Betty's Critters - & History Views

 I can go to sleep happy tonight - a granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Sunday Silence (both bred in Japan) won their races today at Del Mar.  They were the first wins for any horse bred in Japan in a Breeders' Cup race.  (I still love Sunday Silence!)    Nine Breeders' Cup races were run today with $21 million in purses.  Yesterday was set aside for the 2-year-olds; today was for horses aged 3 years and up - and for some, it was their swan song before retirement for breeding purposes.  Only three of the races had full fields, an the Fillies and Mares Sprint race had the smallest field in the history of the Breeders' Cup races, with only five entries.     I'll be describing each race - name of the race, guaranteed purse, distance, the number of entries, the complete order of finish, with how much purse money that horse won - and then I'll list the betting payouts, each based on a  $2 bet .  If you wish to know the sexes and we...

 Express Train, the 4-year-old son of Union Rags, was scratched from the Breeders' Cup Classic this morning.  He was placed on the veterinary "injured" list on Thursday, due a a hock injury; but it was hoped he would recover quickly and be able to race today.  The vet staff would not approve him to race today, and he is scratched.  That leaves 8 entries in the Classic.

 The juvenile entries in the Breeders' Cup races put on quite a show today - exciting, and near the end, disturbing.   There was a "marine haze" hanging over the Del Mar Racetrack, with temperatures in the low 60s (F) and a light breeze.  The main track was fast, the turf was firm.   There were five Breeders' Cup races for 2-year-olds today, with guaranteed purses of $7 million. The three turf races were guaranteed at $1 million each, while the two races on the main track were guaranteed at $2 million each.    I'll be describing each race - name of the race, guaranteed purse, distance, the number of entries, the complete order of finish, with how much purse money that horse won - and then I'll list the betting payouts, each based on a $2 bet .  If you wish to know the sexes and weight carried by each entry, you'll have to look at pervious blogs that give that information - there's one for the juvenile races today, and one for the 9 races tomorrow...

 Found to be feverish this morning, Hit the Road, who was scheduled to break from gate 8 in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Mile Turf race (with a purse of $2 million), has been scratched.   Real Appeal (GER) is the 4-year-old bay colt who profits from Hit the Road's fever.  Real Appeal(GER) will now start from gate 14, wearing saddle cloth 15; the colt is by Sidestep (AUS) and out of Runaway Sparkle (GB).

 The early betting favorite in today's Breeder's Cup Juvenile, Jack Christopher, has been scratched due to a skin problem.  There were no colts on a "wait list" for this race, so there there will be 10 entries.    In tomorrow's $4 million guaranteed Breeders' Cup Turf, two horses are out due to leg problems - both Domestic Spending and United have been scratched.  That means that Bolshoi Ballet (IRE) and Channel Maker are in race (from the "wait list").  The two scratches were in posts 2 and 3; so everyone beginning with post 4 will shift two spaces to the left; Bolshoi Ballet (IRE) will break from gate 13, Channel Maker from gate 14.    Bolshoi Ballet (IRE) is a 3-year-old bay or dark brown colt, sired by Galileo (IRE) and out of Alta Anna (FR); he will carry 122 pounds in the 1 1/2 mile race.    Channel Maker is a 7-year-old chestnut gelding, who was bred in Ontario, Canada.  Sired by English Channel, and out of In Return, he will...

 A little after noon (PDT) at Del Mar Racetrack in California, on Saturday, nine Breeders' Cup Races will begin, with a guaranteed total of $21 million in purses.  The races Saturday are for both sexes, aged three and up.  The oldest horse entered is Extravagant Kid, an 8-year-old gelding, bred in Florida.  He'll be starting from gate 12 - the widest post - in the 5 furlong Turf Sprint.  There are also several 7- and 6-year-olds racing on Saturday.       Due to differences in ages, and sometimes in sexes, there will be different weights for the horses to carry.  Fillies and mares are considered the weaker sex and carry less weight than their male counterparts; and 3-year-olds also get a weight allowance when running against older horses.  In the Turf, for instance, a 3-year-old filly will carry 119 pounds, while males aged 4 and up will carry 126 pounds.  That's called handicapping for sex and age...    As usual, when...

A few years back, when the Breeders' Cup decided to run all of the Juvenile races on Friday (instead of all the female races), they came up with the name "Future Stars Friday," since the two-year-olds running are supposed to be the "Stars of Tomorrow."  Some of the juveniles will have their best races this year, and as they mature will not be as superb as they were in 2021; others will continue to excel, and will, indeed, become stars of thoroughbred racing in the next handful of years.  No one can tell what the future will bring.   This year's Breeders' Cup is at Del Mar, the track that Bing Crosby and other rich racing fans built and opened in 1937 in California.  Trevor Denman is the usual track announcer at Del Mar, but he slipped on the stairs of his deck and badly injured his back.  Larry Collmus, who calls the races for NBC for the Triple Crown, and the Breeders' Cup, will cover for Trevor for the entire season at Del Mar.    As usual, when I ...