The last time we saw Letruska, she was more human and less equine machine. The next time we’ll see the newly minted Eclipse Award winner is next Saturday at Gulfstream Park for the Grade 3 Royal Delta Stakes. The 6-year-old warmed up for her first race since the Nov. 6 […]
Tag: Breeders’ Cup Distaff
Letruska, Malathaat Coming Back After Breeders’ Cup Disappointments
Unlike many of the boys who are heading off to the stallion shed, expect to see the standout fillies and mares coming out of the Breeders’ Cup at a track near you in 2022. Where and when you’ll see them is a story still being written. Take Letruska, who was […]
Breeders’ Cup Day 2: Land of Knicks Go, Rising Sun and Falling Favorites
Now that the Breeders’ Cup Classic performed its designated coronation, you can start engraving Knicks Go’s name on the Horse of the Year trophy now. Avoid the rush, which Knicks Go splendidly did at Del Mar Saturday evening. He broke out to his patented early lead and turned aside all […]
Knicks Go, Essential Quality Your Breeders’ Cup Classic Favorites
Knicks Go and Essential Quality are stablemates, travel mates from East Coast to West Coast and now – after Monday’s post-position draws – they are gate neighbors for Saturday’s $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar. Essential Quality will start from post 4 in the nine-horse Classic field as […]
Here is Your First Look at the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Pre-Entries
Seven returning Breeders’ Cup champions, including Breeders’ Cup Classic favorites Knicks Go and Essential Quality, lead the pre-entry field for next weekend’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Del Mar. The 14-race festival begins on Friday, Nov. 5 with five juvenile races before segueing into nine races on Saturday, Nov. 6. […]
Breeders’ Cup Betting Menu Offers a Healthy Smorgasbord of Wagers
The Breeders’ Cup unveiled its 2021 wagering menu on Wednesday, adding a new All-Turf Pick 4 and a third Pick 5 to Saturday’s betting smorgasbord. Along with the wagering menu, officials for the Nov. 5-6 racing festival at Del Mar announced the official race order. Friday’s first day features 10 […]
Breeders’ Cup Reveals Intense Security Measures for Baffert’s Horses
The Breeders’ Cup may have been late to the Bob Baffert scrutiny party, but the organization is bringing a rather hefty punch to the proceedings. On Tuesday, it outlined to the Los Angeles Times the security measures the Hall of Fame trainer must adhere to for his horses to run […]
Baffert Makes Santa Anita Park His Personal Playground — Again
Two weeks ago, Bob Baffert made what appeared to be a head-scratching decision, keeping star 3-year-olds Medina Spirit and Private Mission home in California. That, instead of running the pair against their age group rivals in Parx Racing’s two marquee races, the Pennsylvania Derby and the Cotillion. And yet again, […]
Two-Time Champion Monomoy Girl Retired After Sesamoid Fracture
Monomoy Girl, one of the dominant fillies of the 21st century, was retired from racing Wednesday after she suffered a fracture during a routine Tuesday gallop. Trainer Brad Cox said the 6-year-old mare and seven-time Grade 1 winner went out for a gallop at Churchill Downs on Tuesday morning. When […]
Recovering Monomoy Girl Doubtful for Breeders’ Cup Distaff Defense
While she returned under tack to WinStar Farm, defending Breeders’ Cup Distaff champion Monomoy Girl is doubtful for this year’s Breeders’ Cup. The two-time event champion and current Champion Older Female has been out since mid-April, recovering from muscle strains and hamstring issues. BloodHorse reported that Monomoy Girl isn’t expected […]
Monomoy Girl Starts Her ‘Monster’ Season at Oaklawn’s Bayakoa Stakes
Trainer Brad Cox called her “a monster,†but you probably know her as the best mare of her generation. Either way, Cox says you’ll see Monomoy Girl return Feb. 15 at Oaklawn Park for the Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes. The $250,000, 1-1/16-mile Bayakoa marks Monomoy Girl’s 2021 opener and a […]
On Record-Setting Day, Breeders’ Cup Handle Takes Mild Dip
With Kentucky Derby champion Authentic, standout filly Gamine, and Knicks Go all winning Breeders’ Cup races in record time – and without general public tickets available – the Breeders’ Cup World Championships managed its sixth-highest all-sources handle since 2007. That was the year the Breeders’ Cup expanded to two days. […]
Breeders’ Cup Distaff Set for Epic Monomoy Girl vs. Swiss Skydiver Duel
This may not be Secretariat vs. Sham, Affirmed vs. Alydar, or Sunday Silence vs. Easy Goer. But, Monomoy Girl vs. Swiss Skydiver in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff promises to be one of the best one-on-one racing duels of the year. If nothing else, it promises to give bettors a relative […]
Breeders’ Cup Speed Figures: Everyone Chases These Two in Distaff
Preakness Stakes champion Swiss Skydiver will bypass the Breeders’ Cup Classic and run with her gender in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. And with that, she and 2018 Distaff champion Monomoy Girl will separate themselves from the rest of the field, according to their speed figures. The $2 million Breeders’ Cup […]
Breeders’ Cup Rolls Out Lucrative Wagering Menu, Race Schedule
Along with announcing its race schedule, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships announced a wagering smorgasbord for horseplayers consisting of seven multi-race pools offering a combined $8 million in guaranteed money. The two-day Breeders’ Cup is Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland. Even running spectator-free due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it provides bettors […]
Baffert’s Classic Trio, O’Brien’s Turf Duo Head Breeders’ Cup Pre-Entries
Bob Baffert has six entries, including three in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Aidan O’Brien counters with 10 entries. And just like that with Wednesday’s pre-entries, lineups for the 14 Breeders’ Cup World Championships races are falling into place. All told, 201 horses pre-entered into the Nov. 6-7 racing festival at […]
Winning Preakness Complicates Swiss Skydiver’s Breeders’ Cup Plans
She’s run with the boys. Now, with her Preakness victory last Saturday, Swiss Skydiver beat the boys. So what’s the next challenge for one of the great North American fillies of her generation? That would be the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland. That much, we know. But what are […]
Midnight Bisou Returns With More to Prove in Fleur de Lis
You could make a credible case that Midnight Bisou isn’t just the best filly or mare in the world, but that she’s the best horse in the world. And Midnight Bisou will further that case at Churchill Downs in Saturday’s Grade 2 Fleur de Lis. Waiting for her in a […]
She’s Back: Standout Mare Monomoy Girl Returns After Lengthy Absence
Adding more prestige to Churchill Downs’ long-awaited Spring Meet opening on Saturday, champion 3-year-old Monomoy Girl returns to action for the first time in 18 months. In terms of class and competition, Monomoy Girl won’t be running against the elite fields she’s used to competing against. She’s entered as the […]