Breeders' Cup

In advance of the major Thoroughbred auctions scheduled in January and February of next year, the Breeders' Cup announced Monday that it has extended the late nomination deadline for all 2020 North American foals to Feb. 28, 2021. This late foal nomination will be the last opportunity for horsemen to nominate weanlings of 2020 to the Breeders' Cup program at a fee of $1,500. The $1,500 nomination entitles each foal with lifetime racing eligibility to the Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup racing programs. All foals sired by...

Strengthened by victories from She's a Julie (Elusive Quality), Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Essential Quality (Tapit), Godolphin has won its third consecutive John Deere Award, honoring the outstanding breeder of the 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. The John Deere Award, presented by Breeders' Cup Limited and NTRA Advantage, emphasizes the contributions of breeders to the Breeders' Cup program. The industry's breeders provide funding for the purses for the World Championships through the annual nominations of foals and stallions. NTRA Advantage and John...

Editor's Note: In Monday's TDN, Bill Finley made reference to Mark Casse's comments on Clenbuterol in a Mar. 2 Op/Ed in the TDN. Casse sent us this note in response. Much has changed since my Mar. 2 Op/Ed with regards to Clenbuterol. Canada made big changes to their Clenbuterol policy and, as a result, we have seen almost none of the nonsensical form reversals that had haunted us in the past at Woodbine in 2020. I was elated to see the Clenbuterol changes for 2021 in the Mid-Atlantic region. Also,...

The announcement last week that GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup winner and likely Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief) had been retired was disappointing, but very much expected. It would have been nice to see him run another year, but it was never going to happen. From the business side of the sport, there was no other call, not when you have a son of super sire Into Mischief who will stand for $75,000 and likely go to 200-plus mares. Unless there is a seismic shift in...

Voting for this year's Secretariat 'Vox Populi' Horse of 2020 Award is now underway online at Secretariat.com or AmericasBestRacing.net. Created by Secretariat's late owner Penny Chenery, the Vox Populi, or "Voice of the People," award recognizes the racehorse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the public and gained recognition for the sport during the past year. Fans can vote on one of five nominees selected by the award's committee, or choose a write-in option, through Nov. 30. The nominees are: GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic...

Last Saturday at Keeneland was a banner day for the European Breeders' Cup raiders, who won all four of the races on turf. While Aidan O'Brien, who trained the first three home in the Breeders' Cup Mile, has enjoyed his fair share of success at the meeting over the years, there was first-time victories for Dermot Weld, James Fanshawe and Kevin Ryan. Fanshawe's Pegasus Stables welcomed home Alison Swinburn's Filly & Mare Turf winner Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) on Thursday and, while she will soon be off on her...

Already considered one of the hottest barns in America heading into Breeders' Cup weekend, Brad Cox's stable provided an exclamation point to a monster 2020 season with a whopping four World Championship victories at Keeneland. Now leading all conditioners with 28 graded stakes wins this year and a legitimate threat to unseat four-time defending champion trainer Chad Brown at the Eclipse Awards, Cox joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Cox explained his barn's breakout success...

Prior to the running of the Nov. 7 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland, a photo eye at the start of the race was inadvertently tripped, which resulted in an error when attempting to operate the timing system manually causing inaccurate timing for all fractions and the final time of the race. A final time of 1:59.19 was initially provided by Equibase using the available video replay. After subsequent and more detailed review and timing of the race from multiple sources and camera angles, Keeneland and Equibase have determined...

Serengeti Empress (Alternation--Havisham, by Bernardini), second to Gamine (Into Mischief) in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint S. Saturday at Keeneland, has been retired and will be bred to Into Mischief, according to a tweet from trainer Tom Amoss's daughter Hayley Amoss Wednesday morning. "Said goodbye to Serengeti Empress yesterday with plenty of peppermints," tweeted Amoss, with a photo of herself and the filly taken in front of her stall Tuesday morning. "Sad that she will no longer be in the first stall at Tom Amoss's barn, but...

Multiple Grade I-winning turf mare Got Stormy (Get Stormy--Super Phoebe, by Malabar Gold) started the 'Night of the Stars' fireworks Sunday at Fasig-Tipton November when hammering for $2.75 million to Spendthrift Farm as hip 168, consigned by Bluewater Sales. A winner over boys off seven days' rest in the GI Fourstardave H. last summer, the chestnut added a victory in the GI Matriarch S. and runner-up finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile. She scored in the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint S. and GIII Franklin County S. this season...

It's been a difficult few months for Bob Baffert, who acknowledged as much after Authentic (Into Mischief) won the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic and wrapped up the Horse-of-the-Year title on a terrific day of racing at Keeneland. He seemed every bit as relieved as he was excited, enjoying a moment where he could divert his focus from Scopolamine, drug positives out of Oaklawn or the latest hit job from the New York Times. It seemed that a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "That was awesome. I tell...

Irad Ortiz, Jr. earned his third Bill Shoemaker Award following his two wins on Breeders' Cup championship weekend. Ortiz won the GI Sprint aboard Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) and the GII Juvenile Turf Sprint with Golden Pal (Uncle Mo). The Shoemaker Award goes to the jockey who won the most races in the 14 World Championship races with the tiebreaker being a 10-3-1 point system for second- through fourth-place finishes. Ortiz was one of five jockeys to win two races during the championship weekend. In addition to his two victories, Ortiz...