Tag: Breeders’ Cup

The Breeders' Cup, one of Thoroughbred racing's most prestigious international events, today announced that Santa Anita Park will host the 2023 Breeders' Cup World Championships for a record 11th time. Next year will mark the 40th running of the Breeders' Cup, where racing participants, horses, and fans from around the globe will convene at one of the world's most picturesque racetracks for two days of championship racing.

Located against the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains in Arcadia, California, the Breeders' Cup World Championships, consisting of 14 Grade 1 races with purses and awards totaling more than $31 million, will be held at 1/ST RACING's Santa Anita Park on Friday, Nov. 3 and Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.

“Santa Anita Park is an integral part of Breeders' Cup history and is the perfect venue for our landmark 40th running,” said Drew Fleming, Breeders' Cup President and CEO. “Since our founders conceived this season-ending championship four decades ago, the Breeders' Cup has consistently been one of the leading global events in Thoroughbred racing. Santa Anita's outstanding reputation and scenic venue provide us with the ideal setting to continue to grow our audience by combining the best that racing, hospitality, and entertainment have to offer.”

“1/ST RACING is delighted to welcome back the Breeders' Cup to Santa Anita Park for the special 40th running of these extraordinary World Championships,” said Craig Fravel, Chief Executive Officer, 1/ST RACING. “1/ST RACING looks forward to showcasing Santa Anita Park for a record 11th time as California's premier racing venue committed to delivering the best backdrop for world-class racing, entertainment and hospitality, and to being part of the unique excitement that comes with the Breeders' Cup.”

Breeders' Cup expects the 2023 World Championships to have a nearly $100-million impact on the Southern California economy, based on a 2017 study. Given the World Championships' 40th running and the beautiful backdrop of Santa Anita, fans and guests from around the world are expected to attend races and patronize local hotels, restaurants, and other entertainment venues. Breeders' Cup World Championships held at Santa Anita have consistently set the standard for both attendance and wagering over the years. The 2016 World Championships at Santa Anita holds the event's all-time attendance record, with 118,484 fans. When the World Championships were last held at Santa Anita in 2019, a new wagering record of more than $175 million was set.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Breeders' Cup back to Santa Anita Park for a record 11th time next November,” said Kathryn Schloessman, President & CEO, Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission. “This signature event will once again deliver a memorable experience for guests and significant economic impact for the greater Los Angeles region.”

To sign up for ticketing and other information about the 2023 Breeders' Cup World Championships, please visit BreedersCup.com/2023.

The 39th running of the Breeders' Cup World Championships will be held on Nov. 4 and 5, 2022 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. and will be televised live by NBC Sports. Limited tickets are still available at BreedersCup.com/tickets.

The post Breeders’ Cup Announces Santa Anita Park As Host Of 2023 World Championships appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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When Jesus “Jesse” Cruz picked up the phone at the end of the 2018 Delaware Park meet and dialed Wasabi Ventures Stables' managing partner TK Keugler, he was at rock bottom – with the idea of having a horse in Saturday's $1 million TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park, which he does in Benevengo, nowhere within the realm of possibility.

“I called him and was literally in tears. I told him that I started a business, my business failed, and I'm in debt, and I need to get a job,” said Cruz, who was in his first full year of conditioning Thoroughbreds and had just witnessed his only other client remove all his horses from the then 24-year-old trainer's care.

“I'd had a lot of horses for that owner. All I was left with was two of TK's horses in my barn. I told him, 'I can help you find a trainer for these two horses, and I'm sorry.' When I said all this, I was in tears.”

Keugler, a venture capitalist and the founder of the racing syndicate created in 2017, burst into laughter.

“I was taken aback by that. This was a very serious moment in my life. I was crying and he was laughing,” said Cruz. “What he does for a living is help start-up companies. I'm pretty sure he's had that phone call at least a half-dozen times. He said, 'Listen Jesse, our plan was to get these two horses to Oaklawn Park. Get them to Oaklawn. I'm going to fly out there and we'll sit down. We'll figure out how to build this stable back.' ”

Cruz and Keugler have been together ever since.

“We're a pretty good team,” said the now 28-year-old Cruz, who trains 15 of the 18 horses in his Monmouth Park-based outfit for Wasabi Ventures Stables. “We've had a lot of success together, that's for sure.”

The stable notched its initial and only stakes score on June 19 in the $75,000 All Brandy at Laurel Park with Why Not Tonight, and that win was also the first and only in a stakes race for Cruz. Now the team is poised to elevate its success to the top level when Benevengo competes in the Grade 1 Haskell.

Benevengo, whom Keugler haltered for $25,000 out of a maiden claiming race at Tampa Bay Downs (which the colt won by 9½ lengths in his first career outing in February), was fourth in the Long Branch Stakes after enduring a nightmare trip on a sloppy Monmouth strip two starts back and then won a first level optional claiming race here one month ago.

Benevengo will line up in the Haskell gate with the undefeated dual Grade 1 winner Jack Christopher, Grade 1 Arkansas Derby winner Cyberknife, Grade 1 Florida Derby winner White Abarrio, and Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Taiba, a $1.7 million purchase.

