Lawyer Ron made Breeders' Cup Classic favorite

Note to readers: Horse racing fans will want to pick up Wednesday's print edition of The Trentonian, with four full pages of Breeders' Cup coverage. Also, a special section handicapping each race will be published along with Friday's editions.

OCEANPORT, N.J. (AP) _ The smiles on their faces told the story: Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense is in tiptop form for the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

"Awesome," a beaming jockey Calvin Borel said after Street Sense delivered a final, eye-catching workout Tuesday at Monmouth Park. "He's doing so good. I'm not worried about the rest of the field. I don't think he can be beat."

Trainer Carl Nafzger had a big grin, too, after watching his 3-year-old colt breeze five furlongs in a brisk 1:01 1/5 on a warm, sunny morning.

"He's amazing, an amazing horse," Nafzger said. "He relaxed real good with Calvin and then picked it up and finished off strong. He needed to test the track and he did."

Monmouth oddsmaker Brad Thomas was put to the test at the post position draw later, making Lawyer Ron the slight 5-2 morning-line favorite for Saturday's $5 million Classic. Street Sense and Preakness winner Curlin were co-second choices at 3-1 in a small but select field of nine.

Breeders Cup approaching fast

The Breeders’ Cup comes to Monmouth Park this weekend, but thoroughbred racing’s biggest event began paying dividends months ago. The 137-year-old horse track received a $30 million renovation from the state, and area businesses are counting on a huge payout.Hotels and restaurants in particular are expected to benefit when the race comes to town. In all, the state estimates the race will have an economic impact of at least $60 million, which includes track construction costs.

Other facts and notes from the Super Bowl of horse racing:

ODDS-ON, ODDS-OFF
Arcangues was the longest shot to win a Breeders’ Cup race when he finished first in the 1993 Classic, paying $133.60. Meadow Star was the most overwhelming favorite to win, taking the Juvenile Fillies race in 1990 and paid 20 cents.

SECOND IS NOT SO BAD
Medaglia d’Oro has the record for most career earnings without a victory, with $1.6M in earnings, with two second-place finishes the horse’s best.

STAYING WITH THE TIMES
The Breeders’ Cup helped maintain its status as a big-time sporting event in recent years by moving with the times and moving into new multi-media outlets. On Sept. 29, 2005, NTRA, BCL and Bethesda Softworks banded together to create Breeders’ Cup World Thouroughbred Championships, a racing video game for the PlayStation2 and Xbox game systems. A month later, the Breeders’ Cup was broadcast on SIRIUS satellite radio for the first time.

CLOUDY FORECAST
Monday was a delightful afternoon on the Jersey Shore with temperatures in the mid 70s and abundant sunshine, perfect weather for a Breeders' Cup.
Unfortunately, the outlook for the weekend is not as bright.
The long-range forecast Monday afternoon by weather.com called for partly cloudy skies Friday and showers Saturday with high temperatures both days in the upper 60s.

Breeders' Cup Race Order

OCEANPORT, N.J. (AP) _ The order of races and post times for the $23 million, 11-race Breeders' Cup at Monmouth Park on Oct. 26-27 was announced Tuesday.

The three new Breeders' Cup races will be run Oct. 26, the Filly & Mare Sprint, the Juvenile Turf and the Dirt Mile, each with a $1 million purse. Post time for the Filly & Mare Sprint is 4:25 p.m.

On Oct. 27, the $5 million Classic featuring Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense and Preakness winner Curlin will go off at 5:35 p.m.

The $2 million Juvenile Fillies will open the Breeders' Cup portion of the program with a post time of 12:30 p.m., followed by the $2 million Juvenile (1:10 p.m.); the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf (1:55 p.m.); the $2 million Sprint (2:35 p.m.); the $2 million Mile (3:20 p.m.); the $2 million Distaff (4:05 p.m.); the $3 million Turf (4:50 p.m.); and the Classic.

Today's Fast fact

On Oct. 23, 2004, defending champion McDynamo became the second horse in history to win back-to-back runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase, winning in 5:06 4/5 while earning $96,250.

--Check The Trentonian this week for more fast facts and Breeders' coverage.

Breeders' facts of the day

A couple of fast facts about the Breeders' Cup:

* The two oldest horses to win Breeders’ Cup race both were 7 years old. Miesque’s Approval won the 2006 Mile to match the feat of Cardmania, which won the 1993 Sprint at the same age.

* On Oct. 26, 2003, the inaugural winner of the Bill Shoemaker Award was Alex Solis, who rode Johar to a dead-heat win in the Turf and won the Classic aboard Pleasantly Perfect.

Look for Rick Lang's Philly Park picks in Saturday's edition of The Trentonian.

A look at how favorites and long shots do

Favorites have won 61 of 169 Breeders’ Cup races, a 36.1 percent rate.

The worst finish by a favorite was in the 2003 Juvenile at Santa Anita Park, when Cuvee finished 12th by 58 lengths at 3-2.

There have been 35 horses to go off at odds of 100-1 or greater, only Arcangues, winner of the 1993 Classic at 133.60, has finished in the money.

Tip for Breeders' Cup

Here’s a good tip for the Breeders’ Cup.

In the history of the Breeders', Post 2 has produced the most winners (21), followed by Post 1 (20) and Post 5 (18) in Breeders’ races.

It's Panty Raid in Spinster

Panty Raid made amends for her disappointing performance as the favorite in this year’s Alabama Stakes, capturing the 52nd running of the Juddmonte Spinster, at the expense of Alabama winner, Lady Joanne.

