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The 2022 Breeders' Cup World Championships continued Saturday with nine Grade 1 races, culminating in the Breeders' Cup Classic.
This year's event takes place at Keeneland racetrack in Lexington, Kentucky, featuring several accomplished thoroughbreds and a long list of the sport's biggest names among trainers and jockeys.
With at least a $1 million purse for every race, it's one of the biggest days of the year in American racing.
Filly and Mare Sprint ($1 Million Purse)
Win: Goodnight Olive (8)
Place: Echo Zulu (13)
Show: Wicked Halo (11)
The seven-furlong race is known to feature the fastest female sprinters in the world, and Goodnight Olive stood above the rest. The favorite was in the middle of the pack until the final turn, when she moved to the front and pulled away.
Defending champion Ce Ce couldn't close as well as last year and ended up in fourth place.
Turf Sprint ($1 Million Purse)
Win: Caravel (10)
Place: Emaraaty Ana (3)
Show: Creative Force (1)
Caravel pulled off a massive upset as a 42-1 underdog, winning the 5½-furlong race. The No. 10 horse was in front on the final turn and stayed ahead despite late charges by Emaraaty Ana and Creative Force, who simply ran out of turf before the finish line.
Local trainer Brad Cox continued his impressive run in this event with his ninth Breeders' Cup victory.
Dirt Mile ($1 Million Purse)
Win: Cody's Wish (7)
Place: Cyberknife (9)
Show: Slow Down Andy (1)
After starting at the back of the pack, Cody's Wish came around the outside to set up a neck-and-neck finish against Cyberknife. Cody's Wish won by a nose, completing an incredible story with Make-A-Wish teenager Cody Dorman.
It was the seventh win in the last eight starts for the four-year-old colt.
Filly and Mare Turf ($2 Million Purse)
Win: Tuesday (5)
Place: In Italian (11)
Show: Lady Speightspeare (1)
In Italian entered as the favorite and appeared set for a wire-to-wire victory. But Tuesday made a tremendous charge to fly to the front of the pack just before the finish line.
It was just the third career win for the Irish thoroughbred.
Sprint ($2 Million Purse)
Win: Elite Power (6)
Place: C Z Rocket (8)
Show: Jackie's Warrior (9)
There isn't much time to pace yourself in a five-furlong sprint, but Elite Power came from behind to take first place in the prestigious race. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and his thoroughbred made an outside move and closed strong to win.
It marked the fifth straight win for Elite Power.
Mile ($2 Million Purse)
Win: Modern Games (4)
Place: Shirl's Speight (2)
Show: Kinross (13)
One year after winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, Modern Games came through with a win in the Breeders' Cup Mile.
The three-year-old representing the United Kingdom went seven wide to get around the traffic up front and just cleared Shirl's Speight and Kinross to earn another victory on turf.
Distaff ($2 Million Purse)
Win: Malathaat (1)
Place: Blue Stripe (2)
Show: Clairiere (4)
In the closest race of the day, Malathaat won in a photo finish over Blue Stripe and Clairiere.
Malathaat drew the rail and was seemingly caught inside early, but jockey John Velazquez navigated the eight-horse field to find an opening on the outside. Malathaat needed every inch of the 1⅛-mile track, but she pulled out the victory in a field of the best female horses in the world.
Breeders' Cup Turf ($4 million purse)
Win: Rebel's Romance (5)
Place: Stone Age (3)
Show: War Like Goddess (2)
In the longest race of the day, Rebel's Romance outlasted the field in the 1½-mile trip around the turf track at Keeneland.
James Doyle led the come-from-behind effort, while European horses continued their strong day while finishing one-two in this event. It was the fifth straight win for Rebel's Romance, including a third Grade I victory in a row.
Breeders' Cup Classic ($6 million)
Win: Flightline (4)
Place: Olympiad (7)
Show: Taiba (1)
In arguably the biggest horse race in the world, Flightline stood out to take home the top prize of the $6 million purse.
Life is Good and Flightline built a massive early gap ahead of the rest of the field, creating a two-horse race at the final turn. From there, it was all Flightline as the heavy favorite pulled away for a dominant eight-length win.
Even in a field of accomplished thoroughbreds, Flightline remained undefeated and showed why there were such high expectations for the talented horse.
The 2022 Breeders' Cup competition got underway Friday, with the so-called future stars of horse racing taking center stage.
