Each year, Breeders' Cup officials have ramped up the degree of veterinary and security monitoring for contenders. For the 2022 edition at Keeneland, the event will benefit from a new layer of oversight that will be a permanent part of life at the track.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Keeneland and Breeders' Cup officials discussed a new high-definition camera system that gives veterinarians access to more information about horses than ever before. The track has a new network of 11 articulated cameras which add to the existing network of barn cameras to allow officials to monitor horses in barns, on both tracks, the paddock, and even on horse paths.
“To say it's amazing is probably an understatement,” said Dora Delgado, chief racing officer for Breeders' Cup. “The camera quality and the capture of being able to isolate a particular horse on the racetrack when there could be 200 horses out there is just remarkable. This would be a gold standard that tracks should follow.
“Cameras are literally everywhere.”
The goal of the system is to give the team of examining veterinarians an even greater range of information to work from. Delgado said that for Breeders' Cup's purposes, it's primarily being used to help veterinarians decide whether to put a horse on a watch list for further examination at the barn.
The system is a permanent fixture at Keeneland and Breeders' Cup president and CEO Drew Fleming said while it's certainly not the only factor in determining future host sites, the organization does consider it a major perk.
Like what you're reading?
Support our journalism while accessing bonus behind-the-scenes content, Q&As, and more. Subscribe to our Patreon stream.
It's a complement to the already-extensive layers of veterinary monitoring and testing conducted by Breeders' Cup. The organization requires trot-up examinations of every participating horse before it enters a racing surface to train, in addition to multiple comprehensive veterinary examinations, which for Kentucky-based runners began as early as Oct. 21. Horses' private veterinarians will be required, in accordance with Kentucky regulations, to attest to a horse's soundness prior to participation. Officials also reported they've coordinated the collection of 350 blood and hair samples for out-of-competition from horses in the United States, Canada and four other countries. Additionally, all horses underwent an out-of-competition drug test on Nov. 1.
Eighty-five percent of those test results had come in as of the morning of Nov. 2.
Under the regulations of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, participants were required to submit 30 days of treatment records to Kentucky Horse Racing Commission equine medical director Dr. Bruce Howard. Those treatment records should include prescriptions, even topicals.
All horses have 24-hour surveillance on them in the barn beginning at their check-in on Nov. 1, with records being kept of any interaction the horse has with a person.
Officials with Keeneland, Breeders' Cup, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit on Wednesday went through many of the policies in place to protect the safety of the horses and the integrity of this year's Breeders' Cup world championships at Keeneland race course on Nov. 4-5.
All horses were required to be on the grounds on Tuesday, Nov. 1, with pre-race test samples taken of each entrant. Many of the horses, in North America and throughout the world, have previously been tested out of competition prior to arriving in Kentucky.
In today's Breeders' Cup News Minute, Ray Paulick outlines a number of the safety and integrity measures, including HISA's six-strike limit riding crop rule that will be in place for the first time at the world championships.
What you want to hear from a major owner-breeder like Trevor Stewart, the man who has set up a mini-empire off the back of buying wondermare Cassandra Go back in 1997, is that there is a nuanced approach to breeding and, with the right blend of skill and hard work, you too can make this game pay.
The trouble is, Stewart does not believe that is the case. Not only does he put buying top-class racemare-turned-blue hen Cassandra Go down to good luck, but he also points to fortune favouring him once again in producing her grandson Victoria Road (Ire), a leading fancy for Friday's Grade I Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.
To paraphrase Stewart, he threw the kitchen sink at Tickled Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a daughter of Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), with matings to Dark Angel (Ire), Frankel (GB) and Shamardal failing to produce a single black-type runner.
Just when Stewart had started to view Tickled Pink as a disappointing broodmare, along came Victoria Road, by first-season sire Saxon Warrior (Jpn), who bids to put the pedigree in lights at Keeneland on Friday.
