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  • #16
    BC - Filly & Mare Sprint
    October 28, 2019
    By Anthony Stabile


    Distance: 7 furlongs
    Purse: $ 1million
    Age: 3up(f&m)
    Date: Saturday, November 2
    Time: 2:55 pm ED
    T

    The History
    Run at six furlongs in 2007 because Monmouth Park isn’t configured for the intended distance. Groupie Doll became the first back to back winner in 2013.

    Favorites: 3 for 12 (25%)
    Shortest: $3.40 (Groupie Doll, 2012)
    Highest: $135.40 (Bar of Gold, 2017)


    The champ is here? Shamrock Rose is not participating this year.

    Best

    Covfefe
    figures to be a slight favorite when she tries to run her record to a perfect three-for-three at this distance when she faces older fillies and mares for just the second time in her career for trainer Brad Cox.

    A winner of five of her seven career starts, Covfefe has shown flashes of brilliance on more than one occasion and is less than a length away from being perfect in her five starts this year. A thrilling tally in the G3 Miss Preakness at Pimlico where she set the track record on Black-Eyed Susan day along with a memorable stretch duel with G1 Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress that she won in the G1 Test at Saratoga going this trip, highlight her season.

    It is worth noting however that her lone defeat in 2019 came when she tried her hand against older fillies and mares in the Roxelana where she was defeated by fellow G1 winner Mia Mischief.

    Come Dancing will look to give her trainer Carlos Martin his first Breeders’ Cup victory while seeking her third straight win. It’s taken a while for this mare to overcome some issues but her connections’ patience have paid off as she’s won four of five starts in this, her five-year-old season, with her lone defeat coming at the hands of Distaff favorite Midnight Bisou in the G1 Ogden Phipps going 1 1/16 miles on Belmont Stakes day in New York.

    Come Dancing has won both her starts at the distance this year, including the G1 Ballerina at Saratoga after she was forced to come from off the pace after encountering some trouble at the start, as well as the G3 Distaff at Aqueduct in her first start of the season at Aqueduct where she earned a 114 Beyer number, the second fastest number earned by any horse this season.

    Though her speed figures are considerably lighter than her two main rivals, Spiced Perfection has had a solid season while making just four starts in 2019 since being taken over by Peter Miller. Miller began training the filly after she won the G1 La Brea over the course and at the trip on Opening Dy last year. A second-place finish in the G3 Barbara Fritchie at Laurel where she was compromised by an inside trip was followed by a determined victory in the G1 Madison at Keeneland before she returned there after missing the summer with an impressive score in the G2 TCA by a head after breaking a beat slow.

    Rest

    Bellafina
    is perfect in four starts at Santa Anita, including a pair of G1 wins in the Chandelier as a juvenile and Santa Anita Oaks this past spring, both around two turns. She won the G1 Del Mar Debutante in her third career start and the G2 Santa Ynez to kick off this year at this trip. She’ll cut back to a sprint having finished fourth in the G1 Cotillion last out when the blinkers went back on. She’ll have to overcome some recent gate issues as she’s been off slowly in her last two tries in what will be her first start against her elders.

    Danuska’s My Girl didn’t break her maiden until her eighth start when she was dropped into a claiming race in July 2018 at Del Mar but has since won five more times, including three G3 events in SoCal. Usually on the front end, she lost all chance when she was bumped at the start of the TCA but did manage to pass a few rivals late.

    Dawn the Destroyer stormed home from last in the TCA to miss by just a head after finishing second in the Ballerina. Since minor throat surgery late last year, she’s finished off the board just once in eight start and won a minor stakes at Aqueduct going this distance in January.

    Heavenhasmynikki rides a three-race win streak dating back to April into this. A gate-to-wire score in the G3 Vagrancy at Aqueduct back in May is sandwiched between an allowance win at Mahoning Valley and a statebred stakes tally at Thistledown, both in her native Ohio. She’s been off-the-board in her two starts at this distance, including a fifth-place La Brea finish.

    Another who has gone from claimer to stakes winner is Lady Ninja. Entered for as little as $25K less than a year ago, she won for $40K in February and four of seven starts overall this season, including a gutsy off-the-pace score in the G3 LA Woman most recently going a sixteenth of a mile shorter.

    Selcourt was the one Lady Ninja ran down last out, the third time she’s finished second in four starts this year, all over the strip. Sent off as one of the choices at under 6-1 in the event last year, Selcourt is looking for her first win since wiring the field in the G2 Santa Monica at this trip and over the course back in March 2018.

