Breeders’ Cup

No rider has owned the Breeders' Cup like Mike Smith. He has won 27 races at the meeting from 157 rides, more than any jockey since the series began in 1984. The most famous came in 2009, when he steered Zenyatta to victory in the Classic, the only time a mare has won the race. His latest arrived in 2021, when Corniche took the Juvenile at Del Mar. Irad Ortiz Jr is closest on 23 wins, with John Velazquez third on 22.

Aidan O'Brien arrives at Keeneland level with Bob Baffert on 21 Breeders' Cup wins, the most by any trainer. Baffert drew level at Del Mar last year, and D. Wayne Lukas is next on 20. O'Brien's first came in 2001, when Johannesburg won the Juvenile at Belmont Park, and 18 of his 21 have come on turf, eight of them in the Juvenile Turf. This week Sun Goddess and Diamond Necklace can take him clear of Baffert.

Keeneland stages the Breeders' Cup for the fourth time, after 2015, 2020 and 2022. Its first edition produced one of the great moments in the sport: American Pharoah won the 2015 Classic to become the first horse to complete the Grand Slam of the Triple Crown and the Classic. In 2020 Authentic beat his stable companion Improbable for Bob Baffert, and two years later Flightline won the Classic by eight and a quarter lengths.

Goldikova made the Breeders' Cup Mile her own. The French mare won it in 2008, 2009 and 2010, with Olivier Peslier in the saddle every time for trainer Freddy Head and owners Alain and Gérard Wertheimer. No other horse has ever won the same Breeders' Cup race three times. Only Beholder has matched her total of three Breeders' Cup victories, taking the Juvenile Fillies in 2012 and the Distaff in 2013 and again in 2016.

Flightline won the 2022 Breeders' Cup Classic by the widest margin in the race's history. He beat Olympiad by eight and a quarter lengths at Keeneland under Flavien Prat, running the mile and a quarter in 2:00.05. Sent off at 0.44 to 1, he was also the shortest-priced winner of the Classic. John Sadler's colt arrived unbeaten in five starts, including the Metropolitan Handicap and the Pacific Classic, and retired after the race.

Arcangues remains the biggest upset in Breeders' Cup history. The French-trained horse won the 1993 Classic at Santa Anita at 133-1 and paid $269.20 for a $2 win bet, still a record for the event. He had raced only on turf in Europe, where he won the Prix d'Ispahan, and the Classic was his first start on dirt. Jerry Bailey, booked late, rode him for French trainer Andre Fabre and caught the leader Bertrando in the stretch.