Del Mar

Having created history at the Breeders' Cup with a pair of winners the last time the championships were held at Del Mar back in 2021, Japan comes into this year's event with an even stronger hand. Some 19 horses based in Japan have made the trip over, headed by GI Kentucky Derby third Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}, the third ante-post betting favorite for the $7-million GI Breeders' Cup Classic. It is no secret that for many years, Japanese breeders have shopped the U.S. bloodstock market, acquiring some of...

The first pool of the 2025 Kentucky Derby Future Wager opens Wednesday, Oct. 30 at noon and features 10-1 individual favorite in 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Breeders' Futurity winner East Avenue (Medaglia d'Oro). The pool includes 38 individual betting interests as well as options for "All Fillies Foaled in 2022" and "All Other Colts and Geldings Foaled in 2022." Bettors can place $2 Win and Exacta wagers on horses in Pool 1 with betting to conclude Friday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. before the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile is...

GI Breeders' Cup Classic contender 'TDN Rising Star' GISW Newgate (Into Mischief), along with three other horses pre-entered in this weekend's championships at Del Mar, worked Sunday morning at Santa Anita. Firing his second bullet in a row going five furlongs, this time in :58.80, the Bob Baffert-trainee shared the top ranking on the morning with John Sadler runner GSP-Arg & GISP Full Serrano (Arg) (Full Mast). In the Classic, Newgate will be making his second start since returning from a six-month layoff after a ninth-place finish in the G1...

Three-time Grade I winner Gina Romantica (Into Mischief) will miss an intended engagement in Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar, according to the organization's social media post on X Sunday. Bred by Machmer Hall and campaigned by Peter Brant, the $1.025 million Keeneland September purchase repeated on the GI First Lady Stakes at Keeneland in her most recent start on Oct. 5. Earlier this season, the Chad Brown trainee finished runner-up in Saratoga's GII Ballston Spa Stakes and third at that venue in the GI Diana Stakes. She...

A bevy of horses pre-entered in next weekend's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar worked Saturday at Santa Anita. Out in force were horses trained by Bob Baffert and Phil D'Amato, who combined pre-entered 18 horses to the 41st Breeders' Cup. D'Amato worked all eight of his Breeders' Cup pre-entrants. One Magic Philly (Good Magic) (Filly & Mare Sprint), winner of the GIII Chillingworth Stakes last out, and Vodka With a Twist (Thousand Words) (Juvenile Fillies), second in the GI Del Mar Debutante, worked in company. One Magic Philly was clocked...

Tuning up for next Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar, four-time Grade I winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) breezed five furlongs beneath regular exercise rider Danny Ramsey in 1:01.24 (1/3) over Saratoga's Oklahoma training track Saturday morning. The move was recorded in company with her multiple stakes-placed Ken McPeek-trained stablemate and 4-year-old gelding Denington (Gun Runner). After purchasing a total of 21 yearlings earlier this month--five at the Tattersalls October Yearling sale and 16 at the Fasig-Tipton October Yearling sale--McPeek was back in town...

Eclipse Champion Idiomatic (Curlin--Lockdown, by First Defence) was found to be lame in her left knee Friday morning with an issue that should heal readily, according to a Juddmonte Farms press release early Friday. The homebred has been ruled out for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff where she was set to take on MGISW Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). Juddmonte has decided to retire the 5-year-old mare to the breeding shed. This is the first time she has been sidelined over the course of three seasons of racing. Idiomatic won...

Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) will be at Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup World Championships as the official aftercare partner and will host several events, the non-profit said in a release Friday morning. TAA will be represented with two named races on Friday of Breeders' Cup weekend. Race 2, The GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. PT/3:10 p.m. ET. The GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance will be run at 4:45 p.m. PT/7:45 p.m. ET. After each race, a presentation will be...

Breeders' Cup Limited has launched a text-to-donate program ahead of next weekend's races to benefit Thoroughbred aftercare in the lead-up to the 2024 Breeders' Cup World Championships held Nov. 1-2 at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, the program announced Thursday. The Breeders' Cup will match up to $10,000 to support the program. Beginning Oct. 24, patrons can donate directly to the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, the official aftercare partner of the Breeders' Cup World Championships by texting BC4TAA to 56651. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance accredits, inspects and awards grants...

Owner Paul Teasdale of RP Racing has described Big Evs (Ire) as "a horse of a lifetime" as the Mick Appleby-trained colt prepares for his career swansong in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar on Saturday, November 2. Named after Paul Evans, a friend of Teasdale who died of lung cancer in 2022, Big Evs won four of his six starts in a memorable two-year-old campaign, including at Royal Ascot where he shed his maiden tag with victory in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes. Group-race successes followed...

Bolstered by a record 80 entries from the connections of horses based overseas--smashing the previous mark of 60 set just last year--some 212 horses have been pre-entered for the 2024 Breeders' Cup World Championships to be held Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1 and 2. For the third time, the festival will take place at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, which hosted the event for the first time in 2017 and again in 2021. "The record number of outstanding international contenders pre-entered this year speaks to the truly global nature of...

Officials at Breeders' Cup Limited have released the official order of races, post times and wagering menu for the 2024 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1 and 2, including slight changes from the race order announced earlier this month. The $7-million GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be broadcast live on NBC and streamed on Peacock remains the centerpiece of championship Saturday, with post time set for 2:41 p.m. PT to take advantage of a 2 1/2-hour window on NBC. There are four Breeders'...