The Saturday Cup program got underway with the 2nd running of the Damascus Stakes, and Smart Bid rallied for the win under Jeremy Rose. Graham Motion saddled the winner.
Remember to click on the name of each Cup winner to view a replay.
The first of eight Breeders’ Cup races on Saturday went to Pounced, who did just that in the Turf Sprint. Chalk up another win for the euros. Bridgetown set the pace and held the place by a head over Interactif. Frankie Dettori booted home the John Gosden trainee.
California Flag was cooked on the pace …read more

The 2nd day of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be starting shortly, so let’s take a quick look at each event. Click on the name of each Cup race for a Horse Racing Nation preview.
Juvenile Turf: The favorite in this race is Interactif. He has done nothing wrong on the turf yet. If speed is still strong on the turf, then Bridgetown could be a live pace player.
Turf Sprint: A wide open event. Again, if speed rules, then California Flag rates a gander, along with Canadian Ballet. The downhill turf course at Santa Anita is …read more

The first day of the Breeders’ Cup is in the books, and below is a recap of the Friday card. Click on the name of each Cup winner to view the replay.
The first two races on BC Friday were non-Cup events, starting with an optional claiming route on Pro-Ride, which was captured by Deal Breaker (Bejarano-Mitchell). The winner stalked the pace, and note that runner-up Mr. Hot Stuff was a Triple Crown series also-ran.
Optional claiming sprint in the 2nd, and Mike Mitchell saddled back-to-back winners. Miss McCall wired the field under Tyler Baze.
2nd running of …read more

With the 2-day Breeders’ Cup starting tomorrow at Santa Anita, we are having a live chat at Horse Racing Nation. Join us tonight and tomorrow night for a frank discussion on the Cup.

Starting soon at Horse Racing Nation is our first of two live Breeders’ Cup Handicapping chats. Join our top handicappers in a round table discussion of the Friday races at Santa Anita.

Check out the live chat starting at 9pm EST by going to this link…

http://www.horseracingnation.com/content/live_chat

We’re excited to talk about the races, find some longshots and figure out how to make some money! We’ll also do …read more

Indian Blessing, ‘08 Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint runner-up, has decided to take a pass on that same race this year. Her conditioner Bob Baffert has reportedly not been happy with her recent training. She is better on conventional dirt, but it is too bad she is skipping the Cup.
In other Breeders Cup news, Classic contender Summer Bird worked between races at Santa Anita on Oct 25th. He went five furlongs in 1:00.45 under regular rider Kent Desormeaux. As is always the case in works leading up to big races, the connections were …read more

Keeneland Recap – Oct 9th
The Polytrack was fast as always. The two turf races were transferred to the synthetic surface. The two 6f races favored speed. Stalkers best in the three 7f races carded. Patient runners best in the five route races on the afternoon.
Hat trick for Rajiv Maragh. Albarado also pulled off the hat trick, and he booted home a pair for trainer Ken McPeek.
Grade 3 Phoenix: Synthetic lover Fatal Bullet, the ‘08 Breeders’ Cup sprint runner-up, probably punched his ticket to Santa Anita with a game prominent throughout half-length tally. He looms a pace factor on …read more

The 2009 Oak Tree @ Santa Anita meet kicks off on Sept 30th, and the highlight will be the 2-day Breeders’ Cup festivities on November 6th and 7th.
Fairplex Park wrapped up their meet on Monday, and my Pick 9 ticket ended up with four winners. Nobody correctly tabbed nine winners during the 15-day fair stand, and tickets with seven on the final day were rewarded with $51k.
Back to Oak Tree, and the opening day feature race is the Grade 3 Morvich Handicap, which is the local prep for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
Desert Code finished 7th in this race last …read more