Judy the Beauty leads on the outside down the stretch.
The $1 million DraftKings Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1) features older fillies and mares sprinting 7 furlongs on the main track. Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3) winner Judy the Beauty was sent off as the 3-1 favorite in the field of 10. In to challenge her included 7-2 second choice Stonetastic, second in the TCA (G2) after winning the Prioress (G2), and 9-2 third choice Artemis Agrotera, winner of the Gallant Bloom (G2) and the Ballerina (G1).
Paco Lopez sent Stonetastic to the lead exiting the chute and she set fractions of 22.51 and 44.87 while pressed by 30-1 Southern Honey and 5-1 Leigh Court. At the top of the lane, Judy the Beauty, 4th early, came out 5 wide for room to gain the lead through 3/4 in 1:09.35. 23-1 Better Lucky rallied from 10th early but Judy the Beauty held her off by a head in 1:21.91. It was another 3 1/2 lengths back to 40-1 longest shot Thank You Marylou third.
Judy the Beauty wins the Filly and Mare Sprint.
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show
7 Judy the Beauty Smith 8.20 4.60 3.60
8 Better Lucky Castellano 16.40 10.00
4 Thank You Marylou Velazquez 13.80
Winning Time: 1:21.92
$2 Exacta 7-8 68.00
$2 Trifecta 7-8-4 1,209.40
$2 Superfecta 7-8-4-3 8,441.00
Left: Judy the Beauty in the winner's circle with Dennis Ward, father of owner-trainer Wesley Ward, in the cowboy hat and assistant trainer Blake Heap to his left. Wesley Ward said by phone from Florida, "She just digs down deep in her soul. That was amazing. Very few horses run with as much heart as she does. She just has a desire to win."
Right: Mike Smith celebrates by tossing flowers. Smith said, "Absolutely dynamite. I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Almost every step of it, except for almost getting caught. She broke extremely well which at times can be very crucial for her because sometimes she gets away really bad. I was happy about that; one of the best she's ever left the gate. We saw that work at Keeneland. We knew she was ready."
The trophy celebration with Dennis Ward, father of owner-trainer Wesley Ward, on the far left and assistant trainer Blake Heap holding the trophy. Wesley Ward added, "She will head back to Kentucky. I had thought about retiring her, but there is no doubt that Keeneland is absolutely her favorite track. I just want to give her another chance to win at her home track. I'm just elated with this whole weekend."
Left: Second place finisher Better Lucky almost catching Judy the Beauty at the wire. Trainer Tom Albertrani said, "She ran really well. I thought we might have had a good chance at the 1/8 pole, but the winner just kept us far enough away to get beat by a head. She's a super filly. This was her last race and I'm really going to miss her. You could not have a more honest horse in the barn."
Right: Third place finisher Thank You Marylou in the post parade. Jockey John Velazquez said, "Perfect trip. She's a 3-year-old running against older. She gave a good effort. I don't know about that (speed bias) because look at the horse that won. She was laying fifth. I can't blame it on the speed."
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.