Month: November 2021

NBC Sports To Present 11.5 Hours Of Live Breeders’ Cup Coverage

NBC Sports presents 11.5 hours of live coverage of the 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships this weekend – the richest two days in horse racing – with $31 million in prize money at stake in 14 races. Highlighting the coverage is the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic this Saturday, Nov. 6, live from Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif. at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Highlighting Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic field:

  • Essential Quality: 2021 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner, trained by Brad Cox;
  • Knicks Go: Korea Racing Authority's five-year-old has won four of six starts this year, including victories in the Pegasus World Cup and the Whitney;
  • Medina Spirit: Finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby, trained by Bob Baffert;
  • Hot Rod Charlie: Trained by Doug O'Neill, finished second in the 2021 Belmont Stakes and won the Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 25.

Live coverage of the 38th Breeders' Cup World Championships begins Thursday, Nov. 4, at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN with handicapping special “Betting the Breeders' Cup.” Live racing coverage begins Friday, Nov. 5, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, followed by 6.5 live hours on Saturday, Nov. 6, beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and continuing on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET.

2021 BREEDERS' CUP TELEVISION SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES ET)

Date Time Event Platform
Thurs., Nov. 4 5 p.m. Betting the Breeders' Cup NBCSN
Fri., Nov. 5 5 p.m. Breeders' Cup World Championships NBCSN
Sat., Nov. 6 2:30 p.m. Breeders' Cup World Championships NBCSN
Sat., Nov. 6 8 p.m. Breeders' Cup Classic NBC, Peacock

COMMENTATORS: Ahmed Fareed hosts coverage throughout the weekend alongside analyst and Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who owns 15 Breeders' Cup wins; analyst Randy Moss; reporters Laffit Pincay III and Nick Luck; analyst/handicapper Eddie Olczyk and handicapper Matt Bernier; insights analyst Steve Kornacki; and reporters Kenny Rice, Donna Brothers, and Britney Eurton. NBC's Triple Crown race caller Larry Collmus will call all of the Breeders' Cup races. Maria Taylor makes her horse racing debut as the host of the primetime show Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Thursday afternoon's “Betting the Breeders' Cup” special features Eurton, Luck, Olczyk, Bernier, and Kornacki.

Programming highlights include:

  • Unique perspectives from the track through multiple live jockey cams and jockey and trainer/owner mics
  • This year, jockey cams will connect to real-time data viewers will see reflected in graphic overlays on replays, including speed, current position, distance from the leader, and distance from the finish
  • Breeders' Cup Contender Cam featuring 14 paddock ISO cameras and 10 front-side ISO roof cameras
  • Drone camera coverage and Megladon camera
  • An outrider camera capturing intimate moments with the winning jockey immediately following the race
  • Celebrities make their Breeders' Cup Classic picks
  • Maria Taylor catches up with the members of Boat Racing, the five former Brown University football teammates who are part-owners in Hot Rod Charlie
  • A feature on Distaff favorite Letruska – a horse of the year candidate – and what she means to her trainer, Fausto Gutierrez
  • Nick Luck interviews Charles Scheeler, the Chairperson of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority
  • A tribute to the late Bob Neumeier, who was a fixture on NBC Sports' Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup horse racing coverage
  • Access to approximately 75 video sources, including cameras and feeds

NBC Sports' coverage of the Breeders' Cup World Championships is produced by Lindsay Schanzer and Billy Matthews, and directed by Kaare Numme. The coordinating producer of NBC's horse racing coverage is Rob Hyland, who has been a part of the network's horse racing coverage since 2001. Executive producer and president, production, NBC Sports and NBCSN is Sam Flood.

BREEDERS' CUP COVERAGE ON COVERAGE ON NBCSPORTS.COM, NBC SPORTS APP & PEACOCK

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will stream live coverage to desktops, mobile, tablets, and connected TVs via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value to their subscription service, and making high-quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. The full HD-quality video stream will come directly from NBC's broadcasts. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox, and Chromecast. NBC Sports.com, the NBC Sports app, and Peacock – NBCUniversal's streaming service – will provide a full race replay of the Breeders' Cup Classic.

BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships consists of 14 races over two days at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, Calif. and features a total of $31 million in purses and awards. The culminating event of the Breeders' Cup, the Breeders' Cup Classic, is contested at 1 ¼ miles on the main track, for 3-year-olds and older. Breeders' Cup Limited administers the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing's year-end Championships. The Breeders' Cup also administers the Breeders' Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. Breeders' Cup press releases appear on the Breeders' Cup Web site, www.breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders' Cup on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

NBC SPORTS AND HORSE RACING: NBC Sports is the exclusive home to the most important and prestigious events in horse racing, including the Triple Crown, the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Royal Ascot, and Pegasus World Cup Invitational Series. NBC has been the exclusive home of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes since 2001, and the Belmont Stakes since 2011, when NBC Sports Group reassembled the Triple Crown.