Stewart said, “Tickled Pink has been a bit disappointing up until now. I have thrown everything at her–Dark Angel, Frankel and Shamardal. A few of them were a little bit on the small side and, while they had good ratings, were limited by size. To think now that a first-season sire seems to have hit it. It's amazing really.”
He added, “It was all about Deep Impact (Jpn) when it came to choosing Saxon Warrior for the mare. I loved Saxon Warrior as an individual as well. He was a very good racehorse and had size and scope. I felt that I had sent Tickled Pink to a few very good sires and decided to risk something different to see if it worked.”
Victoria Road has taken his form to a new level in the autumn for Aidan O'Brien and boasts rock-solid credentials for Friday's contest at odds of 5-1.
Convinced that the colt would emerge to be one of the better 2-year-olds at Ballydoyle this season, O'Brien advised Stewart to return to Saxon Warrior this breeding season with Tickled Pink, who is happily in foal to the Coolmore-based stallion.
Stewart explained, “Interestingly, I was going to cover Tickled Pink with No Nay Never this year and sent a message to Christy Grassick asking him to ask Aidan [O'Brien] about what his view would be. Aidan came back and told me that it was an absolute no-brainer and that I had to go to Saxon Warrior.
“That was a very easy decision in that there was a big difference in price between Saxon Warrior and No Nay Never's stud fee. Aidan was also talking up Victoria Road at the time, for all that it was only March.
“I was down with Aidan in May and, of course, the No Nay Nevers had come out and were winning everything. I said to Aidan, 'I think you might not have given me the best advice.' Aidan just said, 'wait and see, you'll be fine.'”
And what an understatement that has turned out to be. Victoria Road followed up his listed success at Deauville with a hard-fought Group 3 victory at Chantilly last month and suddenly Stewart is viewing Tickled Pink in a different light.
“She has an outstanding colt foal by Ghaiyyath (GB) on the ground. I went to Ghaiyyath because he's the most beautiful horse. He's big and strong and has good limbs. I felt that he would put some size into her because the Invincible Spirit seems to be coming out in her. They are just a little on the neat side. Hopefully I have found the secret to this mare because you need size and scope to make up into a good 3-year-old.”
He added, “I don't know if she's carrying a colt or a filly but obviously I am praying it's a filly. I would love to keep a filly out of her. I try to keep all the fillies and it's an exception if I bring a filly to the sales.
“I have four daughters and three granddaughters out of Casandra Go and we have a few fillies on the ground. I will keep those and race them.”
And while Stewart, along with James Hanly of Ballyhimikin Stud, who boards all of his mares, clearly adopt a professional approach and are following a proven strategy to success in the ring and on the racetrack, nothing will dissuade the renowned owner-breeder from believing that anything other than luck can be attributed to the success.
He said, “It's really all down to luck. Even the way I have covered Tickled Pink has been lucky. You would think that going to Frankel, Dark Angel and Shamardal would do the trick for her. Now, Saxon Warrior is looking like he will be an above-average stallion, but it's funny that a first-season sire is the one to get the mare off the ground.”
For all of his good fortune, Stewart admits that he was a little miffed at the price tag that Victoria Road made at Book 1 at Tattersalls last year. He says the fact that the mare could have been viewed as disappointing may have contributed to the colt making just 115,000gns to MV Magnier, not that he's complaining.
“He was a lovely yearling, very correct and moved like a dream. It was a disappointing price but I had a few other yearlings that I was keeping last year and decided to sell him. As my wife has told me since, Aidan has well made up for that disappointing price by what he has done with the horse on the track, so that's much more important.
“Maybe people felt that Tickled Pink was beginning to look a bit marginal and that didn't help her. But everyone at Coolmore were all over Victoria Road at the sales and they all loved him. I'm very lucky he went where he did.”
Epicenter – Winchell Thoroughbreds' Epicenter continued to impress in his gallops as he went out shortly after 8 a.m. on Wednesday at Keeneland. The 3-year-old went 1 1/2 miles under regular exercise rider Roberto Howell.
