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The Breeders' Cup statue under the trees in the paddock on Saturday. |
Although the racing takes center stage at the Breeders' Cup, there are other images and events during the day besides the horses. Here is a selection of images from Friday and Saturday to give a feel for what it was like to be there. The weather was the biggest problem for both days, with heavy rain on Friday and early in Saturday, only stopping around time for the Distaff. The track was a horrible mess and like walking through quicksand while the turf was a total bog.
If you want photos from a specific race or the morning works, just use the links above. There are at least eight images from each of the races in addition to the photos below.
The horses break from the gate for the 2007 Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
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The post parade for the 2007 Netjets Breeders' Cup Mile.
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The horses come out of the tunnel for the TVG Breeders' Cup Sprint with #2 being the eventual winner, Midnight Lute.
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English Channel, winner of the 2007 John Deere Turf, heads back to the barn followed by a groom carrying his flower blanket.
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Mud flies as the horses round the clubhouse turn for the Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Distaff. Eventual third place finish Octave is the gray and you can see here how muddy she was when she came back.
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It wasn't much better on the turf as you can see by the divots flying as the horses in the Netjets Mile round the clubhouse turf. You can also see how few people were in those uncovered seats. Most took refuge from the rain in the tent behind them or in the grandstand until later in the day.
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The crowd in the stands just before the start of the Mile. The covered seats stayed full all day.
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The poor outriders and pony horses had to suffer in the rain and mud both Friday and Saturday.
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The West Point Glee Club sang the national anthem on Friday as the rain came down.
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The All-Star Buglers performed the call to the post both Friday and Saturday from the winner's circle.
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To get an idea how drastically the weather changed on Saturday, here is the view from the paddock before the Mile and to the right is later in the day.
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The weather for the Classic was beautiful with clear blue skies and sun, a big difference from the overcast and pouring rain earlier in the day. Too bad the track couldn't have dried up just as miraculously.
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With the sun out for the Classic, I was able to finally get a pretty shot looking into the paddock.
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Hard Spun leads down the backstretch in the Classic over Lawyer Ron, Diamond Stripes, and Any Given Saturday with the nice fall colors behind them.
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The flower blankets for the Distaff, Turf, and Classic wait their turn to be given out.
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None of the winners actually get their trophy on Breeders' Cup day, as it has to be custom engraved with the winner's name and info. Instead, everyone poses with this dummy trophy that only says "Breeders' Cup" on it.
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Owner Frank Stronach tries to hold his pants legs up out of the mud while congratulating jockey Rafael Bejarano aboard Distaff winner Ginger Punch. He eventually gave up and let them go to lead his horse. He was the only owner to brave the mud on Saturday, the rest just waited in the winner's circle.
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Muddy jockey and horse faces were a common sight after each race. Here are Pyro and Shaun Bridgmohan who finished second in the Juvenile after runing 8th for half of the race. Note the multiple pairs of goggles around his neck. Most seemed to be wearing 3 or 4 pairs on Saturday.
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The governor of New Jersey, Jon Corzine, watches with an unknown companion from the first level parterre boxes.
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I have no idea who she is, but Terence took this photo of "Miss Breeders Cup" near the winner's circle after the Classic.
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Breeders' Cup quick links:
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