Breeders’ Cup 184 Pre-Entries Led by Zenyatta

Zenyatta winning 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic

Undefeated Zenyatta tops a record 184 horses pre-entered for the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Greg Avioli, president of Breeders' Cup Limited, noted that the pre-entered horses, including 26 potential starters from overseas, had won a combined 865 races totaling $125 million in purses.

"I think we're in for some record-setting days at Churchill Downs across the board," he said.

All eyes will be on Zenyatta, who takes a 19-for-19 record into the 11/4-mile Classic on Nov. 6 in what is expected to be the final start of her career.

Seventeen of Zenyatta's victories have come on synthetic surfaces in her home state of California, leading many to question how well her exhilarating late-running style will work on the conventional track at Churchill Downs. She twice started on dirt, producing a pair of convincing victories in the Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark.

Zenyatta will attempt to join Tiznow (2000-01) as the only horses to win back-to-back Classics. Among her chief rivals will be Blame, Quality Road and Lookin At Lucky.

The Breeders' Cup, which will be televised by ABC/ESPN, consists of 14 races totaling $26 million in purses. This will be the seventh time the Cup has been run at Churchill. Final entries will be taken and post positions drawn Tuesday.

Pre-entries Closed

Pre-entries for the Breeders' Cup 2010 were closed at 12:00 PM (ET) today and all pre-entered contenders will be announced on Wednesday, October 27 at 10:00 AM (ET).

The Breeders' Cup Classic might have one of its strongest fields ever, with the likes of Zenyatta, Blame, Quality Road and Lookin At Lucky all pointing toward it, but it doesn't appear as though the presence of that Fearsome Foursome is going to keep the field size down.

Zenyatta's quest to remain unbeaten in her 20th and final start will be the focal point of the event. She won the Classic last year and the Ladies' Classic in 2008. She will be joined by Goldikova in attempting to win at the Breeders' Cup in three consecutive years. Goldikova will seek her third straight victory in the Mile, against males on turf, earlier on the Nov. 6 card.

The latest to join the party was trainer Nick Zito, who said from New York that he had pre-entered two horses, Fly Down and Morning Line, in the $5 million Classic, to be run Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs. Zito said Morning Line also was going to be pre-entered in the $1 million Dirt Mile, "but he'll definitely go in the Classic," Zito said.

The pre-entry stage is the first stage of a two-step process. At this point, horses can be named to two races. But by next Tuesday's final entry day, when post positions are drawn, remaining entry fees must be paid and horses can only be entered in one race.

The Breeders' Cup will be held Nov. 5 and 6 at Churchill Downs, which is playing host to racing's championship event for a record seventh time.

Espoir City arrived to run in Breeders' Cup Classic 2010

The Yushun Horse Club’s Japan-based star Espoir City arrived at Churchill Downs early Tuesday morning for a run in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, settling in his stall in the quarantine barn at 4:30 a.m. (EDT).

Espoir City flew from Japan to Chicago, where he changed planes for the short flight to Louisville. Accompanying Espoir City on the flights was Artiste.
“It was a long flight and he was his companion,” trainer Akio Adachi said. “He is a racehorse, but he will not race here and not train with Espoir City in the morning.”
Espoir City is expected to be in quarantine for 48 hours and Adachi said the 5-year-old would go to the track for training Thursday morning “if time permits.”
Jockey Tetsuzo Sato is scheduled to come to Louisville this Friday for a three-day stay before returning to Japan to honor a riding commitment and then return to Louisville.

Sato accompanied Adachi to Louisville in July to get a firsthand look at Churchill Downs. As Adachi watched horses train Tuesday morning, he was asked how preparations had gone with Espoir City since the last time he was in Louisville.
“Better than expected,” Adachi said. “His first race back (from a five-month layoff) was good and he needed that race.”

The two-time Group I winner has compiled a record of 20-11-4-1 for earnings of $5,963,979 with Sato aboard for eight of the victories.

Mine That Bird Running in Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Mine That Bird, winner of the 2009 Kentucky Derby tuned up for runs in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile with workouts on Sunday at Churchill Downs.

Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Serte Equine’s Mine That Bird breezed five furlongs in 1:01.20 for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. The move by the 4-year-old Birdstone gelding was the sixth-fastest of 25 at the distance over a fast track. Lukas is pointing Mine That Bird, who has failed to win eight races since his victory at odds of 50-1 in Kentucky Derby 135, toward a possible run in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Saturday, November 6 2010.

Watch the Kentucky Derby 2009 race where Mind That Bird finished 1st.

Rachel Alexandra is Retired

Rachel Alexandra, North America's 2009 Horse of the Year, was retired Tuesday and co-owner Jess Jackson plans to breed her to Curlin, the continent's 2007 and 2008 Horse of the Year.


The decision to end her career comes on the heels of a disappointing 2010 season, one where she never regained the form she showed as a dominant 3-year-old, winning only two of her five races.

In 2009, the filly burst onto the scene by winning the Kentucky Oaks by a record 20 lengths, a performance so impressive it had many experts surmising that she could have entered the Kentucky Derby the following day and won. Jockey Calvin Borel, who rode her to victory in the Oaks, thought so highly of her he became the first jockey in history to ride the Kentucky Derby winner and then give up that mount in the Preakness because he wanted to ride another horse.

Rachael Alexandra validated Borel's decision two weeks later when she captured the second leg of the Triple Crown at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course, holding off Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird down the stretch. After skipping the Belmont Stakes, she finished the year 8-0 and was named Horse of the Year by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

But Rachael either peaked as a 3-year-old or was permanently worn down by the dominant 2009 season, because despite taking several months off she was never the same horse. The decision to end her racing career was not totally unexpected.

"The fans adored her. We all did," said Steve Asmussen, who trained Rachel Alexandra. "She had the most fluid and beautiful stride of any horse I have ever seen."