“He's just a fabulous horse,” said trainer Steve Asmussen, who is seeking a third Longines Breeders' Cup Classic victory. “I really love how he's physically matured throughout the year. It's a tough running of the race. It's easily the best race he's ever been in, but his confidence level is where you would want it. He's training beautifully.”
Epicenter gallops at Keeneland on Nov. 2, 2022
Flightline – Hronis Racing, Summer Wind Equine, West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm and Woodford Racing's Flightline again was one of the first horses on the track Wednesday morning, galloping 1 1/4 miles with regular morning partner Juan Levya aboard.
Leyva, who is one of 18 riders to have won a Breeders' Cup race with his first mount, has been with Flightline since he arrived in the barn save for three weeks when he was with trainer John Sadler's horses at Oaklawn Park.
So, what was it like getting on Flightline for the first time?
“Best horse I ever sat on,” Leyva said.
And riding that “best horse”?
“I can't describe it,” Leyva said. “There is a certain amount of pride that they entrust you with this kind of horse.”
Ironically, every morning that Flightline goes to the track there are some early departures from the runway across U.S. 60 at Blue Grass Airport.
“I tell him to chill out,” Leyva said with a big grin. “You don't have to take off yet!”
November 01, 2022: Flightline, trained by John W. Sadler, exercises in preparation for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky on November 01, 2022. Evers/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders' Cup
Happy Saver/Life Is Good – Wertheimer and Frere's Happy Saver did not train Wednesday morning because of a quarter crack in his left hind foot. The crack will be patched today and trainer Todd Pletcher hopes to make Saturday's Classic.
Meanwhile, CHC Inc. and WinStar Farm's Life Is Good visited the starting gate and then galloped 1 1/2m with Amelia Green aboard.
Pletcher said the gate schooling was normal operating procedure with Life Is Good not having any issues at the gate in the past.
Life Is Good is scheduled to school in the paddock Thursday.
November 1, 2022: Life Is Good, trained by Todd A. Pletcher, exercises in preparation for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on November 1, 2022. John Voorhees/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
Hot Rod Charlie – It was a routine 1 1/8 m gallop for Longines Classic contender Hot Rod Charlie on Wednesday morning under exercise rider Connor Murray as the colt prepares for his third Breeders' Cup start on Saturday. Owned by Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable and Strauss Bros Racing, Hot Rod Charlie's only other start at Keeneland was a second-place finish in the 2020 TVG Juvenile at odds of 94-1 for trainer Doug O'Neill.
“I think you're seeing a taller, more filled out version now,” O'Neill said. “He just continues to be so competitive, and he brings it every time. I think the biggest change from what we saw a couple of years back (when he ran in the 2020 Juvenile) is just a taller, bigger version of himself who continues to try just as hard every time we run him.”
Tyler Gaffalione, who has the mount Saturday, also rode the colt in the Breeders' Cup in 2020.
“He's grown up a lot (since the 2020 Juvenile),” Gaffalione said. “He's much bigger, much more powerful and much more mature. Right now it seems like he's the complete package.”
O'Neill will be looking to capture his first Longines Classic win and add to his five previous Breeders' Cup wins this weekend.
November 1, 2022: Hot Rod Charlie, trained by Doug F. O'Neill, exercises in preparation for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on November 1, 2022. Carolyn Simancik/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
Olympiad – Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stables and LNJ Foxwoods' Olympiad had an easy gallop Wednesday morning with veteran rider Neil Poznansky aboard. The $700,000 Keeneland September 2019 purchase has been patiently managed by trainer Bill Mott, including a 364-day layoff between his 2yo and 3yo campaigns. He has earned $2,007,560 from 12 starts, including victories in five of his past six efforts.
“If you've got a nice horse and want to give them a career, you've got to be patient,” Mott said. “You have to watch and observe and if you think they have issues that need to be taken care of early on. Fortunately, with him, we had some baby issues and gave him the time and he's repaid us for it.
