Breeders' Cup

LEXINGTON, KY - Juan Leyva has a first-class 'Flight' for this year's Championships. The assistant trainer to John Sadler and former Breeders' Cup winning-jockey is the regular morning partner of unbeaten sensation and 3-5 Classic morning-line favorite Flightline (Tapit). The highest-rated racehorse in the world has won his first five starts by an astounding combined margin of 62 3/4 lengths, led by a jaw-dropping 19 1/4-length win while making his two-turn debut in the GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar. Getting the monster that is Flightline to harness some of...

The Breeders' Cup returns to Keeneland with five championship races on a 'Future Stars Friday' card. The TDN staff took a deep dive into each race to compile our special Breeders' Cup Friday edition. Get ready for all the action here: TDN's 2022 Friday Breeders' Cup Preview 2022. And we will have all the information you need for Saturday's championship card Wednesday. Morning-line favorites on the 'Future Stars Friday' program: The Platinum Queen (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) (Juvenile Turf Sprint) (7-2); Chocolate Gelato (Practical Joke) (Juvenile Fillies) (7-2); Meditate (Ire) (No...

The Breeders' Cup has created a new "Classic Pick 'Em" Contest in which fans will have a chance to compete for a $10,000 grand prize by selecting their pick to win the 2022 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Saturday, Nov. 5. The contest will allow fans to select one horse to win the Classic, with the winner of the $10,000 cash prize to be randomly selected from among those who choose the correct horse. Additional winners will be selected for a $5,000 and $2,500 prize. "We're always looking to engage...

Tuesday marked the first day the seven-strong Aidan O'Brien string got a taste of the Keeneland track ahead of the two-day Breeders' Cup on Nov. 4-5. Leading the Coolmore partners septet after their quarantine period was Group 1 winner Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and G3 Derby Trial S. hero Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who both line up in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf and will leave from stalls four and three, respectively. Second in the 2021 Turf to Godolphin and Charlie Appleby's Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) at Del...

Dreamloper's owner-breeder Olivia Hoare has admitted to being overcome with emotion ahead of a trip of a lifetime to the Breeders' Cup to see her dual Group 1-winning homebred bow out from racing on the biggest stage of all. Trained by Ed Walker to win two top-flight races at ParisLongchamp this season, Dreamloper (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) is likely to race for the final time in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile given the 5-year-old is entered up in the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale next week. The decision to...

While all eyes were on where undefeated superstar Flightline (Tapit) would be slotted at Monday's Breeders' Cup draw, and overall the dirt races this weekend have gotten a bit more attention, the fields for the turf contests also bring plenty of interesting storylines. George Krikorian's War Like Goddess (English Channel) was the beaten favorite when finishing a close third in last year's GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, and received that betting attention because of her utter dominance over her fellow American turf mares. This year, trainer...

Members of the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) are once again working diligently to provide the highest level of security for the world's best Thoroughbreds that have assembled for the 2022 Breeders' Cup. With a handpicked team of some 30 investigators, the BC Equine Security Team (BCEST) hails from all corners of the United States, and also includes international representation from Canada and Ireland. Working closely with a local company of security personnel, the BCEST will provide 24-hour round-the-clock care for the horses that will be running on Friday November...

Veteran owner/breeder Imad Al Sagar is hoping for a positive run from his dual Group 1 winner Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Keeneland on Saturday. They bay, who was third in the G1 Cazoo Oaks prior to taking the G1 Prix de Diane in June and the G1 Nassau S. in July, enters the 1 3/16-mile race on the back of a good second-place run in the G1 Prix de l'Opera in October. She will leave from stall three...

LEXINGTON, KY -  Mike Repole is heading into Breeders' Cup weekend with 'Uncle Mo' on his side. After fulfilling a lifelong dream by running one-two in the GI Belmont S. with the recently retired and Spendthrift-bound Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and Nest (Curlin)--one of Repole's seven Grade I victories on the year--the momentum has continued to build for the native New Yorker's stable ahead of this year's Championships at Keeneland. 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) and Chocolate Gelato (Practical Joke), two of the bigger names on the 'Future Stars Friday'...

This week I attended World Series Games Three and Four in Philadelphia. Those that know me would not be surprised as I am a life-long devoted Phillies fan. This weekend my champion sports enjoyment continues with the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland. I will relish both events with family and friends. This has been a favorite time of the year of late as these two great events have overlapped. My enthusiasm for this week got me thinking. I love sports. I always have. I love rooting in person, watching on TV,...

by Tom Rooney The Thoroughbred breeding and racing world is descending on central Kentucky this week. The excitement is palpable, Lexington is abuzz, and anticipation is building each day as we get closer to this weekend's Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland. And while this event will begin the wind down to the 2022 racing calendar, I am reflecting on my first year as President and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA). While I've been a Thoroughbred enthusiast my entire life, this is the first year where I've...

Wesley Ward would be the first to admit that he has a soft spot for his globe-trotting Breeders' Cup contender Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB} - Janina {GB}, by Namid {GB}). "It's hard not to like a filly that has accomplished what she has," he said with a smile. "Just from being around her, you know how special she is." For over two years, Campanelle has been a consistent presence in Ward's converted tobacco barn adjacent to the Keeneland grounds. The Stonestreet Stables representative has thrived on racing's biggest stages throughout...