ARCADIA, Calif. – There are no guarantees to the Breeders’ Cup, save this: it’ll get away to a very fast start.

Indeed, with the Juvenile Turf Sprint as the leadoff event Friday, you’d better not blink if you want to catch every bit of the 14 Breeders’ Cup events at Santa Anita this weekend.

“They’ll be moving right along,” trainer Wesley Ward said of the Grade 2, $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint. “And hopefully it’ll be one of ours in front on the wire.”

Stormy Liberal will attempt to win the Breeders’ Cup turf Sprint for a third consecutive year on Saturday, and one of those trying to stop him will be his half-brother Leinster.

Zenyatta spent three championship campaigns in trainer John Shirreffs’s barn in California. But whatever memories of her former life as a racehorse remain for Zenyatta, now a broodmare at Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky, she evidently doesn’t remember the trainer who guided her to titles as champion older female in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and Horse of the Year in 2010.

Shirreffs said he last saw Zenyatta while attending the Keeneland September sale, and that she didn’t seem to remember him.

“She’s forgotten about me,” he said. “Out of sight, out of mind, as they say.”

Keep these thoughts in mind as you are evaluating the Beyer Speed Figures for the Breeders’ Cup horses: What BSF is it going to take to win the race, what horses are capable of it, what horses are most likely because of current form/race shape/workouts to produce a winning BSF.

ARCADIA, Calif. – ARCADIA, Calif. – He’s known for his defense on the ice, but when it comes to horse racing, the Colorado Avalanche’s Erik Johnson dishes out plenty of assists.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The decade-old purple saddle towel looks brand new. It was not worn very many times, in 2009 for about a week, probably, and those who saw it in person will never forget the runner whose name appeared in white block letters below the Breeders’ Cup logo: ZENYATTA.

On Nov. 7, 2009, Zenyatta roared from last of 12 with a wide rally to score her 14th consecutive victory the BC Classic. For thousands and thousands of racing fans, there has been no greater moment in modern racing.

A field of 10 was drawn Monday for the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint, one less than originally expected, after the connections of Diamond Oops opted for their second preference, the $1 million Dirt Mile instead.

:: BREEDERS’ CUP 2019: See DRF’s special section with fields, odds, comments, and more

ARCADIA, Calif. - Trainer Dale Romans wanted an inside post for Dennis’ Moment for Friday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita. He just didn’t want the extreme inside post.

But Dennis’ Moment did indeed draw the rail in a nine-horse field entered Monday for the 36^th Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Dennis’ Moment, a 19 1/4-length maiden winner and the winner of the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs, was made the 8-5 morning-line favorite by Santa Anita linemaker Jon White.

Santa Anita
Monday, October 28, 2019
Weather: Clear
Track: Fast
Turf: Firm
Temperature: 50

ARCADIA, Calif. – Only five potential Breeders’ Cup starters worked Monday at Santa Anita, but two of them, McKinzie and Midnight Bisou, are expected to go postward the favorites in their respective races Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Zulu Alpha went from beating Arklow by 3 1/4 lengths in the Grade 3 Kentucky Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 7 to finishing sixth behind that rival by the same margin in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park on Oct. 5.

The result of the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, run at a slow pace, left trainer Mike Maker convinced he did not see the best from Zulu Alpha.

“We threw the race out,” he said on Monday.