“Everybody wants a (Kentucky) Derby winner and I have got one in the barn right now that we can start prepping in the spring for it, but the reality is that there's only 20 horses going into that gate out of 20,000 foals born, so not everybody can do it,” Mott concluded. “A lot can't make it for one reason or another, some aren't good enough and some aren't ready for it, but if you get one that's good enough and ready, let's go.”
November 1, 2022: Olympiad, trained by William I. Mott, exercises in preparation for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on November 1, 2022. John Voorhees/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
Rich Strike – RED TR Racing's Rich Strike galloped 1 1/2m with Gabriel Lagunes aboard before 6:30 Wednesday morning.
“He was wicked strong this morning,” trainer Eric Reed said. “The difference between before the (Kentucky) Derby and now is that he can control that wicked strong. He knows what he's doing out there.”
Lagunes came back to Lexington after riding six horses Tuesday night at Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort in New Cumberland, West Virginia.
“That's dedication right there,” Reed said. “I was going to get him a helicopter but I couldn't get one.”
Lagunes, who won one race Tuesday and was to make the 6 ½-hour drive back tonight for six more mounts, said he got back to Lexington at 3 a.m. this morning.
“I drove part of the way and my girlfriend drove the rest and I slept,” Lagunes said. “We win Saturday, I'm going to get a plane.”
November 2, 2022: Rich Strike, trained by Eric R. Reed, exercises in preparation for the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky on November 2, 2022. John Voorhees/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup
Taiba – Zedan Racing Stables Inc.'s Breeders' Cup Classic contender Taiba had a busy Wednesday morning at Keeneland. The chestnut Gun Runner colt galloped on the main track shortly after it reopened at 8 a.m. and schooled in the paddock at 10:30.
The two-time Grade 1 winner trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert will face older horses for the first time in the Classic. The race is headlined by the unbeaten John Sadler-trained Fightline, who was rated at 3-5 on the morning line. Taiba and jockey Mike Smith drew the rail and are 8-1 on the morning line.
Baffert is based at Santa Anita Park and said he has paid close attention as Flightline has emerged as the leading horse in the country. He was so impressed, he said, that he decided to skip the Classic and prepared Juddmonte's Laurel River for the Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile (G1).
“I love watching him work. I'm out there and I've seen all of his works,” Baffert said. “John and I sit up there in the same area and we watch the way he does everything. He's very aggressive. Horses like that are very easy to get ready.”
Baffert has a record four wins in the Classic. He put together a back-to-back-to-back run starting with Bayern in 2014. At Keeneland in 2015, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah concluded his brilliant career with an impressive victory. Arrogate completed the hat trick in 2016 and Authentic picked up the fourth Baffert win in 2020. This year, Baffert finds himself sending out an accomplished horse against a superstar.
“I know how people felt when they ran against American Pharoah,” Baffert said. “I know what they felt like because he's Pharoah at 4. He just moves like him. He's an extraordinary horse. He just moves over the ground and when he takes off he just takes off. The thing is that the only way a horse like that gets beat is just racing luck. Racing luck can get them all beat.”
However, Baffert said he was not predicting Taiba was poised to spring an upset against Flightline.
“Coming in here it's like I'm not thinking that I might go up there…” he said, leaving a few words unspoken and setting up the rest of his thought. “Some of these horses I feel I have a really good chance of winning with, but him with him I'm just thinking if I could run second or third.”
In his most recent start, Taiba won the Pennsylvania Derby by 3 lengths on Sept. 24. He has been most effective when he has been able to sit a stalking trip and take on the competition in the stretch.
“He ended up in the one-hole, but he probably would have ended up in the inside anyway,” Baffert said. “Taiba, he breaks really well. He breaks like he's going to go to the lead and then all of a sudden he sort of falls back. He likes to run at a target and I just hope he can see his target.”
