California Chrome, Arrogate, Beholder, Songbird, Found (IRE), and Nyquist Lead the 185 pre-entered horses for 2016 $6 million Breeders' Cup World Championships running Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4-5, at Santa Anita.
Horse racing as seen from the bleachers at Santa Anita race track
The one and a quarter-mile Classic offers the richest purse of 13 Championship races worth $28.5 million to be run over the two days at Santa Anita and will be televised live by NBCSN and NBC.
The star attraction is California Chrome, a horse whose name was pulled out of a cowboy hat and combines his birthplace with the term used by horse people for the flashes of white on a horse. California Chrome is the even-money favorite to win the $6 million Breedersâ Cup Classic on Saturday.
The 1 ¼-mile Classic offers the richest purse of 13 Championship races worth $28.5 million to be run over the two days at Santa Anita and will be televised live by NBCSN and NBC. The Classic will be broadcast live at 8:35 p.m. ET on NBC (8-9 p.m. ET).
Four Championship races are being run Friday, highlighted by the $2 million Longines Breedersâ Cup Distaff for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles and featuring champions Beholder, Songbird and Stellar Wind in a field of eight.
The 169 horses entered includes six also-eligibles. Among the entries are eight winners from the 2015 event at Keeneland. Going for repeat wins in the same race are Tepin (Mile), Found (Ire) (Turf), Wavell Avenue (Filly & Mare Sprint) and Mongolian Saturday (Turf Sprint). The others are Juvenile Fillies winner Songbird (Distaff), Sprint winner Runhappy (Las Vegas Dirt Mile), Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Catch a Glimpse (Filly & Mare Turf) and Juvenile Turf winner Hit a Bomb (Mile).
California Chrome is undefeated in six starts this year and has pushed his career bankroll to more than $13.4 million. Third in the Classic at Santa Anita in 2014, California Chrome is the even-money morning line favorite and will break from post position four under Victor Espinoza.
âItâs Chrome time!â Art Sherman, his 79-year-old trainer, said to the applause and cheers of the horseâs fans.Under Sherman's training, California Chrome is known as a once-in-a-lifetime horse still dominating the competition at the ripe old age of 5. âOne of the all-time great horses in this era,â said Sherman, whose horse sense comes hard-earned. In 1955, Sherman was a teenage exercise rider who shared a boxcar with the horse, Swaps, for four days on their way to Churchill Downs to win the Kentucky Derby
Second on the morning line at 5-2 is the Bob Baffert-trained Arrogate. A winner of his past four starts, Arrogate exploded onto the national racing scene with a 13 ½-length victory in the Travers (G1) in his most recent start August 27. Mike Smith will be aboard the lone 3-year-old in the race and break from post position 10.
Baffert, who won last yearâs Classic with Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and the 2014 Classic with Bayern, will have a second starter in the race in Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitmanâs Hoppertunity. Winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) in his most recent starter and earner of more than $3.5 million, Hoppertunity will break from post position nine and be ridden by John Velazquez. Hoppertunity is 15-1 on the morning line.