Breeders' Cup draws 172 Pre-Entries

Led by an international all-star cast of the world's best horses, including

multiple Grade 1 winner Game On Dude, Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice,

defending Breeders' Cup Classic winner Fort Larned, two-time defending Distaff

champion Royal Delta, European standouts The Fugue, Declaration of War and

Olympic Glory, and defending Horse of the Year Wise Dan, 172 horses, including

nine 2012 race winners, have been pre-entered for the 2013 Breeders' Cup World

Championships.

The 30th Breeders' Cup World Championships, consisting of 14 races with

purses and awards totaling $27 million, will be held at Santa Anita Park for the

seventh time on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2. There will be five

Breeders' Cup races on Championship Friday and nine Breeders' Cup races on

Championship Saturday.

The Breeders' Cup will be televised live by NBCSN and NBC. The $5 million

Breeders' Cup Classic will be televised live and in primetime on NBC (8-9 p.m.

[ET]).

Fort Larned (Classic); Royal Delta (Distaff, formerly Ladies' Classic) Little

Mike (Turf); Wise Dan (Mile); Beholder (Juvenile Fillies) Groupie Doll (Filly &

Mare Sprint); Trinniberg (Sprint); Mizdirection (Turf Sprint) and Flotilla (FR)

(Juvenile Fillies Turf) are the nine 2012 winners pre-entered for this year's

Breeders' Cup.

The Breeders' Cup Classic, the climactic event of the Championships, will be

run on the main track at 1 1/4 miles. A total of 13 horses have been

pre-entered. Since the event's inception in 1984, 11 winners of the Classic have

been voted Thoroughbred racing's Horse of the Year.

Five starters from the 2012 Classic have returned including the first four

finishers in the race. This year's Classic is led by Diamond Pride, Lanni Family

Trust, Mercedes Stable and Bernie Schiappa's six-year-old Game On Dude, trained

by Bob Baffert and ridden by Mike Smith, the all-time leading Breeders' Cup

jockey with 17 victories. Game On Dude has won all five of his starts this year

in dominating front-running fashion, including Grade 1 scores in the Santa Anita

Handicap, the Hollywood Gold Cup and, most recently, Del Mar's Pacific Classic

by 8 1/2 lengths on August 25. The son of 1998 Classic winner Awesome Again is

the leading active money winner in North America with $5,602,158 in career

earnings, but seeks his first Classic victory after getting caught at the wire

by Drosselmeyer in 2011 and finishing a disappointing seventh as the favorite

last year at Santa Anita.

Janis Whitham's homebred Fort Larned won last year's Classic in a stirring

stretch drive over Mucho Macho Man by three-quarters of a length. However, the

five-year-old son of E Dubai has had an inconsistent season with just two wins

in five starts, but was impressive in his last start winning the Homecoming

Stakes at Churchill Downs on September 28. Tiznow, in 2000 and 2001, is the only

horse to win the Classic twice.

Reeves Thoroughbred's Classic runner-up Mucho Macho Man has made just four

starts this year, but he earned his first win this season, and his initial Grade

1 triumph, with a dominant performance against West Coast horses in the

September 28 Awesome Again at Santa Anita. Trained by Kathy Ritvo, the

five-year-old son of 2000 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Macho Uno clearly has an

affinity for Santa Anita's main track.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott has won the Classic twice. Mott accomplished

it with Cigar's victory in 1995 and again with Drosselmeyer in 2011. This year,

Mott has again pre-entered Flat Out and Ron the Greek, the third- and fourth-

place finishers in last year's Classic.

Preston Stable's seven-year-old Flat Out was third in last year's Classic

after finishing fifth as the favorite in 2011. He returns to this year's event

off a third place finish in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park September

28. Brous Stable and Wachtel Stable's six-year-old Ron the Greek surprised many

by winning the Gold Cup by 6 3/4 lengths at 21-1 in a stark reversal of his

recent form. The six-year-old son of Full Mandate, fourth in last year's

Classic, also won the 2012 Santa Anita Handicap over the Classic distance.

Graydar, who captured the Grade 1 Donn Handicap and the Grade 2 New Orleans

Handicap this winter, and most recently the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap at Belmont;

Zayat Stable's four-year-old Paynter, second to Mucho Macho Man in the Awesome

Again, and Last Gunfighter, winner of the Grade 3 Iselin Stakes are among the

U.S.-based older horses pre-entered.

