In the days leading up to the 37th Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, usracing.com will profile the horses in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (Saturday, Nov. 7).
By Ed McNamara
By My Standards – Courtesy of Churchill Downs/Coady Photography.
He’s 0-for-2 in Grade 1’s and was second twice this year against Classic rivals Improbable and Tom’s D’Etat, beaten a combined 6 1/4 lengths, so By My Standards doesn’t appear to class up. He’s done his best work (three wins) at 1 1/8 miles at the Grade 2 level. He did manage to beat even-money Tom’s D’Etat for second by a half-length in the Whitney, but a serious stumble at the start gave Tom’s D’Etat no chance to win.
The 4-year-old colt’s bullet workout (58 3/5 for 5 furlongs Oct. 24 at Churchill Downs) impressed trainer Brad Cox.
“I thought it was a super work,” Cox said. “He’s been good for so long, and his race record reflects that. We’re still chasing that Grade 1, but I like my position for the Classic.”
By My Standards may be peaking at the right time, but can he make a quantum leap against stars Authentic, Maximum Security, Improbable and Tiz the Law?
“It’ll be the best of the best,” Cox said, “and it will be a very tough race. I think he’s pretty seasoned against the top horses, and it will be a very tough race.”
By My Standards is a talented, hard-trying horse, with only one off-the-board finish in 12 starts, but he’s never proved he could excel in top company. The $6 million grand finale is too much of a reach.
RELATED: 2020 Breeders’ Cup Classic Profile: Tom’s D’Etat
By My Standards
Odds: 10-1
Post position: 3
Jockey: Gabriel Saez
Trainer: Brad Cox
Owner: Allied Racing Stable
Career record: 12-6-4-1
Career earnings: $1,764,430
Top Equibase speed figure: 118
Pedigree: Goldencents-A Jealous Woman, by Muqtarib
Color: Bay
Running style: Stalker
Notes: Cox, a 40-year-old native of Louisville, is a rising star who has trained three Breeders’ Cup winners — Monomoy Girl (2018 Distaff), Covfefe (2019 Filly & Mare Sprint) and British Idiom (2019 Juvenile Fillies). This year he won his second Kentucky Oaks in the past three years when Shedaresthedevil upset subsequent Preakness heroine Swiss Skydiver. Monomoy Girl won the Oaks in 2018.
Breeders’ Cup Odds
| 1 | Tacitus | Jose Ortiz | 20-1 |
| 2 | Tiz the Law | Manuel Franco | 3-1 |
| 3 | By My Standards | Gabriel Saez | 10-1 |
| 4 | Tom’s d’Etat | Joel Rosario | 6-1 |
| 5 | Title Ready | Corey Lanerie | 30-1 |
| 6 | Higher Power | Flavien Prat | 20-1 |
| 7 | Global Campaign | Javier Castellano | 20-1 |
| 8 | Improbable | Irad Ortiz Jr | 5-2 |
| 9 | Authentic | John Velazquez | 6-1 |
| 10 | Maximum Security | Luis Saez | 7-2 |
Ed McNamara is an award-winning journalist who has been writing about thoroughbred racing for 35 years. He has handicapped races for ESPN.com, Newsday and The Record of New Jersey. He is the author of “Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown” and co-author of “The Most Glorious Crown,” a chronicle of the first 12 Triple Crown champions.