Breeders' Cup draws a record 201 Pre-Entries

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

Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome, undefeated Pacific

Classic and Awesome Again winner Shared Belief, Belmont Stakes and Jockey

Club Gold Cup winner Tonalist, Haskell Invitational and Pennsylvania Derby

winner Bayern, and European champions Magician and Dank, a record 201 horses,

including 38 from overseas, have been pre-entered for the 2014 Breeders' Cup

World Championships.

The Breeders' Cup, consisting of 13 Grade 1 races with purses and awards

totaling $26 million, will be held at Santa Anita for the third consecutive

year on October 31 and November 1. There will be four

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 broadcast live and in primetime on November 1 on NBC (8-9 p.m. EDT).

Goldencents (Dirt Mile), Ria Antonia (Juvenile Fillies), Magician (Turf);

Secret Circle (Sprint) and Dank (GB) are the five 2013 winners pre-entered for

this year's Breeders' Cup. A total of 37 horses have received automatic

qualifying berths into the races through the Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and

You're In" series.

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

run on the main track at 1 1/4 miles. An oversubscribed field of 15 horses have

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

have been voted Horse of the Year, and with California

Chrome and Shared Belief leading the way, this year's race could produce No. 12.

California Chrome took the sports world by

storm this year with rousing victories in Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby and

Preakness for trainer Art Sherman. He ran fourth in his bid to become racing's

12th Triple Crown winner in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes. He returned to the

races in the 1 1/8 mile Pennsylvania Derby on September 20, but was a

disappointing sixth behind Bayern. California Chrome, a son of Lucky Pulpit, has

won eight times in 14 lifetime starts.

While California Chrome dominated racing during the first half of 2014,

Shared Belief has been the big horse during the second half.

Shared Belief was an easy choice for two-year-old champion as he went undefeated

and untested in three starts, which culminated in a 5 3/4-length win in the

CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park in December. The son of Candy Ride missed

the Triple Crown season with lingering foot issues, but quickly rose to the

forefront of his division off victories in a pair of wins over older horses: Del Mar's Pacific Classic in August and

Santa Anita's Awesome Again on September 27. Shared Belief, with the Breeders'

Cup's all-time winningest rider Mike Smith aboard, will put his perfect

seven-for-seven record on the line in the Classic and would be odds-on to win

Horse of the Year, as well as the three-year-old championship, with a win.

Tonalist, trained by Christophe Clement, has built an

impressive resume of his own and would warrant a long look for both titles with

a Classic win. The son of Tapit didn't break his maiden until January at

Gulfstream Park but gained national attention when he upset California Chrome in

the Belmont, then secured an automatic berth into the Classic when he beat older

horses in Belmont's Jockey Club Gold Cup on September 27.

Front-running Bayern has been a tough competitor all year. He

captured Belmont's Woody Stephens in June and had dominant wins in Monmouth

Park's Haskell Invitational in July and in the Pennsylvania Derby in

September for trainer Bob Baffert. The son of Offlee Wild will try to extend his

high cruising speed to 1 1/4 miles in the Classic.

Trainer Jimmy Jerkens has decided to pre-enter Travers Stakes winner V. E.

Day, and the son of 2007 Breeders' Cup Turf winner English

Channel should relish the 1 1/4-mile distance. The remaining group of

three-year-olds pre-entered for the Classic includes Candy Boy,

third in the Pennsylvania Derby for John Sadler, and Toast of New York, a

synthetic specialist who was second to Shared Belief in the Pacific Classic and

a winner of the U.A.E. Derby in Dubai back in the spring for Jamie Osborne.

The Classic has been won by older horses in 10 of the past 12 runnings, with

Curlin in 2007 and Raven's Pass in 2008 being the only three-year-olds to win in

that stretch. This year's group is led by a pair who secured automatic starting

berths in the Classic with "Win and You're In" victories: four-year-old Moreno, a son of 2004 Breeders' Cup Classic winner

Ghostzapper, who won Saratoga's Whitney in August for trainer Eric Guillot, and

Majestic Harbor, who rolled to victory in the Gold Cup at Santa

Anita in June for trainer Sean McCarthy.

Imperative, who won the Charles Town Classic in April

for George Papaprodromou; Footbridge, who was third to

Shared Belief in the Awesome Again; Cigar Street, winner of the Homecoming

Classic at Churchill Downs for trainer Bill Mott; Zivo, who won Belmont's Suburban

Handicap at 1 1/4 miles and was second in the Jockey

Club Gold Cup for Chad Brown; and Big Cazanova, a Group 1 winner in South

America last year, round out the pre-entries for the Classic.

