The Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) on Saturday at Keeneland is another of the seven original Breeders’ Cup races. It has been contested at 6 furlongs from the start and carries a purse of $2 million.
This race has always been a significant predictor of who will win the year-end Eclipse Award as outstanding sprinter and only 15 times in the 42 previous editions has the winner not collected championship honors at the end of the season.
In 1987, Very Subtle won and Groovy was champion. Others (champions in parentheses) are 1989, Dancing Spree (Safely Kept); 1990, Safely Kept (Housebuster); 1991, Sheikh Albadou (Housebuster); 1992, Thirty Slews (Rubiano); 1995, Desert Stormer (Not Surprising); 1997, Elmhurst (Smoke Glacken); 2003, Cajun Beat (Aldebaran); 2005, Silver Train (Lost in the Fog); 2008, Midnight Lute (Benny the Bull); 2009, Dancing in Silks (Kodiak Cowboy); 2013, Secret Circle (Points Offthebench); 2021, Aloha West (Jackie’s Warrior); and Bentornato (Book’em Danno).
1984 -- In the inaugural running, Eillo, ridden by Craig Perret and trained by Budd Lepman, set the stage for the event’s legacy. Charging wire-to-wire against a loaded field, Eillo held on to win in 1:10.20, securing the lion’s share of a $1 million purse for his owners, Crown Stable. This gritty upset was thrilling as it launched the Breeders’ Cup with a bang.
1985 -- Precisionist, under Chris McCarron and for trainer Ross Fenstermaker, pulled off a stunning victory in 1985, clocking 1:08.40 for owner Fred Hooper. A route specialist coming off a four-month layoff, this veteran rallied from off the pace to nose out future champ Smile in a heart-pounding finish.
1990 – The Sprint delivered one of racing’s wildest moments when Safely Kept, ridden by Craig Perret and trained by Alan Goldberg, capitalized on a rival’s blunder. European favorite Dayjur jumped a shadow cast by the setting sun over the Belmont Park grandstand mid-stretch, faltering just enough for Safely Kept to surge to a neck victory in 1:09.40 for owner Jayeff B Stable. This thrilling “what if” moment, where a split-second mistake flipped the race, remains a legendary upset and a testament to the filly’s tenacity.
1991 -- Sheikh Albadou, a British 3-year-old ridden by Pat Eddery and trained by Alex Scott, shocked the racing world in 1991 with a 16-1 upset in 1:09.20 for owner Hilal Salem. The only international horse to win the Sprint, he outran America’s top speedsters, proving the race’s global appeal.
2000 -- At Churchill Downs, Kona Gold, guided by Alex Solis and trained by Bruce Headley, scorched the track in a record-breaking 1:07.77 for owners Headley, Irwin Molasky and High Tech Stable. The 6-year-old outdueled the speedy mare Honest Lady, setting a track record that highlighted his late-career brilliance. The hard-knocking Kona Gold finally entered racing’s Hall of Fame this year.
2007-2008 -- Midnight Lute, under Garrett Gomez for trainer Bob Baffert, became a Sprint legend with back-to-back wins in 2007 (1:09.18) and 2008 (1:07.08) for owners Watson, Weitman and Pegram. The 2008 victory set the fastest time in Sprint history, a record still standing, as he exploded past top-tier fields. These thrilling performances, marked by late charges and unmatched dominance, made Midnight Lute a rare repeat champion.
2014 – Longshot Work All Week, ridden by Florent Geroux and trained by Roger Brueggemann, defied the odds for Midwest Thoroughbreds. Sitting behind a brutal :21.19 opening quarter, the 5-year-old stalked the pace and held off reigning champ Secret Circle by a half-length in 1:08.28.
2017-2018 -- Roy H, with Kent Desormeaux in the irons for trainer Peter Miller in 2017, delivered a masterclass, winning in 1:08.61 for owner Rockingham Ranch. Tackling a loaded field that included Drefong, Whitmore, and Imperial Hint, the 5-year-old nipped his rivals in a tactical triumph. The excitement came from conquering one of the deepest Sprint fields ever, and its uniqueness was cemented by Roy H’s 2018 repeat, showing him as a modern Sprint dynasty all on his own.
2025 -- Bentornato, the 8-5 favorite, avenged his second-place finish from the previous year by wiring the field under Irad Ortiz, Jr. and trainer Jose D’Angelo. He covered 6 furlongs in 1:08.20, winning by 2 ¼ lengths over Imagination for Leon King Stable Corp. The victory completed a rapid double for the D’Angelo-Ortiz combination, who had won the Turf Sprint earlier on the card with Shisospicy.
Favorites perform solidly but not dominantly. Favorites have won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint roughly 24% of the time. Bentornato’s 2025 win (as the 8-5 favorite) raised the total to 10 of 42.
Additionally, 13 of the last 26 winners started at 4-1 or less, including 7 post-time favorites. However, the average winning odds are 8-1 (median 5-1), with nine winners at double-digit odds, indicating value in mid-range prices (e.g., 5-1 to 15-1). Only two favorites won in the last nine editions.
Upset frequency: Recent history points to chaos — 9 of 20 winners from 2003-2022 were 10-1 or higher, often when pace collapses.
Running styles -- 13 of the last 26 winners were front-runners, just off the pace, or stalkers, showing a bias toward forwardly placed horses (e.g., not pure closers needing 5-plus lengths back).
From 2003-2022, nine of 20 winners were pacesetters or pressers, with only occasional deep closers succeeding (e.g., Whitmore in 2020 rallied from mid-pack). There isn’t a strong recent bias, but speed doesn’t hold as well at Keeneland as the California tracks.
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