    If I’m Right…
    Quite a few of these fillies and mares will be looking for the lead early on. Going seven furlongs, as far as the favorites go, the advantage goes to Come Dancing as she has shown an ability to win a variety of ways.

    Live Longshot
    I’ve always felt that Dawn the Destroyer had a big win in her. Maybe this is the one. She should get a solid pace to run at and be in the 12-1 range.
    Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

    Comment


    • #17
      BC - Distaff
      October 28, 2019
      By Anthony Stabile


      Distance: 1 1/8 miles
      Purse: $2 million
      Age: 3up(f&m)
      Date: Saturday, November 1
      Time: 7:00 pm EDT


      The History
      In what could be considered the most memorable moment in the history of the Breeders’ Cup, Personal Ensign gunned down Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors in THE final stride of the 1988 running at Churchill Downs. Bayakoa won back to back runnings the following two years. Inside Information won it in 1995 by 13 ½ lengths, the largest winning margin in Breeders’ Cup history. Before tackling the boys twice, Zenyatta graced this race with her presence when she won it in 2008.

      Royal Delta won her second consecutive running in 2012 before failing in her attempt to three-peat in 2013 when 2012 Juvenile Fillies champ Beholder became the first winner of a juvenile event to win another Breeders’ Cup race. Rosie Napravnik announced her retirement after guiding the three-year-old Untapable to a popular score in 2014. In 2016, Beholder beat the undefeated Songbird by a nostril in the “mother of all Distaffs,” joining Goldikova as the only other horse to win tree Breeders’ Cup races.

      Favorites: 15 for 35 (43%)
      Shortest: $2.80 (Life’s Magic Entry, 1985)
      Highest: $113.80 (Spain, 2000)


      The champ is here? No. Monomoy Girl is still in training but was unable to defend her crown this year.

      Best

      Midnight Bisou
      puts her perfect season on the line when she looks to improve on her third-place finish in this event last year while returning to the place where she started her career.

      Trained now by Steve Asmussen, Midnight Bisou started her career with California trainer Bill Spawr and accomplished plenty, winning three of her six starts, including the G1 Santa Anita Oaks, before being transferred to her new barn due to the lack of races for sophomore fillies on the west coast.

      A picture of consistency wherever she goes, Midnight Bisou has turned into one of the more accomplished fillies of the decade with wins in five different G1 races over the past two years.

      Just this season alone, she’s won all seven starts at five different tracks, including three G1 events – the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn, Phipps at Belmont and Personal Ensign at Saratoga – with the last coming against Elate who figures to take plenty of action in the Classic.

      Midnight Bisou has never been off the board in 18 starts and has won two of five with a second and two thirds at this nine-furlong distance though it is arguably not her best.

      Rest

      Blue Prize
      won the G1 Spinster at Keeneland for the second year in a row, passing all four of her rivals to win by a half-length. Fourth in this last year, she’s won half of her 12 starts at this trip but will need to improve off of her career best effort last out.

      Dunbar Road has won four of her six starts, including the G2 Mother Goose at Belmont and G1 Alabama at Saratoga going 10 furlongs, as she makes just her second start against older fillies and mares. She was stuck on a dead rail in the Spinster and forced to lay closer to the pace than usual while on her way to a third-place finish.

      La Force took the G2 Santa Maria with a last-to-first run back in June over this course, the lone stakes win of her career and only win from five starts this year. She’ll need to find her form from earlier this year to compete as she comes into this off of off-the-board performances in the G2 Mabee and G1 Zenyatta.

      Mo See Cal will be making her graded stakes debut coming off a secondary allowance/optional claiming win when blinkers were removed.

      Ollie’s Candy won the first two dirt starts of her career, the G2 Summertime Oaks last year over this strip and the G1 Clement Hirsch at Del Mar two back before a third-place finish in the Zenyatta. She’ll be making her first start at nine furlongs on dirt though she did just miss at the distance on turf last year in the G1 Del Mar Oaks.

      Paradise Woods won the Zenyatta from just off the pace last out. She won the Santa Anita Oaks and Zenyatta back in 2017 when she finished third in this event and the G2 Santa Maria earlier this year by over 10 lengths.

      Secret Spice has finished second in her last three starts - the G1 La Troienne at Churchill on Kentucky Oaks Day, Hirsch and Zenyatta – after nailing down her lone stakes win in the G1 Beholder Mile back in March, her only win in five tries this year.

      Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress is a need the lead type who loses all chance when not in front. When she does get to the lead, she’s dangerous, as evident by her Oaks score, second place finish to the flashy Guarana in the G1 Acorn and tough-beat second in the G1 Test to F&M Sprint favorite Covfefe. Last out, she was wrestled off the pace and finished nowhere in the G1 Cotillion at Parx.

      Street Band won for the fourth time in seven starts when running down Guarana in the Cotillion last out when she got a perfect pace set-up. She won the G2 Fair Grounds Oaks and G3 Indiana Oaks earlier this year and was third in the Alabama as well.

      Wow Cat finished second in this last year but is winless in three starts since. She was no match for the favorite when fourth in the Personal Ensign and second in the Beldame. She has hit the board in six of her seven starts at this trip.

      If I’m Right…
      I think we’ve seen the best we’re going to get from Midnight Bisou, who’ll likely be the shortest-priced favorite of the weekend. I don’t think that can be said about Dunbar Road. I’m looking forward to the day we do. Maybe this is that day.

      Live Longshot
      Wow Cat rarely grabs the brass ring but she always seems to grab a piece. I would have to think some of the speedier fillies will get some play and that she’ll be sent off at double digit odds.
      Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

      Comment


      • #18
        BC - Dirt Mile
        October 28, 2019
        By Anthony Stabile


        Distance: 1 mile
        Purse: $1 million
        Age: 3up
        Date: Saturday, November 1
        Time: 4:10 pm EDT


        The History
        Run around two turns at 1 mile and 70 yards in 2007 then on synthetic surface at Santa Anita in 2008 and 2009. Finally run at intended distance on dirt for first time in 2010. Goldencents became the first back-to-back winner of the event with a pair of gate-to-wire scorchers in 2013 & 2014 while Liam’s Map powered away to win after a tough trip in 2015.

        Favorites: 2 for 12 (17%)
        Shortest: $3.00 (Liam’s Map, 2015)
        Highest: $77.40 (Dakota Phone, 2010)


        The champ is here? No. City of Light retired after winning the Pegasus World Cup earlier this year.

        Best

        Omaha Beach
        , after originally being pointed to the Sprint, lands in this event and should be an overwhelming favorite when he goes to the post against this bunch.

        After starting his career with three turf starts as a juvenile, Omaha Beach finished second in his dirt debut in early January before rattling off three straight wins, including a division of the G2 Rebel by a nose over two-year-old champ Game Winner and a virtual gate-to-wire score in G1 Arkansas Derby for trainer Richard Mandella, an effort that established him as the favorite for the G1 Kentucky Derby, a raced he was forced to miss due to an entrapped epiglottis.

        Omaha Beach, now playing catch-up as far as the Breeders’ Cup and year-end honors are concerned, returned in the G1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship off of a near six-month layoff. After bobbling a bit at the break, he was able to make a move along the inside to nip fellow sophomore, the speedy Shancelot, in the final strides.

        With a couple of other races in mind before retirement, it was decided that this spot, not the Sprint or Classic, would best serve Omaha Beach going forward.

        Improbable will be making his third start since failing as the 5-2 favorite on the G1 Preakness while seeking just his second win in his seventh start of the season for trainer Bob Baffert.

        Undefeated in three starts at two, including the G1 Los Alamitos Futurity, Improbable lost his division of the Rebel by a neck as the 2-5 chalk before chasing Omaha Beach around there for the second half of the Arkansas Derby.

        Elevated to fourth in the Kentucky Derby before his Preakness flop, Improbable returned with his best effort to date, easily taking the Shared Belief at Del Mar going this two-turn mile before a poor start and dreaded inside trip at Parx cost him dearly as the 6-5 favorite in the G1 Pennsylvania Derby where he finished fourth.

        Mr. Money has made plenty of cash this year by running in the easier, more lucrative races that are restricted to three-year-olds. Now, he has to step up his game again after just missing by a neck when he set a moderate pace in the Pennsylvania Derby last out.

        Trained by Bret Calhoun, Mr. Money has earned over $1 million this season by way of wins in the G3 Pat Day Mile and G3 Matt Winn at Churchill along with the G3 Indiana Derby and G3 West Virginia Derby by sitting just off the pace. This will be his first start against older rivals

        Rest

        Ambassadorial
        ships over the pond to make his first start on, presumably, a fast track, having finished third two back in the G1 Korea Cup in the mud in Seoul. By Elusive Quality, he has hit the board in all seven of his starts over synthetic surfaces, with three wins. Looks to have an off-the-pace running style.