Viewed as the crown jewel of horse racing outside of the Triple Crown, the Breeders' Cup features 14 races that carry $29 million worth of prices.
Here is a look at the first day of action from Del Mar Racetrack in California.
Juvenile Turf Sprint ($1 Million Purse)
Win: Mischief Magic
Place: Dramatised
Show: Private Creed
Mischief Magic got the day underway with a strong victory in the Juvenile Turf Sprint with a blistering pace of one minute, 2.41 seconds. Trainer Charles Appleby has posted seven wins in his 12 Breeders' Cup races.
Juvenile Fillies ($2 Million)
Win: Wonder Wheel
Place: Leave No Trace
Show: Raging Sea
In the day's second race, Wonder Wheel came from behind on the final stretch to gallop to a three-length win over the field in the $2 million Juvenile Fillies Competition. The Mark E. Casse-trained horse came in at 6-1 odds and narrowly defeated 25-1 Leave No Trace.
Juvenile Fillies Turf ($1 Million)
Win: Meditate
Place: Pleasant Passage
Show: Cairo Consort
A last-stretch surge also brought home the Juvenile Fillies Turf for Meditate, which came into the race as a 2-1 favorite and proved every bit worth the hype. Pleasant Passage finished a distant second, while Cairo Consort came in third in a race that largely did not feature any major surprises.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile ($2 Million)
Win: Forte
Place: Cave Rock
Show: National Treasure
The most high-profile race on the Friday calendar went to Forte, when the 2-year-old colt came from behind to defeat pre-race favorite Cave Rock and capture the day's final $2 million purse.
National Treasure, which was in second for most of the race, finished in third after being overtaken by Forte down the stretch.
Juvenile Turf ($1 Million)
Win: Victoria Road
Place: Silver Knott
Show: Nagirroc
Trainer Aidan O’Brien got his second win of the weekend in Friday's final race, as Victoria Road narrowly defeated Silver Knott to take home the Juvenile Turf.
By far the day's most thrilling race, most onlookers weren't quiet able to tell which of the two horses claimed the win until the final results were posted. Slow-motion replays of the race showed Victoria Road just edging past Silver Knott by a nose.
Nagirroc finished in third place.
Horse trainer Chad Brown was arrested Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge of criminal obstruction of breathing in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Paul Veitch, a spokesperson for the Saratoga Springs Police Department, told DRF's Matt Hegarty the situation is the focus of an "ongoing investigation."
Sources told Hegarty that Brown, 43, was arrested after a domestic dispute with an unnamed female exercise rider with whom he was previously romantically involved.
An attorney for Brown said during Thursday's initial court hearing the woman broke into Brown's home in the middle of the night and he acted in self-defense, according to WNYT's Subrina Dhammi.
Judge Francine Vero stated Brown is accused of pushing the woman down stairs, pinning her to the ground, choking her and then forcing her out of the house, per Dhammi.
Vero set the bail for Brown, a native of nearby Mechanicville, New York, at $2,500 cash or $5,000 bond.
Brown is one of the most decorated trainers of the current era. He won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer four straight times from 2016 to 2019 and won the Preakness Stakes twice, including with 2022 winner Early Voting.
Neither the New York Racing Association (NYRA) nor Saratoga Race Course has announced whether Brown, whom DRF noted has 16 horses entered in races at the track over the next three days, will be allowed to compete.
Japanese jockey Taiki Yanagida died Tuesday after he fell off his horse and was trampled at New Zealand's Cambridge Jockey Club on Aug. 3, per Michael Guerin of the New Zealand Herald.
He was 28.
Yanagida was placed in an induced coma at the Waikato Hospital following the accident because he suffered brain and spinal injuries. However, he never regained consciousness.
According to Guerin, Yanagida's horse, Te Atatu Pash, was checked and he fell to the track where his helmet fell off and his horse partially fell on him. A horse behind him then trampled him while he was on the ground, unable to avoid him.
His mother and one of his sisters were able to travel from Japan to be with him at the hospital.
Yanagida, nicknamed Tiger, had become a jockey at 18, starting in Australia before moving to New Zealand.
"He was such a wonderful young man, it really is a tragedy and so hard to watch what his mother and sister here have had to go through," his racing manager, Ted McLachlan, told Guerin. "This will really hurt the other people in the industry because Taiki was so popular."
