Velazquez to ride Secret Spice in Breeders' Cup Distaff

ARCADIA, Calif. – Yet another East Coast rider has picked up a West Coast-based runner for the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita.

John Velazquez will replace Flavien Prat on Distaff contender Secret Spice, according to Billy Koch, managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing Stable. Secret Spice and Prat finished second as the favorite in back-to-back graded stakes at Del Mar and Santa Anita.

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The switch continues a trend. Velazquez will ride California-based 2-year-olds Eight Rings (Juvenile) and Bast (Juvenile Fillies); he rode both to victory in their final preps. Joel Rosario will replace Mike Smith on McKinzie (Classic), and Kent Desormeaux on Ollie’s Candy (Distaff).

Velazquez has won 16 Breeders’ Cup races, and his BC mounts have earned more than $27.1 million. Both totals rank second behind Smith’s leading BC totals of 26 wins and $35.9 million.

Secret Spice is trained by Richard Baltas. He and Velazquez have teamed to win 3 of 7 races in the past five years.