Today's Breeder Cup Races

Nine Breeders Cup races will be run today; they are mainly for the males, but a few brave fillies and mares will compete against the boys today.  Television coverage begins at 2 p.m. EDT on ABC, and moves to ESPN at 3:30 EDT.  The nine races will have 105 participants, barring any late scratches.  Thirty-five of those horses, or 30% of them, are descended from Forli*.  Each of the nine races has at least one entry with my favorite bloodline in it.
The first race is the Marathon, for those few horses bred to truly run a distance - 1 and 3/4 miles.  Eleven horses, aged 3 to 6, will battle for the Marathon Championship.  Meeznah is the only filly in the field, and is one of six of Forli's* kin.   I also like Birdrun, a Florida-bred.  .....  The Juvenile Colts Turf has 15 entrants running a mile, all carrying 122 ponds.  Ten of the fifteen entries are from Forli*; the horses not related are: Majestic City, Daddy Nose Best, Excaper, Finale, and Tequila Factor.  .....  D. Wayne Lukas appears as a trainer in the Sprint, at 6 furlongs (3/4 mile).  His entry is Hamazing Destiny, a 5-year-old bay horse.  I like Amazombie* and Jackson Bend*, and Giant Ryan. There are 9 entries in the race, from ages 4 to 7, and all carry 126 pounds.  .....  The Turf Sprint, at 5/8 mile, drew a field of 14, ranging in age from 3 to 7, and includes three fillies - Rapport, Broken Dreams, and Holiday for Kitten*.  I particularly like the looks of Caracortado, Havelock, and Chamberlain Bridge. - And Great Adventure's grand-dam is named "Devine!"  .....  There are 9 horses entered in the Dirt Mile; 3-year-olds carry 123 pounds, and older horses carry 126.  The horses range in age between 3 and 6 years.  Shackleford, the winner of this year's Preakness, is entered in this race.  The Forli*-blooded horses are: The Factor*, a 3-y-o grey; Tres Borraches, a 6-y-o bay gelding; and Irrefutable, a 5-y-o grey.  I like the way that Wilburn looks.   .....   The Turf is run over a 1 and 1/2 mile course, and has drawn 9 entries, aged 3 to 5.  Two of the entries are fillies, being Sarafina* and Midday*.  Only three entries are not related to Forli*: Stately Victor, Await the Dawn, and Brilliant Speed, a Florida-bred.  .....  The Juvenile is for 2-year-old boys; they race 1 and 1/16 mile, and all 13 carry 122 pounds.  Hansen is a handsome grey colt.  Speightscity is a ridgling (only one testicle has descended).  Union Rags* is trained by Barbaro's trainer, Michael Matz; Optimizer* is trained by D. Wayne Lukas; I also like Fort Loudon*, a Florida-bred, and Prospective has a nice pedigree.  .....   Goldikova has won the Turf Mile for the past three years.  This year, it's her final race before going to the breeding shed and becoming a broodmare.  If Goldikova wins today, she will be the only horse to have won 4 Breeders Cup races in a row.  She is facing 12 boys, aged 3 to 6.  The three-year-olds and Goldikova carry 123 pounds; the older horses carry 126.  I like Mr. Commons* and Byword*, the Florida-bred Jeranimo, and Turallure, a good-looking grey with a good pedigree.    .....   Prayer For Relief was scratched from the Classic because of a fever he developed yesterday.  That leaves eleven boys and one girl facing each other in the 1 and 1/4 mile race at Churchill Downs this afternoon.  Havre de Grace is the 4-year-old filly, who has already beaten boys in previous races.  So You Think* is a New Zealand-bred 5-year-old bay, who paid a supplemental fee to enter the Breeders Cup.  From their pedigrees, I like Flat Out, Drosselmeyer, and Ice Box.  I like the looks of Headache and Uncle Mo, but I don't know if they can really run 1 and 1/4 miles. ....
Here's to an accident-, and incident-, free second day for the Breeders Cup!
(And if you want to know about colors: 10 horses are grey or roan, 24 are chestnut, and the other 71 are bays and browns...)