        Blue Chipper comes over from Korea with a six-race win streak and having won seven of his eight starts overall. He’s undefeated in three starts on a fast track and won a pair of G1 events back home, including one at this distance, two starts back. It appears he’s been forwardly placed in a majority of his starts in the early going.
        Coal Front re-rallied to win the Parx Dirt Mile on Pennsylvania Derby Day and is two for three overall at a mile, counting the G2 Godolphin Mile on the Dubai World Cup undercard as his other victory. Earlier this season, he won the G3 Razorback at Oaklawn and tired after setting the pace in the G1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont.

        Fifth in this heat last year, Giant Expectations will be looking for his first win in nine tries since his last victory, a gate-to-wire score over last year’s Classic winner Accelerate in the G2 San Antonio back in December 2017. Since the addition of blinkers for the first time in three years, he finished second against fellow New York-breds in the Commentator by a nose before getting outgamed by Catalina Cruiser in the G2 Pat O’Brien in his last start 10 weeks ago.

        Snapper Sinclair, a two-time turf stakes winner, will be looking for his first win in a dirt stakes and first against graded company when he returns to the main track having passed nearly all of his rivals to capture the Tourist Mile over the Kentucky Downs grass last out.

        Spun to Run blitzed a minor stakes at Parx going this two-turn mile trip in his first try against older horses after finishing fifth while beaten less than two lengths in the Pennsylvania Derby. Earlier this year, he was third in the G1 Haskell behind Maximum Security before gutting out a win in the G3 Smarty Jones at Parx.

        If I’m Right...
        Omaha Beach would not have to be at his best to beat this bunch and while I’ve always felt he may not be a classic distance this trip should be right in his wheelhouse.

        Live Longshot

        Giant Expectations is a bit enigmatic, to say the least, but if he fires his best shot, he’ll be right there.
        Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

        Comment


        • #19
          BC - Classic
          October 28, 2019
          By Anthony Stabile

          Distance: 1 ¼ miles
          Purse: $6 million
          Age: 3up
          Date: Saturday, November 1
          Time: 8:44 pm EDT


          The History

          You knew this race was aptly named after the stretch run of the inaugural running when eventual winner Wild Again played bumper cars along with Slew o’ Gold and Gate Dancer. Ferdinand won the battle of the Kentucky Derby winners over Alysheba in 1987 before Alysheba claimed his own classic victory the following year.

          In the final chapter of their brief, yet intense rivalry, Sunday Silence held off the desperate surge of Easy Goer to win in 1989. Jerry Bailey won three in a row, starting in 1993 with Arcangues, the longest priced winner in Breeders’ Cup history and ending with the great Cigar in 1995 who capped a perfect 10-for-10 season with a fantastic score. Awesome Again split rivals in deep stretch to win a wild one in 1998 over Silver Charm and Swain.

          Tiznow gutted out two of the greatest wins over a pair of tough Europeans, Giant’s Causeway and Sakhee, in 2000 and 2001 respectively, making his trainer Jay Robbins and the great Charlie Whittingham the only two-time winners of the race.

          Volponi blew up the tote board, then the Pick 6 scandal, in 2002 with his win at 43-1. Ghostzapper set the stakes record with a gate-to-wire, tour de force victory in 2004. Curlin capped his Horse of the Year campaign in 2007 with a win before finishing fourth the following year on the synthetic surface at Santa Anita.

          The great Zenyatta kept the undefeated dream alive with a remarkable last-to-first run in 2009 before falling a head short of Blame in the 2010 renewal and finishing her career with 19 wins from 20 starts. In 2014, Bayern made a left turn coming out of the gate before going gate-to-wire, holding off Toast of New York and California Chrome in another whale of a photo.

          In 2015, American Pharoah capped off a historic, legendary season by winning the Triple Crown in the spring and Classic in the fall with a brilliant, gate-to-wire score. Arrogate gave his trainer Bob Baffert a record three in a row when he ran past California Chrome in the final strides.

          It’s the Classic indeed!!!!

          Favorites: 10 for 35 (29%)
          Shortest: $3.40 (Cigar, 1995 & American Pharoah, 2015)
          Highest: $269.20 (Arcangues, 1993) *Highest price in history of the Breeders’ Cup*

          The champ is here? No. Accelerate has been retired.