Moreover, Taiba is trained by nine-time Haskell winner and Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, while Jack Christopher comes from the barn of Chad Brown, Cyberknife is a Brad Cox trainee, and Dale Romans conditions Howling Time. Those four horsemen have earned a collective 11 Eclipse Awards, and along with Saffie Joseph, Jr., White Abarrio's trainer, have combined for several hundred Grade 1 victories.

“I'm not intimidated. I know it's a big step up and I understand that, and I know there are people who are going to maybe say he doesn't belong in the race,” said Cruz, whose only previous graded stakes appearance was in the Grade 3 Fantasy in 2019 at Oaklawn. “But my horse has run four times and won three races and he's gotten better with every race. He beat older horses in that last race and did it impressively. I feel like I have him prepared and he's as good as he's going to be now.

“Whether he's good enough, we'll have to wait until the doors open on the gate to find that out.”

Cruz may be light on experience in saddling a horse in a top-level contest, but that doesn't mean he's a neophyte with this caliber of horse. The West Virginia native grew up on the backside of Charles Town racetrack as the son of assistant trainer Daisy Todd and the stepson of multiple stakes winning trainer Lewis Craig, Jr., and he was an exercise rider for family friend Ollie Figgins III before rising up to his assistant.

Cruz was on the team when Figgins trained the crackerjack Grade 1 winner Dance to Bristol, whose multiple stakes-winning career at Belmont Park and Saratoga culminated in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. His experience with her also landed him jobs galloping top class horses for Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Mike Maker, and Joe Sharp.

“Ollie is like a second father to me. I went everywhere with Bristol,” Cruz said, “I've been around good horses. I've had the Grade 1 experience. I galloped her more than anybody and I was his assistant at the time. I was a small part, but at the same time, a big part of her success. I went everywhere with some other good horses we had at the time, too.

“After Bristol I spent some time a Saratoga, where every day is a Grade 1 experience.”

Benevengo, by Gormley out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare On High Alert, is giving Cruz and his assistant and girlfriend Grace Smith all the signals that he's sitting on go for the Haskell. He's fired bullets on this track in his last two works at five furlongs and he does have the home track advantage.

“The horse is doing super. We know we're going to be a longshot. We're stepping up from an other than to Grade 1 and that's a pretty big task, but the horse is doing well and he's training well,” said Cruz, who gallops “Benny” himself. “We get to walk out of our own stall and walk over to the track he trains over every day to, hopefully, win a Grade 1 and one of the most historic races in the country.

“I do think that whenever you don't have to ship it's always an advantage. When you don't have to take them out of their normal, everyday routine it's always a good thing.”

Cruz is confident that on Saturday when he leads over “Benny,” the colt will be primed to perform at his best.

“The big thing with Benevengo is that I don't think we've found the bottom with him yet,” he said. “I know he's prepared to run in this race. We're excited. We've checked all the boxes and we've done all the correct things.”

The same can be said for this up-and-coming trainer.

“I'm 28 and pretty young to be where I'm at right now and a major part of that was me being a good exercise rider and getting some experiences that most don't usually get so early on in life,” he said. “It's because I was a good exercise rider and a good hand on a horse that I got pushed into this position to be with a lot of good horses now.

“For me, this is where I want to be. It might be a little early in my career, but I always felt I was going to get to this point at some stage. So it might as well be now.”

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Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will look to extend his record for victories to 10 in the TVG.com Haskell stakes after Taiba was installed as the 7-5 morning line for the $1 million, Grade 1 race on Saturday at Monmouth Park following Wednesday's post position draw.

Monmouth Park oddsmaker Brad Thomas pegged the undefeated Jack Christopher as the 3-2 morning line second choice in the field of eight, which expanded with the late entries of local horses King of Hollywood and One Time Willard.

The 55th edition The Haskell, to be contested at 1 1/8 miles, is a “Win and You're In” race as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series and guarantees the victor an all-fees paid spot in the starting gate for the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Nov. 5.

Baffert last won the Haskell in 2020 with Authentic.

“I don't think about records. I just think about sending a good horse there and I've sent some really great ones,” said Baffert. “I hope this guy is the same type of horse I've been bringing up there. We know he's very talented.”

Taiba, a $1.7 million purchase and the son of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner, won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in only his second outing and finished 12th in the Kentucky Derby last time out while being handled by Tim Yatkeen while Baffert was serving a 90-day suspension.

“We know he's lightly raced but I feel he's doing really well,” Baffert said. “I wanted to watch him train. I wasn't really convinced he was going to the Haskell. He breezed really well. He's a big, strong heavy horse who won't light it up in the mornings, but I was surprised what he did first out (to breeze). I let him dictate if he was ready or not. I wasn't going to throw him into the deep end of the pool.

“I would have liked an extra week with him. But he's doing really well. He has speed and he doesn't get tired. The two turns won't be a problem for him. The Kentucky Derby was a tall order for him. I don't know what happened in the Derby. I wasn't around. The Haskell is a great race and there are some really good horses in here. I hope the horse shows up.”

