Fri, 09/08/2023 - 14:50

Exaulted will go straight to Breeders' Cup Mile

Exaulted wins the Shoemaker Mile at SA May 29 2023
Benoit Photo
Exaulted suffered his first loss on turf in the Del Mar Mile when he finished second after having to wait for room on the far turn.

Exaulted, the winner of the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile in May but second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on Sept. 2, will have his next start in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

After the recent loss, trainer Peter Eurton said the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita on Sept. 30 would be considered. Eurton said on Friday that is no longer the plan after conferring with owner Lee Searing.

Wed, 05/10/2023 - 13:16

Breeders' Cup Challenge series will mirror last year's

Barbara D. Livingston
Life Is Good wins the 2022 edition of the Whitney, which this year is one of eight stakes offering an automatic, fees-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic.

The Breeders’ Cup Challenge series will continue to be structured partially along regional lines for the second year in a row, the organization said on Wednesday when announcing the schedule for the series, which awards winners with automatic, fees-paid berths in the event’s races.

Thu, 02/23/2023 - 11:46

Del Mar to host 2024 Breeders' Cup

Barbara D. Livingston
Gun Runner wins the 2017 Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar. The Breeders' Cup has been run at Del Mar in 2017 and 2021.

The 2024 Breeders’ Cup two-day event will be held at Del Mar, marking the third time the seaside track will have served as the host, the Breeders’ Cup announced on Thursday.

The selection of Del Mar for the 2024 event will create a two-year swing through Southern California, a location where the weather is generally mild in the fall. This year’s Breeders’ Cup will be held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., approximately 120 miles north of Del Mar, on Nov. 3-4.

Sun, 01/08/2023 - 18:02

Al Muthana, Make It Snappy capture fees-paid BC berths

Al Muthana and Make It Snappy won Group 1 races at Kenilworth Racecourse in South Africa on Saturday, earning fees-paid berths to Breeders’ Cup races at Santa Anita in November.

Both runners must be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program to be eligible for the November races.

The Australian-bred Al Muthana (80-1) caught the previously unbeaten Charles Dickens to win the L’Ormarins King’s Plate. Al Muthana earned a berth to the Breeders’ Cup Mile.  

Fri, 12/16/2022 - 15:30

South America's premier race, the Pelligrini, offers berth in Breeders' Cup Turf

A fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar next November is available to the winner of Saturday’s Group 1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini-International at San Isidro Racecourse in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Pellegrini, run at 1 1/2 miles on turf, is considered the leading race in South America, and is the first race to offer a berth to a 2023 Breeders’ Cup race. The Breeders’ Cup will be held on Nov. 3 and 4 next year at Santa Anita.

The Pellegrini drew 15 entrants, including three prominent Group 1 winners - Durazzo, El Musical, and Miranque.

Tue, 11/08/2022 - 12:39

Six-furlong time for Breeders' Cup Classic adjusted

Barbara Livingston
Flightline's powerful victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic completed a perfect season for him and locked up the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and older dirt male.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The official six-furlong fractional time for Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic has been amended from 1.09.62 to 1:09.27 but no other times for the race will be affected, including the final time of 2:00.05, Equibase announced on Tuesday.

Equibase said that it amended the fractional time after conducting a “comprehensive video review to verify the accuracy” of the six-furlong time.

Mon, 11/07/2022 - 15:43

Breeders' Cup sprint race winners Elite Power, Goodnight Olive have a lot in common

Julie Wright
In his last start at age 8, C Z Rocket (left) finished only 1 1/4 lengths behind Elite Power in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Goodnight Olive and Elite Power not only won their respective Breeders’ Cup races, the Filly and Mare Sprint and the Sprint, in impressive fashion Saturday at Keeneland, they did so having come into the day with remarkably identical résumés.

Mon, 11/07/2022 - 13:05

Eclipse Awards: Breeders' Cup decided some divisions but others remain open for debate

Barbara Livingston
Flightline's powerful victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic completed a perfect season for him and locked up the Eclipse Awards for Horse of the Year and older dirt male.

Led by Flightline’s spectacular victory in Saturday’s $6 million Classic, the results of some Breeders’ Cup races last Friday and Saturday at Keeneland helped clearly define champions in certain divisions. But in light of the dominant performances of European-based turf runners in the Breeders’ Cup, other divisions seem to lack a clear standout in the race for year-end Eclipse Awards.

Mon, 11/07/2022 - 10:54

Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile: Cody's Wish will race next year at age 5

Debra A. Roma
Cody's Wish (left) won a stretch battle with Cyrberknife to take the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile by a head.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Cody’s Wish, who won the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile by a head on Saturday at Keeneland, will remain in training for a 5-year-old campaign, a representative of the horse’s owner and breeder, Godolphin, said.

“He came out of the Breeders’ Cup very well,” said Michael Banahan, Godolphin’s director of bloodstock for the U.S. “He’s sound, healthy, and we’re extremely excited about seeing him race next year.”

Sun, 11/06/2022 - 12:25

Breeders' Cup: Flightline retired after capping perfect career with Classic triumph

Barbara D. Livingston
Flightline takes a walk on Sunday after winning the Breeders' Cup Classic on Saturday at Keeneland.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Flightline’s brief but brilliant career is over.

As expected, Flightline was retired from racing Sunday morning, the day after his dominant 8 1/4-length victory in Saturday’s $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland.

The official announcement came via a press release issued Sunday morning from Lane’s End Farm, where he will stand as the property of a syndicate with a stud fee still be announced, per the release.