          Best

          McKinzie will look to rebound from a colossal upset in the G1 Awesome Again where he finished second as the 3-10 favorite when he tries this event for the second year as the likely favorite having finished up the track in 2018 for trainer Bob Baffert.

          McKinzie has won just two of his six starts this year, the G2 Alysheba at Churchill on Oaks Day and the G1 Whitney, a career-bet performance, two starts back in early August, at Saratoga.

          But this season has been more about the races McKinzie has lost as opposed to the ones he’s won. He was second with no excuse as the 1-2 chalk in the G2 San Pasqual, lost a stretch duel to Gift Box at this distance in the G! Santa Anita Handicap and just missed after being shuffled back early in the G1 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont.

          Baffert has opted for a rider change, taking Mike Smith off and replacing him for the Classic with Joel Rosario.

          Code of Honor and Vino Rosso will renew their rivalry after coming to blows in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont last out when Vino Rosso finished ahead of Code of Honor by a nose but was disqualified for impeding his rival several times in the stretch.

          Before their meeting last out, Vino Rosso, uncharacteristically on the lead last out, won the Stymie at Aqueduct to start the year and survived a long battle with Gift Box in the G! Gold Cup at Santa Anita at this trip in May before a third-place finish in the Whitney for trainer Todd Pletcher.

          Code of Honor has the distinction of being involved in the two most famous DQs of the season as he was elevated to second after making what appeared to be a ground-saving, winning move in the Derby and to victory in the JCGC last out.

          Trained by Shug McGaughey, three-year-old honors and perhaps more could be in the offing with a Classic win. His spectacular late run to take the G1 Travers two starts back would make this his third straight win at the classic distance of 10 furlongs.

          That distance is what has enticed trainer Bill Mott to run the five-year-old mare Elate in the Classic against the boys for the first and only time in her career in what will be her swan song as opposed to facing fellow ladies in the Distaff going nine furlongs.

          Perfect in three starts at this distance having won the G1 Alabama at three and the last two runnings of the G2 Delaware Handicap, Elate comes in to this off of a pair of runner-up finishes behind Distaff favorite Midnight Bisou when she was cut down in the final stages of the G1 Personal Ensign at Saratoga and last out when she raced wide before being run down in the G1 Spinster at Keeneland by defending champion Blue Prize.

          Rest

          Higher Power
          ran the race of his life to starts back when he sat just off the pace before pouncing and drawing away to win the G1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar by over five lengths going this distance. Earlier this year he finished off the board in the Gold Cup at SA and just last out finished third after a stumble at the start in the Awesome Again.

          Math Wizard has been claimed three times in his career, last time back in late January at Gulfstream by Saffie Joseph for $25K. Winless in six starts for his new barn going into his last start, he made that run in the G1 Pennsylvania Derby count when he overcame a slow pace to win by a neck at 31-1.

          You could have claimed Mongolian Groom for $30K in the first two starts of his career back in the spring of 2018 but no one did and he too is now a G1 winner having gone gate-to-wire in the Awesome Again last out at 25-1. Earlier this season he finished third in both the Big Cap and Pacific Classic and second in the G2 San Diego.

          Owendale has earned close to $1 million dollars this year, winning four of his seven starts against easier sophomores and will be making his first start against older horses. He counts the Lexington, Ohio Derby and his most recent score in the Oklahoma Derby, all G3 events, among his wins and was third in the G1 Preakness despite a wide trip.

          Seeking the Soul
          does his best work in Kentucky and has failed in both of his starts on the left coast this season, with off the board finishes in both the Pacific Classic and Awesome Again. He took down the G2 Stephen Foster at Churchill back in June and was second at over 34-1 in the G1 Pegasus World Cup to kick off the season.

          2019 has been a mixed bag for Preakness winner War of Will. Wins in the G3 LeComte and G2 Risen Star at the Fair Grounds to start the year had him marked as one of the Kentucky Derby favorites but then he raced poorly in the G2 Louisiana Derby. After almost getting dropped by Maximum Security in the Derby, he sat a dream trip in the Preakness to win by just over a length but has done little in three starts since with his third-place finish in the Pennsylvania Derby his best effort in the second half of the year.

