Horse Racing News

After Wildcat Brief's third-place finish in the Grade 1 Vosburgh here Oct. 2, it would not have raised eyebrows if his connections had opted to run him in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs.

Typically, the trainer of a horse must talk an owner out of aiming too high. But in the case of The Usual Q. T., it was up to trainer Jim Cassidy to plead the case for the BC Mile to the partnership that owns the West Coast's most proven grass miler.

Led by the sensational mares Zenyatta and Goldikova a total of 184 horses were announced on Wednesday as the pre-entries for the 27th Breeders' Cup, a 14-race, $26 million extravaganza to be held Nov. 5-6 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

The Breeders' Cup has announced that a record 184 horses were pre-entered Monday in the 14 races that make up the 2010 championships that will be run Nov. 5-6 at Churchill Downs. The entire lineups of pre-entries and races will be released Wednesday.

Brass Hat, the popular 9-year-old homebred, rallied from last to overtake longshot Southern Anthem and favored Musketier to win the Grade 3, $100,000 Sycamore Stakes at Keeneland, where he was met afterward with a rousing ovation from his many fans.

Oddsmaker Mike Battaglia has set the undefeated Zenyatta as the preliminary favorite for the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 7 at Churchill Downs, representatives of the Breeders' Cup World Championships said Oct. 21.

Gio Ponti will be cross-entered in both the Breeders' Cup Classic and the Breeders' Cup Mile when Breeders' Cup pre-entries are taken on Monday, according to a manager at the Castleton-Lyons Farm of Gio Ponti's owner, Shane Ryan.

The Breeders' Cup Classic is worth considerably more than the Breeders' Cup Mile, no more so than in the case of Gio Ponti, who is under consideration for both races.

Not that one has anything to do with the other, but when a full field of 14 3-year-old fillies ran last fall in the Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland, the Grade 2 race was dominated by huge longshots.

Nine-year-old Brass Hat will square off against 8-year-old Musketier and 7-year-old Presious Passion in a compelling 16th running of the $100,000 Sycamore.