The Todd Pletcher trainee overcame a little early trouble and a pedestrian pace, to post a half-length victory in the Keeneland fixture. Teammate finished another half-length back in third.

Panty Raid covered the mile and an eighth in 1:51.30, under jockey Garret Gomez. The daughter of Include returned $8.20.

--For a full roundup of Sunday's prep races, pick up a copy of Monday's Trentonian.

--Check back here & in print this week for plenty more Breeders' Cup stories, including a look at Monmouth's plans on how to deal with the influx of racing fans.

Breeders Cup history facts for the weekend

* In 1984, the first Breeders’ Cup was held at Hollywood Park, where the total handle for the event was $16,452, 179. Last year at Churchill Downs, the handle was a whopping $134,357,846, an increase of more than 800 percent over the 23-year life of the event. The attendance last year was 75,132, the third-biggest crowd ever.

* Hall of Fame horse Alysheba had an outstanding racing career, earning $6.6 million and winning 11 races. But he had two disappointments in 1987 that could have made him a legend. After winning the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, Alysheba fell short of the Triple Crown with a loss in the Belmont. At the Breeders’ Cup Classic that year, Alysheba was nipped by a nose by Ferdinand. It was one of 11 races in the history of the Breeders’ Cup to be decided by a nose.

Look for Rick Lang's Philly Park picks and his coverage of the races leading up to the Breeders' Cup in The Trentonian.

Monmouth Park readies for Breeders'

Monmouth Park is getting set for the Breeders' Cup, Oct. 26-27. Here's an excerpt from Kevin O'Connor's story in Friday's editions of The Trentonian:

OCEANPORT – In April of 1982, Thoroughbred owner John R.Gaines announced plans for a season-ending world championship for horse racing.

In 1984, Gaines' plans became a reality as the Breeders’ Cup World Championships debuted at Hollywood Park and has since established a history and lore all its own in the traditional sport of Thoroughbred racing.

This year, the prestigious racing weekend comes to New Jersey for the 24th running of Thoroughbred racing’s $23 million showcase at Monmouth Park on October 26 and 27.

“It’s the biggest thing for New Jersey racing ever,” said George Bernet, Assistant Media Manager at Monmouth Park.

The event features eleven races – three more than last year – and will be held over two days. With each Breeder’s Cup race is worth at least $1 million, all of the sport’s best will be on hand at Monmouth Park on the last weekend of October.

While passionate horse racing fans follow the sport year-round, horse racing is completely off the radar to the casual sports fan for most of the year.

Yet for about a month in late spring, the pursuit of the sport’s most prestigious honor, the Triple Crown, takes center stage in the sports world.

But after the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes, the Breeders’ Cup also brings a lot of attention to horse racing. As a result, Monmouth Park will garner a lot of national, and even worldwide, attention.

“It’s a very prestigious honor to host this,” said Bernet. “For Thoroughbred Racing, this is huge.”

--For more, pick up Friday's editions of The Trentonian, where you also will get a preview of the weekend's Breeders' Cup prep races.

--The Trentonian will wrap up this weekend's races in Saturday & Sunday's editions.

--Check back here from excerpts and the print edition for the entire roundup.

24 days to go...and Curlin looks ready

In print this week: Staff writer Kevin O'Connor will check in on preparations at Monmouth Park for the 24th Breeders' Cup, Oct. 26-27 and Rick Lang will preview this weekend's prep races.
Today’s fast fact: The first Breeders’ Cup Classic was held 23 years ago at Hollywood Park.
Curlin gets ready with big win in The Jockey Gold Cup Preakness Stakes winner Curlin put in a strong stretch run to defeat the 3-5 favorite Lawyer Ron by a neck in a thrilling edition of the Grade I, $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park. The winner covered the mile and a quarter in 2:01.20 over a fast track beneath jockey Robby Albarado. Political Force finished four lengths back in third. Curlin, trained by Steve Asmussen, returned $6.20 as the second choice in the field of seven. Long shot Brother Bobby elected to go for the lead and quickly jumped out on top with Stewart Elliot in the saddle. The favorite, Lawyer Ron, was eager to go on and quickly moved to his flank while jockey John Velazquez attempted to get him to relax. He managed to keep him off the lead while Curlin and Robby Albatado were content to track patiently in fourth while on the outside. When they turned for home, Johnny V cut Lawyer Ron loose and the favorite opened up several lengths on his pursuers. For a moment, Lawyer Ron appeared to be on his way to victory, until Robby set Curlin down for the stretch run. The strapping chestnut started to gain on the favorite with every stride and eventually collared him about 10 yards from the wire. The Preakness winner snapped a two- race, losing streak with his victory in the Gold Cup. It followed his second-place finish in the Belmont with a third-place finish in the Haskell at Monmouth Park.

Hard Spun wins Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway

A plethora of Breeders Cup prep races were run Saturday, at venues across the country. The most anticipated of the dozen prep races, was the 14th running of the Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky. The Kentucky Cup Classic featured a rematch between Street Sense and Hard Spun one-two finishers in this year’s Kentucky Derby. Hard Spun, avenged his loss in the Derby with a wire to wire victory in the $500,000 event as the 4-5 second choice in the field of four. The hard knocking son of Danzig, held off Street Sense throughout the stretch run to win by a length and quarter for trainer Larry Jones. His time for the race 1:48.48 was a fifth of a second off the track record.