          Yoshida has won just once in six starts on dirt, the 2018 G1 Woodward but did manage to finish fourth in this event last year, second in the Whitney this year and third in the Woodward last out. Mike Smith will ride for the first time.

          If I’m Right…
          I don’t think McKinzie wants any part of this distance and is as dressed up a favorite as we are going to see over the course of the 14-race event.

          Live Longshot
          Yoshida has shown up in almost of all of his dirt starts and should appreciate the added distance along with the presence of Smith. Plus, he should be 12-1.
          Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

          Comment


          • #20
            McKinzie is early favorite in BC Classic
            October 28, 2019
            By The Associated Press


            ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) McKinzie, with a new jockey replacing Hall of Famer Mike Smith, is the 3-1 favorite for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic this weekend at troubled Santa Anita.

            The track is hosting the world championships for a record 10th time Friday and Saturday. A total of 36 horses have died at Santa Anita since December, including two since last Friday.

            That hasn't deterred an international group of horses from gathering to chase over $30 million in purse money.

            The Classic will be shown in prime time Saturday on NBC.

            ''I hate to really say anything,'' McKinzie's trainer Bob Baffert said Monday when asked about the deaths. ''I don't want to jinx myself.''

            McKinzie drew the No. 8 post on Monday in the 11-horse field for the 1\\-mile Classic. He'll be ridden by Joel Rosario, who replaced Smith after McKinzie finished second as the favorite in the Awesome Again on his home track last month.

            ''He looks like he's doing well. Really no excuses,'' Baffert said. ''The break is the whole key. You have to get away first and then you can have a plan. If not, you have to scramble for a plan.''

            McKinzie has two wins and four seconds in six starts this year. The 4-year-old colt won the Whitney at Saratoga in August.

            Baffert is going for his fourth victory in the Classic. He won it from 2014-16 with 3-year-olds Bayern, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and Arrogate. He's never won it with an older horse.

            Smith will ride Japan-bred Yoshida, an 8-1 shot.

            Code of Honor and Vino Rosso are the co-second choices at 4-1 odds.

            Elate, taking on males for the first time 10 years after superstar mare Zenyatta beat the boys in the Classic over the same track, is the co-third choice at 6-1 with Higher Power. Elate drew the No. 6 post.

            She is undefeated in three races at 1\\ miles.

            ''It's hard to be comparable to her,'' Elate's Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said about Zenyatta. ''She was obviously a very special horse and one of the very best.''

            Preakness winner War of Will is a 20-1 shot in the Classic and will break from the No. 4 post.

            Others in the Classic field are: Mongolian Groom, 12-1; Owendale, 15-1; Seeking the Soul, 20-1; and Math Wizard, 30-1.

            Friday's five-race card features all 2-year-olds, with the winner of the $2 million Juvenile typically tabbed as the winter-book favorite for the Kentucky Derby.

            The early Juvenile favorite is 8-5 shot Dennis' Moment, trained by Kentucky-based Dale Romans. Baffert has an entry, too: 2-1 shot Eight Rings.

            Other favorites in Friday's races:

            - Four Wheel Drive at 3-1 in the $1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint.

            - Ireland-bred Arizona at 5-2 in the $1 million Juvenile Turf.

            - Donna Veloce at 3-1 in the $2 million Juvenile Fillies.

            - Ireland-bred Albigna at 9-2 in the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf.


            Saturday's card features nine races with results figuring into year-end honors for Eclipse Awards.

            The $4 million Turf is led by 9-5 favorite Bricks and Mortar, trained by New York-based Chad Brown. Ireland-bred Anthony Van Dyck is the second choice at 3-1.

            Midnight Bisou tops the 11-horse field for the $2 million Distaff. Smith will ride the 6-5 favorite, the heaviest favorite in the 14 races. She was third in last year's Distaff at Churchill Downs and hasn't lost since, going 7-for-7 this year.

            Ireland-bred Circus Maximus is the 3-1 favorite for the $2 million Mile.

            Other favorites in Saturday's races:

            - Covfefe at 2-1 in the $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint.

            - Eddie Haskell at 9-2 in the $1 million Turf Sprint.

            - Omaha Beach at 8-5 in the $1 million Dirt Mile. The colt was the favorite for this year's Kentucky Derby before being forced to scratch.

            - Ireland-bred Sistercharlie at 8-5 in the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf.

            - Mitole at 9-5 in the $2 million Sprint.
            Remember the 3 G's Gambling, Golf, Girls not in any particular order.....

            Comment

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