Sun, 10/13/2024 - 18:40

Alpha Bella opts for Bayakoa Stakes over Breeders' Cup Distaff

Barbara D. Livingston

Alpha Bella finished second in her last start, the Zenyatta Stakes, on September 29.

ARCADIA, Calif. - The graded stakes winner Alpha Bella will start in the Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile at Del Mar on Nov. 2 and not in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff on the same program.

Trainer John Sadler said the $200,000 Bayakoa Stakes has greater appeal than the BC Distaff at 1 1/8 miles, which will draw a tough field of nationally prominent runners and a highly regarded filly from Japan.

“I’ll run her on the undercard,” Sadler said of Alpha Bella. “I think she’s a good fit there.”

Sun, 10/13/2024 - 18:29

Anarchist will skip Breeders' Cup Sprint, O'Neill says

By Steve Andersen

Barbara D. Livingston

Anarchist finished third in his last start, the Korea Sprint, on September 8.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Anarchist, a two-time graded stakes winner in 2023 who was third in the Group 3 Korea Sprint in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 8, will not start in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar on Nov. 2, trainer Doug O’Neill said on Sunday.

Instead, the 5-year-old Anarchist will be pointed to a 2025 campaign.

“We’ll give him some extra time,” O’Neill said.

Sun, 10/13/2024 - 14:23

Flash Bak, among top older Quarter Horses, euthanized

By Steve Andersen

Coady Media

Flash Bak won 13 of 33 starts and earned $2,129,638.

Flash Bak, winner of the Champion of Champions at Los Alamitos last December and one of the nation’s leading older Quarter Horses, was recently euthanized after being diagnosed with equine infectious anemia, trainer Heath Taylor said on Sunday.

Flash Bak was based at Lone Star Park, near Dallas, when he was diagnosed with the ailment.

Sun, 10/13/2024 - 11:51

Big Fame takes title at Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover

By Nicole Russo

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Crossing the country, California-bred Big Fame, now based in Arizona, was honored as the overall champion at the 2024 Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, at the finale competition on Saturday evening at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Sat, 10/12/2024 - 11:13

Subsanador to miss Breeders' Cup Classic with ankle injury

By Steve Andersen

Benoit Photo

Trainer Richard Mandella announced that his Grade 1 winner Subsanador (right) will miss the Breeders' Cup Classic with an ankle injury.

An ankle injury will prevent Grade 1 winner Subsanador from starting in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 2, trainer Richard Mandella said on Saturday.

Subsanador, owned by Wathnan Racing, won the Grade 1 California Crown at Santa Anita on Sept. 28 to earn a fees-paid berth to the BC Classic.

“We found a problem in his ankle and we’ll have to turn him out,” Mandella said. “It’s not a big problem. “We’ll have to stop and come back next year.”

Thu, 10/10/2024 - 16:10

Union organizers get go-ahead for negotiations with New York trainers

By Matt Hegarty

A unionization effort for backstretch workers at tracks operated by the New York Racing Association has received certification to engage in collective-bargaining negotiations with at least nine trainers, according to the organizers of the effort and trainers.

Wed, 10/09/2024 - 13:55

Breeders' Cup Classic: Fierceness getting bigger, stronger as season progresses

By David Grening

Barbara D. Livingston

Todd Pletcher believes Fierceness has moved forward in his training since winning the Jim Dandy and Travers.

A year ago at this time, trainer Todd Pletcher wasn’t sure what to make of Fierceness.

After a dominant debut win at Saratoga, Fierceness flopped in the slop of the Grade 1 Champagne at Aqueduct, dimming his Breeders’ Cup prospects. Finding nothing wrong with Fierceness out of the race, Pletcher shipped him to Keeneland to train. If he trained well enough, then Pletcher would give the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile a shot.

Wed, 10/09/2024 - 13:25

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies: Quickick, La Cara could meet again

By Mary Rampellini

Coady Media

La Cara bested Quickick in a maiden race at Saratoga and the two are likely to meet again in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Greg Tramontin recently turned his attention to purchasing quality racing prospects out of the yearling market and has come up with Quickick, the runner-up in last weekend’s Alcibiades at Keeneland who is now possible for the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

Quickick, trained by Tom Amoss, is a daughter of McKinzie and the Grade 3-winning mare Graeme Six. She was a $550,000 purchase last year at the Keeneland September sale.

Wed, 10/09/2024 - 13:20

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf: Hard to pin down which Euros are coming

By Marcus Hersh

New Century wins the Summer at WO Sept 14 2024

Michael Burns

The 93 Beyer Speed Figure New Century earned winning the Summer Stakes at Woodbine stands out among North American raced 2-year-olds pointing to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

Divisional races in California, Kentucky, and France this past weekend failed to bring into focus the complexion of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. While they didn’t establish a pecking order, the North American races at least provided a stronger sense of who figures to participate, something that can’t be said of the European front.

Wed, 10/09/2024 - 12:15

Breeders' Cup Distaff: Awesome Result looks to give Japan another upset

By Brad Free

Coady Media

Idiomatic moved into the role of early Breeders’ Cup Distaff favorite after her Spinster victory.

Far, far away from Breeders’ Cup prep races in the United States, an undefeated filly in Japan is quietly preparing for a chance to upset the stars of the BC Distaff.

It happened once before, three years ago at Del Mar, where a filly from Japan shocked the Distaff at 49-1. This year, at the same track in the same race, Awesome Result will arrive from the Land of the Rising Sun with a higher profile than Marche Lorraine, 2021 Distaff knockout.

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