Taiba will be piloted by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, a three-time Haskell winner. Most recently, Smith won the Haskell with Authentic, who went on to earn Horse of the Year honors.

As for strategy when the gates open, Baffert said, “He has to break well. Then it's going to be up to Mike.”

Jim Baake, Gerald Ibister, Coolmore and Peter Brant's Jack Christopher, who is undefeated in four career outings and seeking his second straight top-level win, will be trying two turns for the first time while going beyond a mile for the first time as well.

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, who won the 2018 Haskell with Good Magic, has awarded the return call on the son of Munnings to Jose Ortiz. The 2017 champion rider piloted Good Magic to his Haskell win and has partnered with Jack Christopher in all of his races, including their 2021 victory in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont.

In addition to Jack Christopher and Taiba, Grade 1 winners in the competitive field of eight include Arkansas Derby winner Cyberknife, who is trained by two-time Eclipse winner Brad Cox, and the Saffie Joseph, Jr.-conditioned White Abarrio, the winner of the Florida Deby.

Howling Time, who comes from the barn of Eclipse Award winner Dale Romans, and the locally-based Benevengo, One Time Willard, and King of Hollywood round out the field.

With Cyberknife, Cox is attempting to win back-to-back Haskells. In 2021 he captured the trophy with Juddmonte's homebred Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun, who was elevated to first place by disqualification.

“I'm not sure how close I am to getting to the bottom of this horse,” Cox said. “He is a Grade 1 winner and a multiple stakes winner, and he has improved. There's more left in the tank. We're going to have to see the best Cyberknife in order to win this race. It's a very, very good race. If this horse can bring his last race and can move forward just a little bit, I think he's major, major player.”

In that last contest, the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs at 1 1/16 miles, Cyberknife sat right off the heels of Howling Time as that colt set all the fractions and then he prevailed in a deep stretch battle to get his nose in front at the wire.

“He's trained great. After the last two races he's trained better and better. He was a little bit behind physically but now he's not,” said Romans said of Howling Time. “I don't think we have to have the lead or take a hold with him. Joe (Talamo) is a quality rider and he knows what's he doing. I think we can just sit in our spot and, hopefully, we can run by them in the lane.”

The Haskell field from the rail out with riders and odds: 1 – Cyberknife, Florent Geroux, 6-1; 2 – Taiba, Mike Smith, 7-5; 3 – One Time Willard, Paco Lopez, 30-1; 4 – Howling Time, Joe Talamo, 10-1; 5 – King of Hollywood, Nik Juarez, 30-1; 6 – White Abarrio, Joel Rosario, 5-1; 7 – Jack Christopher, Jose Ortiz, 3-2, and 8 – Benevengo, Angel Rodriguez, 20-1.

Post time for the Haskell, which will be televised by CNBC and TVG, is approximately 5:45 PM and will be run as the 12th of 14 races on the card. First post on Haskell day is at noon.

The supporting card offers four additional graded stakes: the $600,000 Grade 1, United Nations; $400,000 Grade 3 Monmouth Cup; the $400,000, Grade 3 Molly Pitcher Stakes, and the $200,00, Grade 3 WinStar Matchmaker Stakes.

Gates open at 9 a.m. for the Haskell day card. Parking is free.

The post Haskell Lineup: Taiba Installed As 7-5 Favorite, Undefeated Jack Christopher At 3-2 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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This year's $1 million TVG Pacific Classic at Del Mar has been moved back two weeks to the Labor Day weekend on Sept. 3. Like much of the stakes schedule, the date of the Classic, which will be run for the 32nd time this year, had to be changed to accommodate the late start to the meet, which kicks off a week later than usual on July 22.

Racing Secretary David Jerkens says having the entire meet go a week beyond Labor Day, to Sept. 11, caused them to look at the schedule differently.

“The Pacific Classic,” he said, “we could have left it where it was last year (August 21st in 2021), but now your prep races, like the San Diego, are a little quick. So we thought, Labor Day weekend would be the way to go.“

It's not the first time the date has been changed for Del Mar's premiere event. The Grade 1 Classic has been run as early as Aug. 9 and as late as Aug. 30. It was even run on a Sunday for many years. But never Labor Day weekend. Jerkens says that was the logical spot.

“If you run it the week we ran it last year, that third week of August, with your meet going until Sept. 11, it's kind of in the middle of the meet more than at the end, where it typically is,” he noted. “The following week is the Travers and we try to avoid that Saturday.”

Another benefit of running the TVG Pacific Classic — a 'Win and You're In' race for the Breeders' Cup Classic –in its current spot is that it aligns perfectly with the Breeders' Cup Classic almost exactly two months later. A trainer can run in the TVG Pacific Classic on Sept. 3 and have the desired four weeks to run in another prep race, like the Awesome Again at Santa Anita, and still have an additional four weeks to get ready for the big race.

This year's TVG Pacific Classic is expected to attract racing's hottest item, the undefeated Flightline, fresh off a dominating win in the G1 Met Mile at Belmont Park in June. The son of Tapit is stabled in John Sadler's barn here at Del Mar.

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