"He was a good young man, very dedicated to his career," Matamata trainer Lance O'Sullivan added. "He had to be because he was quite tall for a jockey so had to work hard to keep his weight under control but that became his other passion, being a fitness fanatic so he could keep being a jockey. He wasn't a natural jockey when he first came to us but worked so hard he got better and better. It is a very sad day for everybody who knew him and the racing industry."
Yanagida rode 162 winners during his racing career in New Zealand.
Mo Donegal, the favorite at race time, rewarded the faith placed in him with a furious charge down the final stretch to win the 154th running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday afternoon at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
Most of the 1 1/2-mile race was led by We The People, the morning-line favorite with 2-1 odds. Bettors eventually moved that line to 4-1 by race time, and it turned out to be prescient. We The People started off strong out of the gate, followed closely by Skippylongstocking. That pair looked set for a thrilling finish, but neither had enough strength to hold off the hard-charging Mo Donegal and Nest, who overcame an early stumble to finish in second place. Mo Donegal's winning time was 2:28.28.
Here's a look at the race, via NBC Sports:
And here's the complete order of finish and payouts for the top-three horses.
Belmont Stakes Standings, Payouts
1. Mo Donegal: $7.20 $3.80 $3.00
2. Nest: x, $5.30, $4.10
3. Skippylongstocking: x, x, $5.60
4. We The People
5. Creative Minister
6. Rich Strike
7. Barber Road
8. Golden Glider
It's fitting that when Mo Donegal made his move to the outside, the filly Nest was right there with him. As it turns out, the two horses have plenty in common.
Mo Donegal was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., while Jose Ortiz was atop Nest. Both had previously won the Belmont Stakes, with Ortiz Jr. winning it in 2016 and Ortiz taking down the field a year later. The trainer is Todd Pletcher, who has now led four horses to victory at Belmont Stakes to go along with two wins at the Kentucky Derby.
Rich Strike was looking to capture a second jewel of the Triple Crown after winning the Kentucky Derby as an 80-1 long shot. Despite sitting out the Preakness Stakes and having much better odds this time around (4-1 at race time), Rich Strike couldn't conjure up the same magic displayed at Churchill Downs. The Eric Reed trainee spent much of the race at the back of the pack and ended up in sixth place.
Skippylongstocking was something of a surprise with a third-place finish. The three-year-old thoroughbred was tied for the longest odds at 20-1 in the morning and probably wasn't expected to make much noise after finishing fifth at the Preakness Stakes. A good start went a long way, as Skippylongstocking had the energy to edge past We The People just before the finish line.
The final jewel of the 2022 Triple Crown has concluded with a flourish, as the second-favorite horse in the odds, Mo Donegal, triumphed over the remaining seven horses in the field to win the Belmont Stakes Saturday.
Mo Donegal had earned the No. 6 post in the post-position draw and was 5-2 in the morning-line odds. The favorite was We the People at 2-1.
Though he didn't get off to the fastest start, by the end he was the clear front-runner and would finish by three lengths with a time of two minutes, 28.28 seconds.
Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, who did not run in the Preakness Stakes, returned in Elmont, New York, on Saturday but did not threaten the lead. Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting did not run in the Belmont Stakes.
The three-year-old Mo Donegal was ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., who last won the Belmont Stakes with Creator in 2016. Ortiz Jr. is widely considered the best jockey in North America, and in 2022, he topped all other riders in both wins and earnings.
Needless to say, Ortiz Jr. will remain firmly in that position as the Triple Crown season draws to a close.
Just how much did Ortiz Jr., trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Donegal Racing earn at the Belmont Stakes?
Let's break down the total prize purse for the event, as well as what each of the eight horses and their teams will take home.
The total prize purse for the Belmont Stakes was $1.5 million, less than the Kentucky Derby ($3 million) but equal to the Preakness Stakes.
Belmont Stakes 2022 Prize Purse and Order of Finish
First: Mo Donegal, $800,000
Second: Nest, $280,000
Third: Skippylongstocking, $150,000
Fourth: We the People, $100,000
Fifth: $60,000
The final track payouts are as follows:
Win: Mo Donegal $7.20, $3.80, $3.00
Place: Nest $5.30, $4.10
Show: Skippylongstocking $5.60
$2 Exacta: $13.80
$1 Tri: $187.50
$1 Super: $692.00
