Breeders' Cup Classic

'TDN Rising Star' Improbable (City Zip) scored back-to-back Grade I victories and provided his conditioner Bob Baffert with his second straight renewal of Saratoga's prestigious GI Whitney S. Saturday with a dominant score in this 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Heavily Favored Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike) missed the break and was relegated to last early as native New Yorker Mr Buff (Friend or Foe) took command, loping through early splits of :25.12 and :49.74 with 3-1 shot Improbable keeping close tabs from second. Improbable...

The post position draw for Saturday's GI Haskell S. will be streamed via Facebook Live on Monmouth Park's Facebook page. The draw, which will take place in the Breeders' Cup Garden on the Clubhouse side of the racetrack, will be held Wednesday at noon. The $1-million Haskell offers points towards the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby and is also a "Win and You're In"race for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. BetMakers, in partnership with Monmouth Park, is offering a $1-million bonus to the connections of any horse that wins the...

BetMakers Technology Group will sponsor a $1-million bonus for any horse that manages to sweep the GI TVG.com Haskell S., the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic. The promotion will be known as the 'BetMakers Bonanza.' Todd Buckingham, CEO of BetMakers, confirmed that they will offer the bonus structure for the next three years. "We are delighted to sponsor this bonus for the next three years and hope it can attract the best horses to attempt the lucrative quest beginning with the Haskell at Monmouth Park this year,"...

Leading GI Breeders' Cup Classic contender Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike--Julia Tuttle, by Giant's Causeway), hero of the 2019 GI Clark S. and an impressive last out winner of the GII Stephen Foster S. with a career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure, will stand at WinStar Farm upon the conclusion of his racing career. Campaigned by Gayle Benson's G M B Racing and trainer Al Stall, Jr., he has compiled a record of 18-11-2-1 and earnings of $1,627,272. Tom's d'Etat is currently on a four-race winning streak and has his sights set...

Headlined by three automatic qualifiers for the $7-million GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic and three "Win and You're In" starting positions at York's Ebor Festival in Britain, the Breeders' Cup announced its August schedule of Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races Wednesday. There will be 16 Breeders' Cup Challenge races in August, beginning Aug. 1 with two races at Saratoga Race Course and one at Del Mar. Saratoga will host the GI Whitney S., which will give the winner an automatic berth into Classic, as well as the GI Personal Ensign...

The Week in Review, by Bill Finley There was no word Sunday from the camp of Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) regarding where their mare would run next and what the long-term goals are for the season. But we know this much: Midnight Bisou is outstanding, her connections took on males once, in the Saudi Cup, and the GI Breeders' Cup Classic is a lot bigger deal than the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. Does that add up to her starting in the Classic? Fans of this sport can only hope that...

Tom's d'Etat made his case for one of the top older horses of 2020 with a blowout performance in Churchill's GII Stephen Foster S. coming on the heels of three straight wins, including in last November's GI Clark H. under the Twin Spires. Allowing longshot Pirate's Punch (Shanghai Bobby) to dictate terms through initial fractions of :23.89 and :48.13, the 7-year-old loomed menacingly just to his outside before overtaking the pacesetter on the far turn following six furlongs in 1:11.67. Two lengths in front turning for home, the 6-5 choice...

Officials at Monmouth Park have announced that the track will reward the connections of any horse to sweep the GI TVG.com Haskell S., GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic a $1-million bonus. The Haskell, the lone seven-figure Thoroughbred race in the state of New Jersey, will be renewed for the 53rd time July 18 as part of a stakes-filled program. For the first time, the race serves as a prep for the Sept. 5 Derby and offers Kentucky Derby points on a 100-40-20-10 scale. The Breeders' Cup Classic...

Pleasantly Perfect (Pleasant Colony--Regal State, by Miswaki), who completed a historic Breeders' Cup four-timer for trainer Richard Mandella in the 2003 GI Classic and went on to sire a trio of top-level winners, passed away Wednesday in Turkey. He was 22 years old and died of natural causes. Bred in Kentucky by Clovelly Farms, Pleasantly Perfect was purchased by Gerald Ford's Diamond A Racing Corp. for $725,000 at the 1999 Keeneland September sale. Turned over to Mandella, the strapping bay won back-to-back runnings of the GII Goodwood Breeders' Cup H....

It takes a lot of prospecting, a lot of false leads, a lot of patient drilling. When you do strike oil, however, the fulfilment of a single moment will suddenly indemnify all the barren endeavour in between. And that's equally true whether you are a geologist, trying to read the complexion of the land above mineral deposits; or a horseman, trying to find that latent seam of class beneath the surface hints of pedigree and conformation. Al Stall, Jr., having filled both roles in his time, recognizes the analogy. "Oh,...

Favorite: Easy Goer (Alydar). Every once in a while a horse comes around that makes you believe that nothing is impossible. They don't just win, they win effortlessly. They don't just run fast, they break track records. They have the perfect pedigree. They're in the right hands. What can they accomplish? What can't they accomplish? That was the way I felt about Easy Goer. After losing his debut by a nose, Easy Goer reeled off four straight wins, including the 1988 GI Champagne S. He would win by four, five...

Alittlebitearly (Thunder Gulch--Aquilegia, by Alydar), dam of GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Bayern (Offlee Wild), died at Helen Alexander's Middlebrook Farm after producing a healthy filly by GI Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist. The 18-year-old mare was bred by Alexander in partnership with her mother, Helen Groves, and sister, Dorothy Matz. Bayern, purchased by Kaleem Shah for $320,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale, won the 2014 Classic, as well as that year's GI William Hill Haskell Invitational S., GII Pennsylvania Derby, and GII Woody Stephens S. Alittlebitearly had no...