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Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. celebrates after Life is Good wins the Dirt Mile

World Championships
Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile Results

The $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) is for older horses going 1 mile, 1 full lap of the main track. Allen Jerkens (G1) runner-up and Kelso Handicap (G2) winner Life is Good was sent off as the 7-10 favorite in the field of 8 over 3-1 second choice Silver State, winner of the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) and Parx Dirt Mile, and 9-2 third choice Ginobili, winner of the Pat O'Brien (G2).

Life is Good draws away in the stretch run of the Dirt Mile

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. sent Life is Good to the lead first time by and he set fractions of 21.88, 44.94, and 1:08.76 while pressed by 15-1 Eight Rings and stalked by 59-1 longest shot Jasper Prince. Turning for home, Life is Good left the rest of the field in his wake, opening up by 4 lengths midstretch through 7f in 1:21.06 and finishing up 5 3/4 lengths ahead of Ginobili in 1:34.12. It was another 3/4 length back to Restrainedvengence third.

Life is Good wins the Dirt Mile Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 5 Life is Good Ortiz Jr. 3.40 2.60 2.20 3 Ginobili Van Dyke 4.00 3.40 6 Restrainedvengence Maldonado . 7.20 Winning Time: 1:34.12 $1 Exacta 5-3 6.10 $1 Trifecta 5-3-6 67.50 $1 Superfecta 5-3-6-8 244.50 Results chart

Left: Life is Good in the winner's circle. Winning trainer Todd Pletcher said, "He's one of classic rare horses that you could consider three different races on the card. Who knows, he might even grass on top of that. But he's just, he's super fast, but what we have seen from him in his training is he has the ability to go fast and keep going and I think that's what everyone was able to see today."

Right: The trophy presentation for the Dirt Mile. Elliott Walden of winning co-owner WinStar Farm said, "Well, with his injury and having the time off he was only going to have one race around at a mile or greater. We knew he was going to have two preps and so it just seemed like when I thought about it and Todd, we discussed it, it just seemed like it was too much of a stretch to run him in the Classic."

Left: Life is Good heads out to the track. Winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said,  "I had a perfect trip.  He broke out of there running,  he relaxed for me.  I wasn't worried about those other runners early in the race, because I knew he was so fast.  When we got to the quarter pole, he re-broke for me.  What a nice horse to ride."

Right: Life is Good heads back to the barn after the race. Teo Ah Khing of winning co-owner China Horse Club said, "Well, when we first look at racing in America and we ask around and we want to identify and find the giants in the country and so the one name came out and we were very fortunate and the Lord led to us meet Kenny and his family and we fell in love with the family and that's how we started the love story."

Left: Second place finisher Ginobili heads out to the track. Trainer Richard Baltas said, "We just ran into a better horse. We got a great trip and it looked around the turn that we were making a move and we're going to win it, but Life Is Good kicked clear. I mean, I'm pretty happy. I would be happier if we'd had won it, but Ginobili ran a great race." Jockey Drayden Van Dyke added, "With how fast they we were going, I thought it was going to set up perfectly for us. But the winner had another gear when we got to him but I am super happy with Ginobili. It was the kind of trip that we wanted and we got it. We were just second best today."

Right: Third place finisher Restrainedvengence in the post parade. Trainer Val Brinkerhoff said, "He ran very good. We kind of got away bad. We thought we would be back, but not that far. I think if we had a little bit better start we might have gotten second. I don't think we would have beaten the winner. He ran a heck of a race."


The field for the Dirt Mile breaks from the gate.

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