Breeders' Cup

Del Mar's eighth fall meeting--starting Wednesday, Nov. 3--will offer horsemen/women a 20% blended raise in overnight purses compared to last year, as well as a continuation of the popular 'Ship & Win' program that has amplified field size and year-round horse population at the track and in the state, Del Mar announced Tuesday. The 15-day stand, which will run through Sunday, Nov. 28, includes the 38th edition of the Breeders' Cup World Championships Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6. "Our summer meet was extraordinary on all fronts," said track...

This year's G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Prix Rothschild winner Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) will be re-routed from next month's Golden Eagle in Australia to the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar on Nov. 6 to take the place of Ballydoyle's dual Grade I winner Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {Ire}), who is likely to miss the meeting after suffering a setback. "Unfortunately Santa Barbara has had a setback," said trainer Aidan O'Brien. "It doesn't look at the moment as if she's going to make the Breeders' Cup. We've now rerouted...

Edited Press Release COVID-19 travel restrictions into the United States by foreign visitors from 33 countries, including the United Kingdom and European Union, will be eased starting in November, according to a White House announcement Monday. The move is expected to clear the way to make it easier for foreign nationals to attend important equine-related events in the United States like the Breeders' Cup World Championships in California and the November breeding stock sales at Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland in Kentucky. The new rules will require all foreign nationals from the...

The Week In Review, by Bill Finley The Breeders' Cup announced Saturday that it had begun a review process to determine whether or not trainer Bob Baffert will be allowed to compete in this year's championship event. The outcome of that review is pending. "The Breeders' Cup Board has commenced a review process as to whether Bob Baffert will be permitted to participate in this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships," read a statement from the Breeders' Cup. "The process will include an opportunity for Mr. Baffert to present his case...

European shipper Yibir carried the blue Godolphin silks to victory in the Jockey Club Derby Invitational S., securing a spot in the starting gate for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf in the process. Off a step slow, the chestnut caboosed the field early as Tango Tango Tango (Tourist) was pressed by fellow longshot Slicked Back through early splits of :25.37, :49.45 and 1:14.46. Still last on the backstretch run, Yibir swung out five wide turning for home and instantly inhaled his rivals, charging clear for a dominant victory. "We've been...

The Breeders' Cup Board of Directors unanimously elected Barbara Banke as Board Chairman Friday night, the organization announced Saturday. Banke, the owner of Stonestreet Farms in Lexington and chairman of Jackson Family Wines, becomes the first woman to chair Breeders' Cup Limited and succeeds Fred Hertrich III. Banke, whose will serve a two-year term as Chairman, was first elected as a Breeders' Cup Member in 2012 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2014. Gainesway Farm's Antony Beck was elected for a two-year term as Vice Chairman. "It...

Charlie Appleby makes the trip across the pond with a strong chance to earn a spot in the gate for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf when he sends out Albahr (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in Woodbine's GI Summer S. Sunday. Graduating at second asking at Haydock June 9, the Godolphin homebred followed suit with a decisive score at that oval July 17 and captured the Stonehenge S. at Salisbury Aug. 20. Frankie Dettori also makes the trip to Canada to ride. Mark Casse has won this event four times, including...

John Shear, who retired from his post as Santa Anita Park's paddock guard this year at age 100, will be honored along with retired Del Mar publicist Dan Smith, Turf writer Lenny Shulman and radio personality Steve Byk during the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters' 61st annual Awards Dinner Wednesday, Nov. 3. The NTWAB Awards Dinner is the organization's only fundraiser and a portion of the proceeds of the event are used toward scholarships for prospective racing journalists and to support other Thoroughbred industry charities. The NTWAB Awards Dinner returns...

The lineup for the 2021 Breeders' Cup Festival, presented by PNC Bank, was announced Tuesday. The week-long series of events and activations will run Nov. 1-6, 2021, with events preceding and following the 38th annual World Championships, which takes place Nov. 5-6, 2021, at Del Mar. "In addition to featuring the greatest horse racing in the world, Breeders' Cup showcases the host city's best local food, entertainment and culture. We're excited to be back at Del Mar for a second time, and we look forward to offering our fans a...

For New York-based trainer Pat Reynolds, it was supposed to be a quiet day, as quiet as it gets at the New York racetracks. September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday, a dark day in New York, and Reynolds was hoping that he could cut his day short after working one of his better horses at the time, Peeping Tom, that morning at Belmont Park. Instead, he was soon heading head first into a nightmare. Just a few minutes after the first plane had struck the World Trade Center, someone called...

Ask David Jerkens, Del Mar's racing secretary, what he considers a key ingredient to the success of the coastal venue's latest summer season, which wrapped Monday, and his answer is a testament to the early bird. "There was lots of enthusiasm--I could go way back to March, when my phone was ringing with questions regarding our 'Ship & Win' program," said Jerkens, of a particular bait, now into its 11th year, used to hook out-of-state runners. "I just felt that buzz around Del Mar earlier than normal." All told, the...

David Richardson, M.D., a distinguished Kentucky-based surgeon who owned and bred Thoroughbreds for nearly half a century and was known as a thoughtful, cerebral racing regulator whose zeal for the sport shone through in his volunteer service on numerous industry-related boards, died Sept. 7 in Saratoga Springs, New York, after developing pneumonia related to COVID-19. Richardson had been briefly hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Saratoga Hospital; he was believed to be 76 years old. Chauncey Morris, the executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners...