Breeders' Cup

X-Men Racing 2 LLC and SF Racing's Last Call (English Channel) broke her maiden in style with a 21-1 upset in the GI Natalma S. at Woodbine, a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November at Keeneland. Second on debut at this venue July 23, Last Call was fourth last out going seven panels over this course Aug. 20. Dismissed by the bettors while shedding blinkers here, the $30,000 KEESEP acquisition was unhurried early, racing in second last off the rail as Star...

Three Grade I events, all of which are Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' qualifiers, north of the border at Woodbine will take the spotlight among nine graded stakes this Saturday as the racing calendar transitions to fall with all of the major summer meets now wrapped up. The $1-million GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile serves, along with the Queen's Plate, as the centerpiece of the Woodbine meet, and this year's renewal features an 11-horse field that includes last year's winner Town Cruise (Town Prize), who will be looking to bounce...

Red Knight blew up the tote at 15-1 in the GII Kentucky Turf Cup S. at Kentucky Downs Saturday, earning a spot in the gate for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf in November. Breaking sharply from his inside post, the chestnut settled back near the rear with just three of his 11 rivals beat through an opening half-mile in :49.72. Inching up a bit, but still biding his time through three-quarters in 1:14.52, Red Knight snuck up the outside to be within striking distance approaching the far turn. Four wide...

The $1 million GII Kentucky Turf Cup S. and $1 million GII FanDuel Turf Sprint S. headline NBC Sports' Breeders' Cup Challenge Series coverage this Saturday at Kentucky Downs, live on CNBC at 5:00 p.m. ET. Coverage will be led by host Ahmed Fareed, analyst and handicapper Matt Bernier, and reporter Nick Luck. The hour-long telecast is the sixth program this year in the "Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In--presented by America's Best Racing" on NBC, Peacock, and CNBC from some of North America's most iconic racetracks. The...

On this week's episode of Bettor Things with Joe Bianca, the host welcomes Seth Merrow, a public handicapper for the industry-leading Capital OTB channel and administrator of Equidaily, a popular racing news aggregation and handicapping site. Merrow talks about growing up a half-hour from Saratoga and the way he's seen the track change over the years, the challenges of being a public handicapper, the current state of racing journalism and more. In his Breeders' Cup handicapping segment, Bianca lays out plays for Saturday's GII FanDuel Turf Sprint S. and GII Kentucky...

It appears that the door is open more than just a crack when it comes to whether or not racing's superstar Flightline (Tapit) will race next year as a 5-year-old. Appearing as the Green Group Guest of the Week on this week's Thoroughbred Daily News Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, Kosta Hronis, a co-owner of Flightline, said there was a "great possibility" that Flightline would race in 2023 rather than beginning his stallion career. "Just like with Stellar Wind (Curlin), which we left on the track an extra year,...

Trainer John Sadler said superstar Flightline (Tapit) came out of his devastating 19 1/4-length romp in Saturday's GI TVG Pacific Classic in good order. "We're literally talking 14 hours [since the race] but this early, he looks perfect," Sadler said. For Sadler, the most impressive aspect of Flightline's record rout was the way he opened up on the rest of the field. "Obviously, I was thrilled about him putting them away on the [far] turn," Sadler says. "That was really exciting, probably the most fun part. I was just so...

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley Some more thoughts on Flightline (Tapit) while trying to come up with the right superlative to describe his win in the GI TVG Pacific Classic. Words like spectacular, stunning, sensational just don't seem good enough. (*) It's tempting to try to compare him to Secretariat. The thing is, that's simply impossible. One has run just five times, the other ran 21 times, won the Triple Crown, was a two-time Horse of the Year and had his picture on the covers of Time, Newsweek...

On this week's episode of Bettor Things with Joe Bianca, the host talks to handicapper, owner/breeder and former racetrack executive CJ Johnsen about betting, sports, music and more. Johnsen, who is currently the vice president at CJ Thoroughbreds, is best known for guiding the remarkable transformation of Kentucky Downs from an afterthought on the racing calendar to a marquee stand with what equates to paradise for horseplayers: big fields and low takeout. Then, in the latest installment of his Breeders' Cup handicapping series, Bianca lays out plays for Saratoga's GI...

Joe Bianca talks to handicapper, owner/breeder and former racetrack executive CJ Johnsen about betting, sports, music and more, then Joe lays out plays for Saratoga's Jockey Club Gold Cup and Flower Bowl, two Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" challenge races.

'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit), who puts his unblemished 4-for-4 career mark on the line in Saturday's GI TVG Pacific Classic at Del Mar, has been made the 5-2 favorite for the second and final future wagers on this year's GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic to be held at Keeneland Saturday, Nov. 5. The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Future Wager is a $2 minimum and features win betting only. Second favorite for the Future Wager is Epicenter (Not This Time), who saw his Classic stock rise with a comprehensive victory...

Can an Iowa-bred who sold for just $34,000 as a yearling, one who has never raced outside Prairie Meadows or in a graded stakes race, an Iowa-bred that is ridden by a female apprentice jockey and named for an 8-year-old who has been battling leukemia win a Breeders' Cup race? We are about to find out. Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) may not be the best 2-year-old in training, but no juvenile anywhere this year has thrashed his competition to the extent that this gelding has. After winning last Saturday's Prairie...