2018 Breeders' Cup

The 2018 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 35th edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. The 14 races, all but one of which were Grade I, took place on November 2 and 3 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The races were telecast by NBCSN on Friday and early Saturday, and by NBC later on Saturday. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North American racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The event typically determines champions in many of the Eclipse Award divisions, although it was missing the eventual Horse of the Year, Triple Crown champion Justify, who was retired in July.

2018 Breeders' Cup
Championship Event Series race
Logo of the 2018 Breeders' Cup
LocationChurchill Downs
Race typeThoroughbred
Websitewww.breederscup.com
Race information
DistanceSee individual races
SurfaceTurf, Dirt
PurseVaries by Race; from $1 million to $6 million

Qualifying
Main article: 2018 Breeders' Cup Challenge series

A maximum of 14 horses (12 in the Turf Sprint and Juvenile Turf Sprint) are allowed to start in each race. Horses can automatically qualify by winning one of the designated races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, which provide "Win and You're In" berths in a specified division of the Breeders' Cup. Other pre-entries are ranked by a points system and the judgement of a panel of experts.[1]

A record 221 pre-entries were taken on October 24. Twelve races, including the Classic, were over-subscribed, meaning more than 14 horses (12 in the Juvenile Turf Sprint) wished to enter. Forty-eight of the pre-entries were automatic qualifiers through the Challenge series.[2]

Five winners of Challenge series races went on to win their respective division at the Breeders' Cup:

Event preparation

In April 2016, the Breeders' Cup organization announced that Churchill Downs would host the event for the ninth time in 2018. As the home of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs had the capacity to host the large crowds and betting handle expected at the event. Churchill Downs underwent a $70 million upgrade to its facilities to secure the bid, focused on improved dining and viewing spaces.[3]

One of the major changes for 2018 was that the Friday card, dubbed "Future Stars Friday", featured five juvenile races (those restricted to two-year-old horses). This included a new race, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, which was the only race in the series that was not a Grade I event as it was not yet eligible for graded status. The Distaff, which had previously highlighted the Friday card, was held on Saturday.[4][5]

Results
See also: 2018 Breeders' Cup Classic

Friday, November 2
  • Bulletin
  • Newspaperofrecord
  • Jaywalk
  • Line of Duty
  • Game Winner

The attendance on Friday was 42,249, up 29% from the previous year at Del Mar and up 4% over the last time the Breeders' Cup was held at Churchill Downs, in 2011. The total amount wagered on the 10 race card was $52,216,685, similar to the amount wagered in 2017.[6]

Game Winner was the easy winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and established himself as the almost certain Champion two-year-old male horse and early favorite for the 2019 Kentucky Derby. The balloting for Champion two-year-old filly will likely be close between Newspaperofrecord, winner of the Juvenile Fillies Turf, and Jaywalk, winner of the Juvenile Fillies. Dirt runners normally are given an edge in North America, but Newspaperofrecord's win on the turf was considered one of the outstanding performances of the event.[7]

Race name Post time
(EDT)		 Sponsor Distance/Surface Restrictions Purse Winner (Bred) Odds Margin
Juvenile Turf Sprint 3:21 PM about ​5 1⁄2 furlongs (Turf) 2-year-olds $1 million Bulletin 4.30 ​2 3⁄4 lengths
Juvenile Fillies Turf 4:00 PM 1 mile (Turf) 2-year-old fillies $1 million Newspaperofrecord (IRE) 0.60 ​6 3⁄4 lengths
Juvenile Fillies 4:40 PM Tito's Handmade Vodka ​1 1⁄16 miles 2-year-old fillies $2 million Jaywalk 5.50 ​5 1⁄2 lengths
Juvenile Turf 5:22 PM 1 mile (Turf) 2-year-old colts and geldings $1 million Line of Duty (IRE) 3.50 ​1⁄2 length
Juvenile 6:05 PM Sentient Jet ​1 1⁄16 miles 2-year-old colts and geldings $2 million Game Winner 1.00 ​2 1⁄4 lengths

Source: Equibase Charts[8]

The races were televised on NBCSN.[9]

Saturday, November 3
See also: 2018 Breeders' Cup Classic
  • Shamrock Rose - Filly & Mare Sprint
  • Stormy Liberal - Turf Sprint
  • City of Light - Dirt Mile
  • Sistercharlie - Filly & Mare Turf
  • Roy H - Sprint
  • Expert Eye - Mile
  • Monomoy Girl - Distaff
  • Enable - Turf
  • Accelerate - Classic

The Saturday card was watched by a crowd of 70,423, a major increase from the previous year's attendance at Del Mar, which had been capped at 37,500. However, the total amount bet on the nine Breeders' Cup races held on Saturday was down 4% from 2017.[10] The weather was cool with the turf course officially listed as good, verging on yielding. The main track was officially listed as fast.[11]

