Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup launched a new digital fan contest tied to Saturday's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The campaign gives fans the chance to win $5,000 by selecting the Kentucky Derby winning horse. "This year's Run for the Roses will feature the top three finishers from the 2020 TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and this free-to-play contest is the perfect way to further engage with racing fans while also building anticipation for the upcoming Breeders' Cup Challenge Series and ultimately the World Championships later this fall," said Breeders' Cup Senior Vice...
The 2021 "Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In--presented by America's Best Racing" television schedule, consisting of 12 live programs featuring more than 20 automatic qualifying races and other major stakes from six of the nation's premier racetracks on the road to the Breeders' Cup World Championships, was announced by the Breeders' Cup and NBC Sports Wednesday. Now in its eighth year on NBC Sports, the series showcases the top horses as they vie for a coveted automatic berth, and free entry, into the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships,...
The HorsePlayers Happy Hour Tour, hosted by In the Money Media, will begin Thursday, Apr. 8, at 3:00 p.m. ET, Breeders' Cup announced in a press release. The HorsePlayers Tour will coincide with the HorsePlayers Happy Hour livestream, featuring ITMM's Matt Bernier, Peter Fornatale and Jonathon Kinchen. Each week fans at home can play along with the ITMM team for a chance to earn tour points and qualify for the season-ending playoffs. One $10,000 Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge seat will be awarded to the player that finishes first on the...
Danon Smash (Jpn) finally broke through at the highest level in Japan with a neck defeat of boom mare Resistencia (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) in Chukyo's G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen on Sunday. The Danox Inc. colourbearer followed in his sire's hoofprints, who captured the 1200-metre grass feature in 2013. Sent off at 5-1, the Takayuki Yasuda trainee assumed position off the fence near the back of the field as the 2020 Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner Mozu Superflare (Speightstown) rocketed straight to the front. That rival remained glued to the fence and set...
Del Mar has released its 2021 summer stakes schedule, with purse increases for 21 of its races making the total program worth 30% more than 2020. The GI TVG Pacific Classic will be worth $750,000--an increase of $250,000--when it is run Aug. 21. The purse of the GII Del Mar Mile has increased $150,000 to $300,000. Receiving $100,000 increases are the GII Del Mar H. (up to $300,000) and the July 17 GII San Diego H. (now worth $250,000). "This is one of the strongest stakes schedules in Del Mar's...
The 2021 Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" Challenge Series races will be run without Lasix, it was announced Wednesday. Breeders' Cup officials also revealed that graded stakes points for the purposes of selection by committee into a Breeders' Cup race will only be awarded for graded races that are contested Lasix-free. Horses that raced on the 'Future Stars Friday' program of the 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championships were forbidden from running on Lasix, in addition to a large number of juvenile races across the country over the course of...
Members of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition Steering Committee voted unanimously to adopt four new medical and operational reforms to further reduce the use of medication in racing, enhance consistency across racing jurisdictions and promote transparency, according to a press release from the organization Monday. The Thoroughbred Safety Coalition is an industry-led effort to advance safety measures in Thoroughbred racing. "These new reforms set the stage for another productive year of advancing meaningful changes to strengthen the culture of safety in thoroughbred racing," said the release. The following recommended reforms have...
It's Irad Ortiz, Jr.'s world and we're all just living in it. The 28-year-old from Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico who has grown up into a superstar before the racing world's eyes continued his dominance in 2020, leading to a third consecutive Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey. While his total earnings dipped over $10 million from his 2020 sum, that can be almost entirely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the cancellation of much of the racing calendar through March and April and dramatic purse cuts that plagued the...
Vequist (Nyquist) cemented her status as the leader of what appeared to be an open division earlier in the fall with a decisive score in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 6. The dark bay finished second in her July 29 debut at Parx, but her connections clearly had plenty of faith in her after that effort, sending her to Saratoga for the GI Spinaway S. Sept. 6. She demolished the field that day, earning her diploma by 9 1/2 lengths and becoming her freshman sire's first Grade I...
In just its first 14 years of running, the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile has emerged as a stallion-making race and in recent years, its winners are making top headlines as they kick off their stud careers. Goldencents (Into Mischief), winner of both the 2013 and 2014 edition, now leads his class of third-crop sires. The following year's winner, Liam's Map (Unbridled's Song), is already a two-time Grade I producer with his first crop of 3-year-olds while 2016 champion Tamarkuz (Speightstown) now has a Grade III winner in his first...
In Moment of 2020, the staff of TDN Europe reflect on their favourite moments in racing for the year. The Breeders' Cup is always a meeting that I particularly enjoy; it is a time when my keen interests in both European and American racing come together. The Breeders' Cup always involves some incredible clashes of the continents, and it is the most international meeting when you consider participation and the gravity that both sides place on it. The 2020 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland included a remarkably strong European presence, with...
Champion and MG1SW Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}-Halfway to Heaven {Ire}, by Pivotal {GB}) has been retired, Coolmore announced via Twitter on Tuesday. She will join the Coolmore broodmare band, but a 2021 stallion has not been decided upon. In her latest start, the 5-year-old finished third in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup on Dec. 13 for trainer Aidan O'Brien. "Brilliant seven-time Group 1 winner Magical (Galileo) has been retired and will join the broodmare band at Coolmore Stud," the tweet read. "Mating Plans [are] yet to be decided." Bred...