The post NBC Sports To Present 11.5 Hours Of Live Breeders’ Cup Coverage appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Arqana Releases December Sale Catalogue

Group 1 winner Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) and G1 French 1000 Guineas runner-up Speak of the Devil (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) are two of the stars in the upcoming Arqana December Sale catalogue, which was released on Wednesday. Consigned by Haras de Castillon as lot 192, G1 Prix Jean Romanet heroine Grand Glory was also third in the G1 Prix de Diane and is due to run in the upcoming G1 Japan Cup on Nov. 28. Third in the G1 Prix Rothschild, Speak of the Devil (lot 172), a three-time listed winner, will be offered by Sumbe.

A total of 1,012 mares, fillies and foals are set to sell at Deauville from Dec. 4-7. More than a quarter of the mares offered have won black-type and/or have already produced at least one black-type horse. There are also 212 siblings or half-siblings to group winners, among them 57 sisters or half-sisters to Group 1 winners in the sale.

There have been 13 group winners in 2021 purchased in utero in the Deauville ring out of past December Sales. Leading the way is three-time Group 1 winner Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never), whose dam Plying (Hard Spun) sold in 2013. Other Group 1-winning graduates include Romantic Proposal (Ire) (Raven's Pass), Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) and 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies scorer Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}).

Arqana foal graduates have also enjoyed great success at racecourses on an international level in 2021, with alumni including dual Group 1 winner Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), G1 French 1000 Guineas heroine Coeursamba (Fr) (The Wow Signal {Ire}), G1 Prix Marcel Boussac victress Zellie (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), G1 Prix de l'Opera winner Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) and Tribhuvan (Fr) (Toronado {Ire}), who was first past the post in the GI United Nations S. in America.

Other lots of note include: Malavath (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) (lot 163), who holds an entry in Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf from Ecurie des Monceaux; Wertheimer & Frere's Panthere (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) (lot 194), a half-sister to G1 Prix Saint-Alary heroine Queen's Jewel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}); from Gestut Ammerland are Lady Livonia (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) (lot 23), a half-sister to major sire Lope de Vega (Ire) (Shamardal) and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire})'s full-sister Wildfeder (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) (lot 188); Deia (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) (lot 202) hails from the draft of Ronald Rauscher as a full-sister to German Group 1 winner Dschingis Secret (Ger) (Soldier Hallow {GB}); lot 104, Tazma (Fr) (Iffraaj {GB}), is a half-sister to Australian Group 1 winner Whisky Baron (Aus) (Manhattan Rain {Aus}) from the Aga Khan Studs; G2 German 1000 Guineas victress Lancade (GB) (Areion {Ger}) (lot 167) will be offered by Haras de Grandcamp; Baroda Stud's Jam And Mam (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) (lot 196) is a half-sister to G1 Prix de Diane winner Channel (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and is carrying her first foal by Night of Thunder (Ire); Star Garland (Ire) (Sea The Stars) (lot 223) represents the Godolphin consignment as a daughter of champion and three-time Group 1 winner Blue Bunting (Dynaformer); Group 3 winner and German Group 1-placed No Limit Credit (Ger) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) (lot 158) will be offered by Andreas Suborics; stakes winner Lightupthenight (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) (lot 52), a half-sister to Group 1 winner Intellogent (Ire) (Intello {Ger}), is in foal to Almanzor (Fr) as part of an Al Shahania Stud reduction from Haras des Cruchettes; Haras de Castillon's Sarvana (Fr) (Dubai Destination) (lot 80) is the dam of Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Gold Trip (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}) and is in foal to Sottsass (Fr); and German Group 2 winner Satomi (Ger) (Teofilo {Ire}) (lot 177) is in foal for the first time to Lope de Vega (Ire) from Haras de Saint-Pair.

A variety of sires are represented at Arqana by the 290 foals catalogued including the late Adlerflug (Ger), Australia (GB), Camelot (GB), Caravaggio, Dark Angel (Ire), Fastnet Rock (Aus), Frankel (GB), Kendargent (Fr), Kingman (GB), Kodiac (GB), Le Havre (Ire), Lope De Vega (Ire), Mehmas (Ire), New Bay (GB), Night Of Thunder (Ire), No Nay Never, Sea The Moon (Ger), Sea The Stars (Ire), Showcasing (GB), Siyouni (Fr), Starspangledbanner (Aus) and Wootton Bassett (GB).

