The longest race on Breeders' Cup weekend is the $500,000 Breeders' Cup Marathon (G2), a 1 3/4 mile test around 3 turns of the Santa Anita Park oval. Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) fourth place finisher Atigun was sent off as the 3-1 favorite in the field of 13, over 7-2 second choice Fame and Glory, fifth in the QIPCO Jockey Club Cup (G3) last out, and 6-1 Commander, winner of the Premier Handicap (G3) at Hastings Park.
Calidoscopio rallies down the center in the stretch
10-1 Jaycito, Commander, and Atigun contested the early lead through fractions of 23.89, 47.85, 1:12.00, and 1:38.25, with the field running over a loose black garbage bag at the finish line first time by, without incident. Atigun took over the lead second time down the backstretch, through fractions of 2:04.53 and 2:30.55. Entering the stretch, Calidoscopio, 12th early, came out six wide for room and powered by the tiring pacesetters to win by 4 1/4 lengths over 14-1 Grassy in 2:57.25. It was just 1/2 a length back to favorite Atigun third.
Left: Calidoscopio gets some water on his head as he parades after the race. Jockey Aaron Gryder, celebrating his first Breeders' Cup win, said, "After the first mile he started getting stronger as we went along and by the time we got to the 1/4 pole he was advancing so quickly I felt if he gave that same turn of foot that I had seen on the DVD he was going to be able to run 'em down, and I thank the connections. I don't speak any Spanish and they don't speak any English and it came together in a nice way and we have had a lot of laughs and I've had some great translators."
Right: Calidoscopio in the post parade. Translator John Fulton, speaking on behalf of trainer Guillermo Frankel, said, "To begin with, he started as a veterinarian and is known to be one of the best care taking trainers in our industry in Argentina. He always gives them the time they need and kept the horse sound by his knowledge as a veterinarian and in trying to prevent injuries coming up. If he needs time, he gives it, and he has allowed this horse to stay strong and mature and get better, he has been good for a long time he didn't have to get better and he says the main thing that makes him good is his heart."
Left: Second place finisher Grassy returns after the race. Jockey Garrett Gomez said, “I rode him several times on the turf when he was with (trainer Christophe) Clement in New York. The question was would he handle the dirt. I thought he would get the 1 3/4 and get over the dirt OK, but didn’t know how he would handle the dirt coming back and hitting him in the face. He handled it fine and this gives him some new options."
Right: Third place finisher and beaten favorite Atigun in the post parade. Jockey Mike Smith said, “I was in good shape on the backside the second time around; I thought I was going to be doing well. My horse ran a big race, but (Calidoscopio and Grassy) got me on the outside, The winner was so far out I saw him, but had he been in a little closer, it would have given my a horse a little bit more fight.” Trainer Ken McPeek added, “He tried real hard. Mike said he hung in the last 1/8 mile.”
Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - There were 9 races Saturday highlighted by the $5 million Classic where American Pharoah was an impressive winner in his final start before retiring to stud. Also on the card, Found won the Turf, Nyquist won the Juvenile, and Tepin won the Mile. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here. Get more photos and comments for each race here.
Breeders' Cup Friday Results - There were 4 races Friday highlighted by the Distaff where Stopchargingmaria won by a neck over Stellar Wind and the Dirt Mile won by Liam's Map. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
Thursday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 38 horses out on Thursday morning at Keeneland on both the main and training tracks, including American Pharoah. Beholder was also out, but was found to have bled when scoped and is scratched from the Classic.
Wednesday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 46 horses out on a very rainy Wednesday morning at Keeneland on both the main and training tracks, including Keen Ice, Frosted, and Golden Horn. No American Pharoah yet, hopefully he comes out tomorrow.
2015 Breeders' Cup Entries - Check out the entries, post postitions, and morning line odds for the 13 Breeders' Cup World Championship races to be held at Keeneland on October 30 and 31.
Tuesday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 31 horses out on a rainy Tuesday morning at Keeneland including Stephanie's Kitten, Grand Arch, and Private Zone.
Monday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 28 horses out Monday morning at Keeneland including Rachel's Valentina and a timed work by Beholder.
Sunday Breeders' Cup Photos - Photos and comments for 10 horses out Sunday morning at Keeneland including Liam's Map and Lea
Breeders' Cup Weather - Check out the latest weather forecasts for the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland
Review: Crushing the Cup 2015 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Keeneland updated for 2015.
2014 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic won by Bayern. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2014 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic won by Untapable. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
Breeders' Cup History - Historical info, past results, and photos from previous runnings
The Breeders' Cup Championship Day - The official page for the Breeders' Cup championship races. Just about anything you need to know about it: results, video clips, and race calls for past years, and eventually nominations, entries, and results.
Free Prep Replays - for major prep races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge. The ones with camera logos have video available.
Blazing Silks, Breeders' Cup Edition- an interactive social network game that allows horse racing fans and social gamers to train and care for Thoroughbred horses.
TV Schedule - for all the preps and other programming leading up to the big day
Breeders' Cup Postcards - Breeders' Cup theme virtual postcards to send your friends including many past winners
Breeders' Cup Supplemental Entries - The old official policy on supplemental entries plus all the supplemental entries and how they fared, mostly it was a losing proposition. There are no more supplements now, only late nominations making it impossible to track now.
Left: Calidoscopio gets some water on his head as he parades after the race. Jockey Aaron Gryder, celebrating his first Breeders' Cup win, said, "After the first mile he started getting stronger as we went along and by the time we got to the 1/4 pole he was advancing so quickly I felt if he gave that same turn of foot that I had seen on the DVD he was going to be able to run 'em down, and I thank the connections. I don't speak any Spanish and they don't speak any English and it came together in a nice way and we have had a lot of laughs and I've had some great translators."
Left: Second place finisher Grassy returns after the race. Jockey Garrett Gomez said, “I rode him several times on the turf when he was with (trainer Christophe) Clement in New York. The question was would he handle the dirt. I thought he would get the 1 3/4 and get over the dirt OK, but didn’t know how he would handle the dirt coming back and hitting him in the face. He handled it fine and this gives him some new options."
