Looking for lessons from 1st Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar

Often the champion mode to foretell the aboriginal is to look to the past.

So with the 38th Breeders’ Cup astatine Del Mar 2 weeks away, I decided to revisit the 2017 Breeders’ Cup — the lone clip the two-day thoroughbred title bid has been held “where the turf meets the surf” — to spot if those races mightiness pass my reasoning the 2nd clip around.

I’m gladsome I did, arsenic I had forgotten conscionable however antithetic the races were that year.

The Del Mar ungraded way wholly tin alteration successful quality from 1 time to the next, oregon sometimes successful specified hours. At times it is affable to speed, but astatine others, closers successful the mediate of the way look to dominate. As I wrote successful 2019, it’s astir arsenic if idiosyncratic flips a switch.

The mode I saw it successful 2017, that power was mostly turned to “closer” mode, arsenic runners came from disconnected the gait connected some the ungraded and turf implicit the 2 days of racing.

The lone equine to triumph gate-to-wire was Gun Runner, 1 of the champion classical region runners of modern times. Every different contention was won from disconnected the gait — reasonably antithetic successful California racing.

That’s not to accidental you privation to backmost horses coming from the clouds. A coagulated bulk of the races were won by horses that either raced adjacent down the front-runners oregon successful midpack successful the aboriginal going.

On the dirt, an extracurricular presumption was not a atrocious spot to be. More important was to beryllium adjacent to the gait by the 2nd call.

On the turf, a ground-saving travel and determination to the extracurricular successful the precocious agelong was usually the summons to success.

Del Mar volition big 2 days of racing earlier the archetypal Breeders’ Cup races are tally connected Nov. 5, truthful I’d counsel paying adjacent attraction to get a amended consciousness of however the way is playing.

Other Breeders’ Cup notes

Embattled Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert volition beryllium allowed to participate horses successful the Breeders’ Cup races, but they volition acquisition extended further cause investigating astatine his expense, officials announced Sunday. … Godolphin’s Maxfield volition skip the $6 cardinal Classic successful favour of the Clark Stakes astatine Churchill Downs precocious adjacent month. … Mishriff, victor of the 2nd $20 cardinal Saudi Cup successful February, volition not vessel successful to contention the $4 cardinal Breeders’ Cup Turf, trainer John Gosden said Thursday.

Best Breeders’ Cup storyline truthful far? It’s got to beryllium Queen Supreme, a two-time Group 1 victor successful South Africa who volition marque her last commencement successful the $2 cardinal Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. She is nearing the extremity of a astir five-month travel to get to Southern California for the contention owed to restrictive equine shipping regulations requiring extended quarantine periods on the way.

There’s a caller app successful town

Last, a spot of bully quality for Nevada horseplayers: Boyd Gaming has added equine racing to its sports betting app, allowing customers to wager seamlessly from a azygous relationship connected some humans and horses.

This mightiness not dependable similar a large woody if you’ve ne'er stake from your smartphone. But until now, Nevada horseplayers who similar to dabble successful different forms of sports wagering had to unfastened 2 abstracted accounts, capable retired 2 sets of paperwork, marque 2 deposits, get 2 passcodes, etc. And if you tapped retired successful 1 account, you had to retreat wealth from the different 1 and transportation it.

No longer. If you download the caller Boyd Sports app from either the Apple oregon Google stores, you should beryllium bully to spell if you person wealth successful your sports betting account. If you’re a caller customer, it’s disconnected to the publication you go.

Bob Scucci, vice president of contention &sports operations astatine Boyd, noted that the institution besides precocious expanded the app’s sports betting menu.

“We consciousness similar it gives the wide acquisition of being capable to stake astir anything, immoderate we’re capable to instrumentality present successful Nevada,” helium said.

Saving the champion for last

Longtime readers of this abstraction volition callback the unusual saga of Mr. Changue, who was swallowed by a sinkhole astatine Fort Erie racetrack successful Ontario successful July 2019, past went connected to triumph his adjacent contention aft his melodramatic rescue. The communicative came to a blessed decision this week with connection that the 8-year-old gelding has been retired and is being shopped for “a everlastingly home,” trainer Ken Albu told the Paulick Report this week.

Enjoy the quiescent life, Mr. Changue. You earned it!

Speaking of earning immoderate clip off, jockey Mario Pino, 60, announced aboriginal Thursday that his astonishing 45-year riding vocation would travel to a adjacent astatine the extremity of the day’s racing astatine Fort Erie, 1 time aft helium became conscionable the 10th U.S. rider to surpass 7,000 wins.

Pino is simply a people enactment who afloat deserves to beryllium successful the Racing Hall of Fame. I anticipation voters volition rectify that soon.

Mike Brunker’s equine racing file appears Fridays. He tin beryllium reached astatine mbrunker@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker connected Twitter.