’m not trying to be leading rider,” he said. “I want to ride the right races at the right time with some nice horses. It’s still a lot of fun. I feel like I can help. If I felt I was getting in the way, I’d stop.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.