JC / Railbird

Breeders’ Cup Archive

Meet the Candidates

Thoroughbred Daily News has asked Breeders’ Cup board candidates what they think is the biggest issue facing the Breeders’ Cup and have kindly allowed Patrick of Pulling Hair & Betting Horses to reprint their answers. Interesting stuff — promotion and growing the fan base are recurring themes, with Barry Weisbord making a good point about adding “elements of rational and meaningful structure, including schedule and standings, to differentiate our best and most marketable product,” and Chris Young talking up the potential of using technology to connect with fans.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on June 4, 2007

BC Board Vote

Street Sense’s defection from the Belmont shows (again, like we needed the reminder) how much the breeding side of the business affects racing. But it also illustrates how much two races — the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders’ Cup Classic — have come to dominate the sport’s calendar and determine a horse’s stud value. To a horse that’s won the Derby, but lost the Preakness, the Belmont adds almost nothing. (And if he loses the Belmont, it only diminishes.) The only race that means more — to end of the year honors, to stud fees — is the Classic. Given the rising influence of the Classic and the rest of the Breeders’ Cup program, it’s a bit odd that so little is known about the views of the candidates currently up for election to the Breeders’ Cup Board. Byron, at the Pedigree Guru, explains the board’s politics and what’s at stake in this round of voting.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on June 1, 2007

Breeders’ Cup Results

– Juvenile Fillies
The favorite: Dreaming of Anna (5-2)
The winner: Dreaming of Anna ($7.20)
My picks: Bel Air Beauty (8th), Quick Little Miss (10th)
The Breeders’ Cup card got off to a scintillating start with a dominating performance by Dreaming of Anna in the Juvenile Fillies. Living up to her pre-race hype, the filly took an early lead, rebuffed challenges from Appealing Zophie and Octave in the stretch and pulled away to a 1 1/2 length victory.
– Juveniles
The favorite: Circular Quay (3-1)
The winner: Street Sense ($32.40)
My picks: Stormello (5th), Circular Quay (2nd)
Street Sense was no less impressive, bursting through a hole on the rail to win the Juvenile by a record margin of 10 lengths.
– Filly and Mare Turf
The favorite: Ouija Board (7-5)
The winner: Ouija Board ($4.80)
My pick: Ouija Board
Ouija Board was the one sure thing on the Breeders’ Cup card and jockey Frankie Dettori rode the five-year-old mare with confidence.
– Sprint
The favorite: Henny Hughes (8-5)
The winner: Thor’s Echo ($33.20)
My picks: Bordonaro (4th), Siren Lure (8th)
Henny Hughes broke slowly, ran into traffic, and was out of contention early, finishing last. Thor’s Echo found his way along the rail, which was golden at Churchill yesterday, and took advantage of a formless pace situation to win.
– Mile
The favorite: Aussie Rules (3-1)
The winner: Miesque’s Approval ($50.60)
My picks: Echo of Light (14th), Araafa (8th), Librettist (9th)
The biggest upset of the day, Miesque’s Approval surprised with a big come from behind move.
– Distaff
The favorite: Fleet Indian (5-2)
The winner: Round Pond ($29.80)
My pick: Round Pond
Round Pond delivered in a race that was sadly marred by the fatal breakdown of Pine Island and the career-ending injury of Fleet Indian.
– Turf
The favorite: Hurricane Run (3-1)
The winner: Red Rocks ($23.60)
My picks: ‘Run (6th), Scorpion (5th), English Channel (3rd)
He rated, he rallied, he won.
– Classic
The favorite: Bernardini (1-1)
The winner: Invasor ($15.40)
My picks: Invasor, Sun King (9th), David Junior (Eased)
Jockey Javier Castellano rode Bernardini like he has in every race, but when the colt made his big move in the Classic to open up a lead, he had Invasor to contend with in the stretch, and Invasor had no trouble running right past the three-year-old, winning by a length and firmly establishing himself as the leading Horse of the Year candidate.

Posted in Breeders' Cup on November 5, 2006