Improbable

The countdown is running to a close for the 2020 Breeders' Cup World Championship and perhaps no one has more Breeders' Cup memories to share than Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who made an astounding 15 trips to the Breeders' Cup winner's circle during his 31-year career, including a record five wins in the Classic. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week for Wednesday's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, Bailey spoke on some of his favorite Breeders' Cup moments, as well as...

Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to relive some of his favorite Breeders' Cup wins and give some of his top picks for this year's Championship meet.

Continuing a trend of favorites and short prices drawing outside at Monday's Rood & Riddle Breeders' Cup Post Position Draw, the potent trio of Bob Baffert contenders in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic drew next door to each other in the three widest posts in a loaded field for the 1 1/4-mile test. Given a slight nod on the morning line at 5-2, Improbable (City Zip) was parked in the eight-hole when pills were pulled. The 'TDN Rising Star', who had an up-and-down 3-year-old season, has come into his...

WinStar Farm released its 2021 stud fees Wednesday and leading the roster are Speightstown, who will stand for $90,000 S&N, and leading second-crop sire Constitution, who will stand for $85,000 S&N. WinStar has reduced the stud fees of most of its stallions in recognition of the challenging economic conditions. "During these times, we felt it appropriate to drop 75% of our fees," said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. "We gave two horses a bump--Speightstown, the co-leading sire this year with three Grade I winners and fourth general...

Keeneland has cataloged 3,777 horses for the 2020 November Breeding Stock Sale, which opens Monday, Nov. 9, two days after Keeneland hosts the Breeders' Cup World Championships for the second time. Buyers will be able to participate in the auction remotely through online and telephone bidding options successfully introduced at the September Yearling Sale, while the new bidding location at the Show Barn next to the Sales Pavilion again will be available to allow for proper social distancing. Keeneland's COVID-19 protocols for the November Sale will be similar to those...

TDN's International Editor Kelsey Riley joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss the upcoming G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Amidst heavy rainfall in Paris, Champion Enable (GB) and 3-year-old filly Love (Ire) will go head-to-head this Sunday.

We're now inside the six-week mark for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Is your money on an older horse winning the season-capping dirt route championship race or one of the 3-year-olds? Both divisions have a respectable upper crust of candidates. Neither age group has a dominant, standout star who towers over his peers. Improbable (City Zip)'s last-to-first, 4 1/2-length shakedown of the GI Awesome Again S. field at Santa Anita this past Saturday nudged him into tepid early favoritism for the Classic. The Oct. 10 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup...

The lesser-fancied of the Bob Baffert-trained duo, 'TDN Rising Star' Improbable (City Zip) was uncustomarily taken well off a fast early pace, began to hit his best stride while wide on the second turn, inhaled the leading group in upper stretch and rolled home to defeat odds-on Maximum Security (New Year's Day) by 4 1/2 lengths in the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita. Though he hadn't been more than two lengths off the early pace in any of his last four races, Improbable was taken back to last...

Twice in its last seven runnings, the GI Awesome Again S. has produced the winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, with Mucho Macho Man (Macho Uno) and Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky) completing the double in 2013 and 2018, respectively. Just a field of five faces the starter this weekend for the nine-furlong test--a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the Classic--but the two marquee horses have legitimate claims at Keeneland in six weeks' time. Maximum Security (New Year's Day), whose topsy-turvy championship sophomore season saw him miss a start...

Stablemates Maximum Security (New Year's Day) and 'TDN Rising Star' Improbable (City Zip) will face one another in Saturday's GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita, trainer Bob Baffert has confirmed. Baffert had earlier discussed shipping Maximum Security to New York for the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, but instead will race him this weekend in his own backyard. Via text, Baffert said he thought the race was a good fit for both horses because he likes the spacing and the fact that no one has to ship. The Jockey...

'TDN Rising Stars' Gamine (Into Mischief) and Improbable (City Zip), each victorious in Grade I company at Saratoga in their most recent appearances, tuned up for their next engagements at Del Mar Saturday morning. Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine, towering winner of the GI Longines Test S. Aug. 8, worked five furlongs in 1:00.80 (XBTV video) in the company of her stakes-winning stablemate and fellow 'Rising Star' Quality Response (Quality Road). With Juan Ochoa in the saddle, the $220,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $1.8-million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old sales topper was timed...

This past Saturday wasn't a great day to be a favorite in an open stakes race at the nation's premier race meets. Chalk horses went a collective one-for-seven at Saratoga and Del Mar, and the list of excuses included stutter-step starts, bumps leaving the gate, stretch-run roughhousing, getting disqualified, and being dueled into defeat in internal pace battles. Tight finishes in several stakes elevated the interest level, although the results in general did not lend clarity to the nationwide divisional races with the GI Kentucky Derby inside the five-week mark...