The four-year-old Aidan O'Brien-trained Declaration of War, winner of the

Group 1 Juddmonte International at York in his last outing, and Sheikh Joaan Al

Thani's six-year-old Planteur, who finished third in the Dubai World Cup earlier

this year, are the overseas pre-entrants in the Classic, among 24 in all from

outside of North America in this year's Breeders' Cup.

The three-year-old male title will also be on the line in the Classic as both

Dogwood Stable's Palace Malice and Willis Horton's Will Take Charge have been

pre-entered. Palace Malice has come on strong in the second half of the year.

Following his Belmont win, he captured Saratoga's Jim Dandy and was an unlucky

fourth there after a bad start in the Travers. The son of 2007 Breeders' Cup

Classic winner Curlin rebounded with a second place finish behind Ron the Greek

in the Gold Cup for trainer Todd Pletcher.

Will Take Charge, who defeated Palace Malice in the Travers, also has been

formidable in recent months. Not a factor in the Triple Crown races, Will Take

Charge followed up his Travers win by taking the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby

at Parx for resurgent 78-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the only

trainer to compile racing's career "Grand Slam" of winning all three Triple

Crown races and the Breeders' Cup Classic. Lukas trained 1999 Classic winner Cat

Thief. Travers and Pennsylvania Derby runner-up Moreno completes the 13

pre-entered for the Classic.

The $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile on turf precedes the Classic on the

Saturday program. Morton Fink's homebred Wise Dan set a course record in last

year's Mile at Santa Anita and started 2013 with five straight wins on turf,

which culminated in the Woodbine Mile in September. The six-year-old son of

Wiseman's Ferry, trained by Charlie Lopresti, saw his overall nine-race win

streak snapped by fellow Mile entrant Silver Max in Keeneland's Shadwell Turf

Mile, which was taken off the turf and run on the Polytrack. Wise Dan will face

challenges from the aforementioned Silver Max, winner of his last three starts

for trainer Dale Romans, and the five-year-old Obviously, who was third in last

year's Mile and has won three stakes this year for trainer Mike Mitchell.

Two European standouts from the Richard Hannon barn representing Sheikh Joaan

Al Thani are the three-year-olds Olympic Glory, winner of the recent Queen

Elizabeth II on Champions Day at Ascot and Toronado, winner of the Sussex Stakes

at Glorious Goodwood in August. Last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf

winner Flotilla has also been pre-entered.

Championship Friday is accentuated by one of the most talented fields ever

for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff at 1 1/8 miles.

Besilu Stable's five-year-old mare Royal Delta won the race when it was

called the Ladies' Classic in 2011 and 2012. Trained by Mott, Royal Delta has

won three times this year, including Grade 1 scores in the Delaware Handicap and

the Personal Ensign at Saratoga, but will seek revenge in the Distaff, having

been defeated in Belmont's Beldame by the top three-year-old filly, Ed Stanco's

sensational homebred Princess of Sylmar.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Princess of Sylmar has won six of seven starts this

year, and her last four in a row, all Grade 1 wins, starting with a shocking

half-length win in the Kentucky Oaks at better than 38-1, and then reeling off

the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama at Saratoga before winning the

Beldame. The top three-year-old filly on the West Coast is Spendthrift Farm's

Beholder, front running winner of last year's Juvenile Fillies. Trained by

Richard Mandella, who won an unprecedented four Breeders' Cup races on one day

10 years ago at Santa Anita, Beholder has won four times this year, including

Grade 1 victories in the Santa Anita Oaks and the Zenyatta Stakes on September

28. Another top three-year-old filly is Juddmonte Farms' Close Hatches, also

trained by Mott, who has won five of seven starts this year, most recently the

Grade 1 Cotillion at Parx by two lengths.

The $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf at 1 1/2 miles, the richest of the five

grass races on the two-day program, includes the first two finishers from last

year's dramatic race: Priscilla Vaccarezza's six-year-old gelding Little Mike,

who finished a half-length ahead of the Phipps Stable's five-year-old Point of

Entry. Trained by Dale Romans, Little Mike was winless in four starts this year

before capturing the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park on September 28.

Point of Entry won both his Grade 1 starts this year, taking the Gulfstream Park

Turf Handicap and the Manhattan Handicap at Belmont Park before being sidelined

with an injury.

Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey have pre-entered the most horses of all owners in

this Breeders' Cup with seven, and they have two formidable stars in the Turf in

Big Blue Kitten and Real Solution, both trained by Chad Brown.

Big Blue Kitten won back to back Grade 1s this summer in United Nations at

Monmouth Park and the Sword Dancer at Saratoga before finishing second by a nose

to Little Mike in the Joe Hirsch. The four-year-old Real Solution, third in the

Joe Hirsch, won the Arlington Million in August. The four-year-old Indy Point,

trained by Mandella, is the top threat from the west, following his impressive

win in the John Henry Turf Classic at Santa Anita on September 29.

Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber's four-year-old filly The Fugue, who was third in

last year's Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita, appears to be the main European

challenger in the Turf. Trained by John Gosden, who won the 2008 Classic with

Raven's Pass at Santa Anita, The Fugue comes into the race off consecutive Group

1 victories in the Darley Yorkshire Oaks and the Red Mills Irish Champion Stakes

against male rivals. Also from Europe, Aidan O'Brien has pre-entered Magician,

winner of the Irish Two Thousand Guineas this spring.

The complement for the Turf is the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, run at 1

1/4 miles on Championship Saturday this year. Juddmonte Farms' four-year-old

filly Romantica, winner of the Group 1 Darley Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville for

trainer Andre Fabre and Beverly D. Stakes winner Dank, trained by Sir Michael

Stoute are the top Europeans. Three five-year-old mares lead the American

contingent: Glen Hill Farm's Marketing Mix, second in last year's Filly & Mare

Turf, Tiz Flirtatious, winner of both the John C. Mabee at Del Mar and the Rodeo

Drive at Santa Anita, and Richard Santulli's Laughing, who has won four straight

stakes on the East Coast, including Belmont's Flower Bowl on September 28.

The $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Sprint at six furlongs is led by Donnie

Crevier's and Charles Martin's four-year-old gelding Points Offthebench. Trained

by Tim Yakteen, Points Offthebench has come off the pace to win his last four

starts, including back to back Grade 1 scores in the Bing Crosby at Del Mar and

last month's Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Another California contender is

the four-year-old gelding Private Zone, who came east to win the Vosburgh at

Belmont Park September 28 in front running style. Defending champion Trinniberg

for Sherry Parbhoo, second to Bahamian Squall in the Smile Sprint at Calder, has

not won this year in four starts.

The five-year-old Groupie Doll is back to defend her title in the $1 million

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Trained by Buff Bradley, Groupie Doll did not

start until August of this year, and has one win in three starts, the Presque

Isle Masters, and finished third to trainer Wesley Ward's Judy the Beauty on

October 5 in Keeneland's Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes. Susan Wantz's

four-year-old filly Dance to Bristol and the Bob Baffert trained four-year-old

filly Book Review, the one-two finishers of the Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga,

have also been pre-entered.

Each year, the two-year-olds bring a certain air of excitement to the

Breeders' Cup, with the present meshing with thoughts of the future, and this

year should be no different as both the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile and Juvenile

Fillies are loaded with untapped potential.

Reddam Racing's Bond Holder, trained by Doug O'Neill, comes into the Juvenile

off a 2 1/4-length win in the FrontRunner at Santa Anita, where he beat Dance

with Fate, who was second for trainer Peter Eurton. Michael Tabor, Mrs. John

Magnier and Derrick Smith's Havana, winner of the Champagne at Belmont Park;

Keeneland's Breeders' Futurity winner We Miss Artie and Saratoga's Hopeful

Stakes winner Strong Mandate, trained by Lukas, loom as the other contenders.

Westrock Stables' Secret Compass defeated Dr. Mark Dedomenico and partners'

She's a Tiger by a head in the Chandelier Stakes at Santa Anita, and both have

been pre-entered for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Artemis

Argrotera and Sweet Reason, the first two finishers in the Frizette at Belmont

Park, lead the Eastern contingent.

A maximum of 14 starters are allowed in each of the 14 Breeders' Cup World

Championships races with the exception of the Dirt Mile (12). There will be up

to two also-eligible horses for each Championship race. The also-eligible horses

will be designated in accordance with the Breeders' Cup Racing

Directors/Secretaries Panel's order of preference for each Championship race

that is oversubscribed at the time of pre-entry. Scratch time for all

Championships races to be contested on both Championship Friday and Championship

Saturday will be 8:00 a.m. (PT), Friday, November 1.

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