The highlights were Accelerate's victory in the Classic and Enable's win in the Turf. Enable became the first horse to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Breeders' Cup Turf in the same year. Her owner-breeder Juddmonte Farms, trainer John Gosden and jockey Frankie Dettori also won the Mile with Expert Eye.[12][13]

Peter Miller became the first person to train back-to-back winners of two races after Stormy Liberal and Roy H won the Turf Sprint and Sprint respectively. John Sadler, who saddled his first Breeders' Cup runner in 1988, earned his first win at the event with Accelerate in the Classic.[14] Brad Cox also trained his first winner, Monomoy Girl in the Distaff.[15]

Irad Ortiz Jr. won the Shoemaker Award for outstanding jockey at the event after he won two races, the Juvenile Fillies Turf with Newspaperofrecord and the Filly & Mare Sprint with Shamrock Rose, plus scoring five more top four finishes.[16] Florent Geroux finished second in the standings after riding three winners over the weekend: Jaywalk in the Juvenile Fillies, Game Winner in the Juvenile and Accelerate in the Classic. Paco Lopez earned his first Breeders' Cup win aboard Roy H in the Sprint.[14]

With his win in the Classic, Accelerate cemented his chances to win the Eclipse Award for Champion Older Male Dirt Horse, and moved into consideration for American Horse of the Year. Similarly, Monomoy Girl "stands out" in the three-year-old filly division after winning the Distaff and Roy H locked up his second win in the Sprint division. The female turf horse division will likely be between Enable, who became the first horse to win the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Breeders' Cup Turf in the same year, and Sistercharlie, with four Group I wins in North America including the Filly & Mare Turf.[7][17]

Race Name Post time
(EDT)		 Sponsor Distance/Surface Restrictions Purse Winner (Bred) Odds Margin
Filly & Mare Sprint 12:00 PM 7 furlongs 3 yrs+ fillies & mares $1 million Shamrock Rose 25.90 Head
Turf Sprint 12:38 PM ​5 1⁄2 furlongs (Turf) 3 yrs+ $1 million Stormy Liberal 7.00 Neck
Dirt Mile 1:16 PM 1 mile 3 yrs+ $1 million City of Light 2.60 ​2 3⁄4 lengths
Filly & Mare Turf 2:04 PM Maker's Mark ​1 3⁄8 miles (Turf) 3 yrs+ fillies & mares $2 million Sistercharlie (IRE) 3.30 Neck
Sprint 2:46 PM TwinSpires 6 furlongs 3 yrs+ $2 million Roy H 2.70 ​3 1⁄4 lengths
Mile 3:36 PM 1 mile (Turf) 3 yrs+ $2 million Expert Eye (GB) 5.90 ​1⁄2 length
Distaff 4:16 PM Longines ​1 1⁄8 miles 3 yrs+ fillies & mares $2 million Monomoy Girl 1.80 1 length
Turf 4:56 PM Longines ​1 1⁄2 miles (Turf) 3 yrs+ $4 million Enable (GB) 0.80 ​3⁄4 length
Classic 5:44 PM ​1 1⁄4 miles 3 yrs+ $6 million Accelerate 2.70 1 length

Source: Equibase Charts[18]

The early races were televised by NBCSN. The main NBC network broadcast the Mile, Distaff, Turf and Classic.[9]

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References
  1. "How It Works". www.breederscup.com. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  2. Angst, Frank. "Record 221 Pre-Entries for 2018 Breeders' Cup". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  3. Catton, Pia (25 April 2016). "Churchill Downs to Host Breeders' Cup in 2018". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  4. "Breeders' Cup Friday to Spotlight Juvenile Races". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  5. "Breeders' Cup Championships Adds Juvenile Turf Sprint". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  6. "Fourth-Highest All-Sources Breeders' Cup Friday Handle". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  7. Watchmaker, Mike. "Breeders' Cup settled some but not all Eclipse Award races". www.drf.com. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  8. "Charts for Churchill Downs, November 2". equibase.com. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  9. "Race Information". www.breederscup.com. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  10. "Handle Down for 2018 Breeders' Cup". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  11. Watchmaker, Mike. "Early main track and course condition musings on Breeders' Cup Saturday at Churchill Downs". live.drf.com. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
  12. "Enable very much able as European queen makes history Stateside". www.racingpost.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  13. "Hovdey: Readings from the Breeders' Cup Book of Two Johns | Daily Racing Form". www.drf.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  14. "Accelerate wins Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs". Washington Post. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  15. "Horse Racing: Monomoy Girl Cruises to Breeders' Cup Distaff Win". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  16. "Ortiz Jr. Earns Bill Shoemaker Award". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  17. Privman, Jay. "Horse of the Year not the only Eclipse division up for debate". www.drf.com. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  18. "Charts for Churchill Downs on November 3, 2018". equibase.com. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
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