Some of the foals of interest are: Haras de la Louviere's lot 111, a son of Wootton Bassett out of the dual group winner Top Toss (Ire) (Linamix {Fr}) who has already thrown two-time Group 3 winner Lesstalk in Paris (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}); a full-brother to Classic winner Dream and Do (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) (lot 124) from Haras du Logis Saint-Germain; lot 136, a half-brother by The Grey Gatsby (Ire) to the G2 King Edward S. winner and two-time Group 1-placed Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}) from La Motteraye Consignment; a three-quarter brother to G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches victress Coeursamba (lot 145) from Haras de l'Aumonerie; Haras de Colleville's lot 154, a full-brother to dual Group 1 winner Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}); and lot 206, a half-sister by Frankel to dual Group 1 winner Recoletos (Fr) (Whipper) from Haras de Saint Isidro.

The post Arqana Releases December Sale Catalogue appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Bloodlines: Good Timing, Quick Decisions Brought Sandstone To The Winner’s Circle

On the day that Churchill Downs ran the Street Sense Stakes, Oct. 31, a daughter of the 2006 juvenile champion and 2007 Kentucky Derby winner won the companion feature, the Rags to Riches Stakes for fillies.

Bred in Kentucky by Mark and Cindy Stansell, Sandstone won her stakes debut by 10 3/4 lengths in 1:44.18, which was faster than the colts ran in the Street Sense Stakes at the same distance.

Sandstone is the last foal out of her dam, the Seattle Slew mare Seattle Shimmer, who was 20 when she foaled this stakes winner.

Mark Stansell said, “Sandstone was one of the very best physicals out of her dam, who always threw nice babies. Seattle Shimmer had a very nice hip and would put that hip on foals, even from stallions who were a little light behind,” and due to the yearling filly's appeal on physique and pedigree, the breeders got $165,000 for Sandstone at the 2020 Keeneland September sale.

“This was a really nice yearling,” Stansell said. “One reason she only brought $165,000 was that the foals from old mares, anything over 15, are not highly sought after [in the commercial market]. If that mare hadn't been old, Sandstone would have brought more. She was that nice.”

Now a winner in two of her three starts, the Rags to Riches was the stakes debut for Sandstone, and she became her dam's first stakes winner. Two earlier foals, Sway Away (Afleet Alex) and Shaken (Uncle Mo), placed in Grade 2 company. Sway Away was second in the G2 Best Pal, San Vicente, and San Carlos; Shaken was third in the G2 Rachel Alexandra.

Yet, they almost never were.

The dam of these three talented stakes horses, as well as other good winners, was one of the last foals by Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew (by Bold Reasoning), himself a foal of 1974. The near-black champion had problems with his neck vertebrae late in life that required surgery and curtailed the last years of his stud career.

A foal of 1999, Seattle Shimmer was bred in Kentucky by Albert Finney, and Mickey and Karen Taylor. She and her stakes-winning dam received the best of care, but when the filly was born, she was “severely contracted as a foal,” said Kentucky horseman Bob Sliger, who spent many years with the Eaton Farms yearling division.

Contracted tendons are not rare among Thoroughbred foals, and the condition's name accurately describes the problem. A foal's long tendons are tightly contracted, rather than loose and flexible, when the foal is born. This can cause considerable problems with standing and nursing, and if not addressed appropriately and as early as possible, the malady has the potential to cripple a foal for life.

Seattle Shimmer, however, was in good hands.

Sliger continued: “We used PVC pipe to help get her legs straightened out, and it helped her a lot. She was broken but never went into training. That's when they had just lost Seattle Slew, and they went out of the horse business. When they did that, they gave the mare to me.”

For Sliger and former Eaton Farms manager Billy Tillery, Seattle Shimmer bred some very nice prospects, including Sway Away.

Sliger recalled that “Mark had bought three foals out of the mare off me and was crazy about Seattle Shimmer. She was a beautiful mare, a kind and lovely mare. Just a sweetheart, and Mark really wanted the mare.”

Stansell said he “was buying weanlings to resell as yearlings, and I got to know Bob after buying the third foal out of the mare, went and bought mare and the foal at side, who turned out to be Sway Away.

“She is buried in my back yard, he continued. “I have 87 acres, but buried her there.”

To produce Sandstone, Stansell “bred her to Street Sense, and this was one of the very best physicals out of the mare.”

In addition to the other foals out of Seattle Shimmer, Stansell sold, then repurchased and raced Shaken, and the half-sister to Sandstone “has an exceptional Vino Rosso foal in Book 2 of the November sale,” the breeder concluded.

The post Bloodlines: Good Timing, Quick Decisions Brought Sandstone To The Winner’s Circle appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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