America’s Fierceness, Europe’s City of Troy, and Japan’s Forever Young – a trio of 3-year-olds – are headed for an international showdown in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
80 international names among 212 pre-entries; Thorpedo Anna-Idiomatic in DistaffA total of 212 horse were pre-entered Wednesday for the 14 Breeders’ Cup races at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in California on Nov. 1-2. The 1 ¼-mile Classic, the premier event, is Saturday, Nov. 2 with a post time of 5:41 p.m. ET.
Fierceness, last year’s 2-year-old champion, Ireland-based City of Troy, the European juvenile champion, and Japan Cup Dirt Classic winner Forever Young represent the top sophomores in the Classic, as none of the 2024 Triple Crown winners are pre-entered.
Fierceness comes into the Classic off wins in the Jim Dandy and the Travers, while City of Troy has won three straight, most recently the Juddmonte International and Forever Young won the Dirt Classic on Oct. 2.
Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan is back in light training; Preakness winner Seize the Grey is pre-entered in the BC Dirt Mile, and Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch is retired.
Four Breeders’ Cup winners are back for another go: 2023 BC Juvenile Turf Sprint champ Big Evs, is pre-entered in the BC Turf Sprint; Fierceness, 2023 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, is set for the BC Classic, Idiomatic is set to defend her Breeders' Cup Distaff title (3-year-old star Thorpedo Anna is also pre-entered); and Rebel’s Romance, the 2022 Breeders' Cup Turf winner, is back after a one-year absence.
The Breeders’ Cup offers more than $34 million in prize money and begins Friday (Nov. 1) with five Grade 1 races for 2-year-olds (Future Stars Friday). Saturday’s 12-race card features nine BC races as Del Mar puts on the event for the third time.
Four BC races will be run prior to the Classic, followed by four more BC races to close out the card. The Dirt Mile, originally scheduled as the final race of the day, will now be the first BC race on Saturday as race 5 at 3:41 p.m. ET.
Horses from a record five continents – Asia, Europe, North America, Africa, and South America, are among the list of pre-entries. A total of 80 international contenders – the record was 60 in 2023 – were pre-entered.
“The record number of outstanding international contenders pre-entered this year speaks to the truly global nature of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and is a testament to the connections who have targeted our festival of racing,” Drew Fleming, President & CEO of Breeders’ Cup Limited, said.
Fierceness, trained by Todd Pletcher, takes on older horses for the first time. He’s the likely favorite. Last year, he pulled off an upset in winning the 2023 BC Juvenile.
City of Troy, trained by Irish wizard Aidan O’Brien, is the world’s top-rated turf horse, and will be making his first start on dirt.
Forever Young, a memorable third in the Kentucky Derby after a three-way photo, returns to America following an easy win in the Japan Cup Dirt Classic on Oct. 2.
Sierra Leone, second in the Derby and third in the Travers in his last start for trainer Chad Brown, is among the top-flight contenders.
Also pre-entered are Japan’s Ushba Tesoro (second in Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup) and Derma Sotogake (second in 2023 Classic); Whitney winner Arthur’s Ride, Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Highland Falls; Pacific Classic winner Mixto; Santa Anita Handicap winner Newgate; long-distance star Next; Saudi Cup winner Senor Buscador; Woodward runner-up Skippylongstocking; and Woodward winner Tapit Trice. Also-eligibles are Pyrenees and Rattle N Roll.
The always contentious Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile could feature as many stars as the Classic. Among the pre-entries are Bob Baffert-trained Muth (a two-time Grade 1 winner) and National Treasure (2023 Preakness winner), 2024 Preakness winner Seize the Grey, 2023 Pennsylvania Derby winner Saudi Crown, and previously mentioned Derma Sotogake, Senor Buscador, and Skippylongstocking, all three with Classic first preference and a Dirt Mile as second preference.
Some horses were pre-entered in two events, with a first and second preference.
Next, if his trainer doesn’t opt for the Classic, has a second preference to the Breeders' Cup Turf. Also, Senor Buscador, Skippylongstocking, and Derma Sotogake have second preferences in the BC Dirt Mile.
A maximum of 14 starters is allowed in each of the 14 Breeders’ Cup races except for the Juvenile Turf Sprint and the Turf Sprint (limited to 12 starters).
If fields are oversubscribed, the selection system is based on Breeders’ Cup challenge race winners, followed by a point system, followed by judgment of an international panel of racing experts.
The post-position draw is Monday, Oct. 28.
NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and FanDuel TV, will televise from a 3-6 p.m. ET window on Saturday, Nov. 2. International live coverage is led by ITV4, Sky Sports, and RacingTV in the UK and Ireland, along with Green Channel in Japan. Also, the NBC World Feed will be sent to more than 150 countries.
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.