Friday's headline event is the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff at 1 1/8

miles for fillies and mares. Close

Hatches was the undisputed divisional leader off a four-for-four record this

year for trainer Bill Mott but will need to rebound from an extremely

disappointing fourth-place finish at 1-5 in Keeneland's Spinster on October 5. The four-year-old daughter of First Defence, who was

second to Beholder in last year's Distaff, won Oaklawn Park's Apple Blossom

Handicap in

April, the Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park and the Personal Ensign at Saratoga in August to take charge of the division. Close Hatches owns a

nine-for-13 lifetime record for Mott, who has won the race an unprecedented five

times.

The undisputed queen of the three-year-old fillies is Untapable, who has dominated her rivals in all five starts against her peers

this season for trainer Steve Asmussen. The daughter of Tapit won her first four

starts of the year, including Churchill Downs' Kentucky Oaks in May and

Belmont's Mother Goose in June, but then was a disappointing fifth

when favored in the Haskell  at Monmouth Park in

July. Untapable rebounded with a win in Parx Racing's Cotillion on September 20

and will put her seven-for-10 career record on the line when she tests older

fillies and mares for the first time in the Distaff.

Belle Gallantey, who won

Belmont's Beldame on September 27 for Rudy Rodriguez; Don't Tell Sophia, who upset Close Hatches in the

Spinster; Iotapa, who won the local Vanity in June and Clement Hirsch at Del Mar in August and was third in the Zenyatta for

John Sadler; Ria Antonia, who upset last

year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and was second in the Spinster for Tom

Amoss; and Valiant Emilia, who won the Cesar del Rio in Peru

in June, now under the care of trainer Gary Mandella stateside, have all

been pre-entered.

While the Classic and Distaff figure to have deserving and identifiable

favorites, the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf and $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly

& Mare Turf are shaping up as deep and wide open affairs. The Turf, run over 1

1/2 miles, is led by Main Sequence, who has done

little wrong in winning all three U.S. starts for

trainer Graham Motion: Monmouth Park's United Nations in

July, Saratoga's Sword Dancer Invitational in August and Belmont Park's Joe Hirsch Turf Classic on September 27. The five-year-old son of Aldebaran is

seven-for-17 lifetime in a career that started in Europe and has had a nose for

the finish line in his three starts this year, as all three wins have come in

photo finishes.

Coolmore's defending Turf champion Magician will also attract support for

Aidan O'Brien. The four-year-old son of Galileo, has won just once this year,

but has been second in three Group 1 races, including the Arlington Million. Two

Breeders' Cup Challenge winners in Big John B, who won the Del

Mar Handicap in August for Phil D'Amato and Hardest Core, who

took the Arlington Million on August 16 for Eddie Graham, also merit respect as

do Imagining and Twilight

Eclipse, who have lost photo finishes to Main Sequence for Shug McGaughey and

Tom Albertrani, respectively.

In addition to Magician, Europe figures to send formidable foes in Flintshire, who was last seen

finishing second to Treve in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe; Brown Panther, winner of the Irish St Leger on September 14

and Telescope, for trainer Michael Stoute, a

four-time winner of the Turf who won the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and was third

in the Juddmonte International at York this summer.

The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, run at 1 1/4 miles, is led by Stephanie's Kitten, who could be the

favorite off her sharp win in Belmont's Flower Bowl Invitational on

September 27 for trainer Chad Brown. Emollient earned an

automatic berth into the race when she won the local course and distance prep,

the Rodeo Drive, on September 27 for Mott and will look to

better her fourth-place run in last year's race. Tough competition should come

from Fiesolana, who earned an automatic Filly & Mare Turf bid with her win in

Leopardstown's Matron Stakes in September for trainer Willie McCreery and defending champion Dank, who has started just twice this

year, most recently a fifth-place finish in Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Wise Dan's defection from the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile has opened up the

race considerably as 25 horses have been pre-entered. Obviously, who captured the Shoemaker Mile at

Santa Anita in June for Phil D'Amato, has been third and fifth, respectively, in

the last two editions of the Mile at Santa Anita. Tom's

Tribute, who won Del Mar's Eddie Read and Del Mar Mile this summer for Jim

Cassidy, is in the best form of his career and looms a major contender as well.

The Europeans counter with Toronado, who won the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot for trainer Richard Hannon

Jr. The four-year-old

son of two-time Breeders' Cup Turf winner High Chaparral lost the Prix de Moulin

de Longchamp by just a head in his most recent start on September 14. Trade Storm, who captured the Woodbine Mile on

September 14 for David Simcock has been pre-entered.

Anodin, a full-brother to three-time Mile winner Goldikova, exits a second in

the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville in August for Freddie Head

and was third to Toronado in the Queen Anne, could also be formidable.

