Breeders' Cup

All five stakes winners on Saturday's card at Santa Anita--GI American Pharoah Stakes winner Intrepido (Maximus Mischief), GII Oak Leaf Stakes winner Explora (Blame), GII Rodeo Drive Stakes winner Mission of Joy (Kitten's Joy), GIII Chillingworth Stakes winner Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) and Speakeasy Stakes winner Later Than Planned (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB})--were reported to be doing well Sunday and will move on to the Breeders' Cup. "He's got a lot of class," trainer Jeff Mullins said of Intrepido, who earned an automatic berth in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile with...

Trainers Will Walden and Robbie Medina likely booked their first Breeders' Cup starters with stakes winners at Keeneland over the weekend. Walden earned his first Grade I win when Rhetorical (Not This Time) came home first in the GI Coolmore Turf Mile Saturday. "He ran big and we are so proud of him," Walden said of Rhetorical, who returned to Churchill Downs Saturday night. "He was doing so good and training better than he ever has. We use a lot of metrics with our horses and he was just off...

Miguel Clement sent out a pair of runners to earn automatic berths in Breeders' Cup races with wins at Aqueduct this past weekend and the trainer expects both to make the trip to Del Mar, but other conditioners were taking a wait-and-see approach before committing their Aqueduct stakes winners to championship weekend. The Clement-trained Bottas (Vekoma) took his record to two-for-two with a win in the GII Pilgrim Stakes Friday. That victory earned him a spot in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. "Bottas was very impressive in just his...

The final round of preps for the Breeders' Cup took place this weekend and there was no shortage of stories or races. There were 26 graded stakes run from Friday through Sunday and nine of them were Grade I's. As always, this weekend helped to clear up the Breeders' Cup picture. Here's a look at what happened: GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile: You had three races, the GI Champagne, the GI Breeders' Futurity and the GI American Pharoah and each race featured a potential superstar in Ted Noffey (Into Mischief), Desert...

Each of the three graded stakes contested on FallStars Friday at Keeneland earned the winners a fees-paid berth into their respective races at the Breeders' Cup meeeting Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, and the horses' connections indicated that it's all systems go for Del Mar in four weeks' time. 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Tommy Jo (Into Mischief) crossed the line second in the GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes, but was elevated to the victory by the stewards, who ruled that she was interfered with by Percy's Bar (Upstart) seriously...

It was a lengthy review of the stretch run, but in the end the Stewards elevated heavy favorite Tommy Jo (Into Mischief) to her second top-level victory in the GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland. Percy's Bar (Upstart), who originally crossed the wire first, was placed second after the Stewards found she impeded Tommy Jo late in the stretch. Tommy Jo was crowned a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' after a sensational debut at Saratoga July 26 when she went right to the front and never looked back, dominating...

The 35th running of the GII Jessamine Stakes--a 'Win and You're In' race for the GI John Deere Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar--was the graded coming out party for Imaginationthelady (Not This Time--Romanticism, by War Front) who punched her ticket to the seaside oval at the end of the month and the filly also led a Not This Time Trifecta for her sire at Keeneland on Friday. A $300,000 Keeneland September buy, the juvenile broke her maiden by 1 1/2 lengths at first asking over the Kentucky...

It was a two-horse race almost right from the gate, but Intricate Spirit (Complexity) overtook the longtime leader late to stamp a ticket to the Breeders' Cup in the GIII Futurity Stakes at the Belmont Big A meet. The Miguel Clement-trainee was unveiled Aug. 1 upstate at Saratoga with a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'-worthy performance ahead of a next out winner at Kentucky Downs. He too took a swing at the boutique meet Aug. 28 and finished second by three-quarters of a length to Street Beast (Street Sense),...

Cygames, Inc., a Japanese video game company, has extended its partnership with the Breeders' Cup World Championships, remaining title sponsor of the $2-million GI Sprint, according to a release from the Breeders' Cup Thursday. The partnership was secured in collaboration with leading media rights and venue development company JMI Sports and B-Bridge International. "We are very pleased to continue and expand our partnership with Cygames," said Heather Higgins, Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships for Breeders' Cup Limited. "This enhanced collaboration demonstrates both of our organizations' shared commitment to delivering...

Two-hundred ten main catalogue entries, including the likes of reigning Broodmare of the Year Puca, have been catalogued for the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, the company's selected mixed sale to be held in Lexington, Kentucky on Monday, November 3, following the Breeders' Cup. The single-session sale will begin at 4 p.m. "The Fasig-Tipton November Sale is the world's premier breeding stock event, where the sport's finest bloodstock is offered in one spectacular, star-studded evening session after the Breeders' Cup," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "This year's catalogue once again lives up...

Sponsored by Pedigrees360 They understand how it goes with livestock, of course, and have enjoyed many clusters of high fortune as well. But the loss of Wootton Bassett must still seem a callous twist of fate to a Coolmore team that has also, within the last year, grieved the abrupt death of Uncle Mo, equivalent talisman on their Kentucky roster. True, an unapologetic commitment to volume--extending, in this case, to shuttling a 17-year-old to Australia--means that neither of these sires will be lacking a footprint by which to extend their...

The Breeders' Cup will offer a new sweepstakes, "The Champion's Ticket," awarding one fan and their guest with the ultimate VIP journey--an all-expenses-paid trip to both the 2026 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course and the 2027 Championships at the newly re-imagined Belmont Park. Two second prize winners will win tickets to the 2026 edition at Keeneland. Fans can enter for free here through 11:59 PM ET on Nov. 30, 2025 with winners selected at random on or before Dec. 12, 2025. "This is our most ambitious VIP...