The $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Sprint is oversubscribed with 21 horses

pre-entered. Run at six furlongs, the Sprint will bring together a quartet of

stars who will look to dethrone defending champion Secret

Circle: Palace, who won Saratoga's Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap in July and the

Forego in August for trainer Linda Rice; Private Zone, who defeated Palace in Belmont Park's

Vosburgh on September 27 for trainer Alfredo Velazquez; Rich Tapestry, who came from Hong Kong and upset Secret Circle in winning

his U.S. debut in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship on

October 4 for trainer C.W. Chang; and Work All

Week, who remained undefeated in nine dirt starts when he won Keeneland's Phoenix on October 3 for trainer Roger Brueggemann.

The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, run at seven furlongs, could be the

most balanced race of the weekend, with trainer Wesley Ward's Judy The Beauty,

who was second in the race last year, leading the way. Artemis Agrotera, who earned an automatic bid in Saratoga's Ballerina in August for trainer Mike Hushion;

Leigh Court, who captured Keeneland'sThoroughbred Club of America on October 4

for trainer Josie Carroll; Midnight Lucky, who dominated Churchill Downs' Humana Distaff in May

in her only start of the year for Baffert; and Sweet Reason, a

one-turn dynamo who won Belmont's Acorn in June and Saratoga's Test in August

for trainer Leah Gyarmati, are also major contenders.

The $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, run at about 6 1/2 furlongs, is

contested over one of the world's most challenging turf courses in Santa Anita's

undulating hillside course. The race is oversubscribed with a record 29 horses.

Home Run Kitten and Ambitious Brew,

the one-two finishers over the course and distance in the Eddie D. on September

26, will attract attention for trainers David Hofmans and Marty Jones,

respectively. Dimension looked good winning the Kentucky

Downs Turf Dash for trainer Conor Murphy. The second- and third-place finishers

in last year's Turf Sprint, Reneesgotzip and Tightend Touchdown, should also

bear watching.

Goldencents figures one of the shorter prices of the weekend

when he looks to defend his title in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile,

which is run at two turns at Santa Anita, and is limited to 12 starters. The

four-year-old son of Into Mischief, who will be trained by Leandro Mora, blitzed

the field in last year's renewal and has held his form this year through an

abbreviated campaign for then-trainer Doug O'Neill. Goldencents may be just

one-for-four in 2014 but did secure a Dirt Mile berth in Del Mar's Pat O'Brien in August and was second in his three other starts, all

in Grade 1s.

Bronzo, who earned a Dirt Mile berth in the Copa de Oro de Chile at Hipico Chile in June for Jorge Andres

Inda; Fed Biz, who almost upset Shared Belief in the Awesome Again

for Bob Baffert; Golden Ticket, second in the race last year for Kenny McPeek;

and Tapiture for Steve

Asmussen also figure as key contenders.

The 1 1/16-mile, $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile has brought stars from the

east and Midwest, but it's California's American Pharoah who headlines the

field. A bay son of Pioneerof the Nile, American Pharoah broke his maiden in the

Del Mar Futurity in September then backed that win up with a dominant score in

the track-and-distance FrontRunner on September 27 to move

his lifetime record to two-for-three.

Across the country, Carpe Diem built on

his debut win at Saratoga when he remained undefeated in Keeneland's Breeders' Futurity. The son of Giant's Causeway stretched out from 5

1/2 furlongs in his debut to win the Futurity at the Juvenile's 1 1/16-mile

distance and looks primed to take the next step at Santa Anita. Daredevil, a son

of More Than Ready, looked equally impressive taking Belmont Park's Champagne on October 4 and, like his stablemate, will also put his

two-for-two career record on the line in the Juvenile, though he has yet to

start on a fast track or at two turns.

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is led by Angela Renee, who

earned an automatic berth into the race with her win in the track-and-distance

Chandelier on September 27 for Pletcher. By the Moon won Belmont's Frizette on October 4 for trainer Michelle Nevin and will attract her fair share of support, as will Cristina's Journey, who stayed undefeated in two starts for trainer Dale Romans

when she won Churchill's Pocahontas on September 6.

A maximum of 14 starters are allowed in each of the 13 Breeders' Cup World

Championships races with the exception of the Dirt Mile (12). Breeders' Cup

Limited has adopted a field selection system to select runners in the event

fields are oversubscribed. After pre-entry, any vacancies in the fields will be

filled by horses in order of panel preference. Entry for the Breeders' Cup World

Championships races will be October 27 by 10 a.m. (PDT). At the time of

entry, a maximum of 14 horses (or 12) will be accepted for each race based on

the order of preference established at pre-entry. 

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 a.m. on October 31.

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