NBC Sports activities will present intensive protection of the forty second Annual Breeders’ Cup World Championship in Del Mar from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1. The season-ending occasion options 14 races price greater than $34 million in prize cash and purses.
The motion begins with “Future Stars Friday,” when promising 2-year-old horses from all over the world will compete in 5 Breeders’ Cup races, the primary 4 of which might be broadcast on USA Community from 4 to eight p.m. ET. The $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile introduced by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is the centerpiece of the cardboard. The final of 5 World Championship races, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (Race #10), might be streamed dwell on Peacock.
The Championship will resume broadcast on USA Community on Saturday from 2:00pm to three:30pm ET, then change to NBC from 3:30pm to 7:00pm ET. Submit time for the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Traditional, a 1 1/4-mile contest that always goes a great distance in figuring out the Horse of the 12 months, is ready for six:25 p.m. ET. Then it returns to USA Community from 7-8pm ET. Moreover, all races might be streamed dwell on Peacock.
As at all times, NBC’s broadcasts will rely closely on the knowledgeable evaluation of Randy Moss. He explored many elements of the Breeders’ Cup throughout an intensive question-and-answer session on behalf of America’s Greatest Racing.
Pedula: Sierra Leone, the defending Traditional champion, has in all probability gone a bit below the radar for a horse that has raced in all 13 races of his profession. Will he be capable of repeat?
moss: He wants a quick tempo and that is why they put a pacemaker in for him in Opposite Pondering. An argument may have been made that Fierceness was the higher horse final yr as he picked up the tempo and benefited from Sierra Leone laying again and selecting up items. That is one of many the explanation why Sierra Leone is a bit below the radar right here. However he undoubtedly has an opportunity.
Pedula: Fierceness completed fifth within the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga after which gained the Pacific Traditional Stakes at Del Mar. Does that contradiction trouble you?
moss: He is at all times been a bit inconsistent. That was my criticism of Fierceness after I was 3 years previous. He is gotten higher in that regard. Whitney was a little bit of a headache. He raced very properly within the Pacific Traditional. For the primary time in his profession, he overcame adversity. He appears to be doing higher on the quicker race surfaces of Southern California.
Pedula: Saudi Cup winner Eternally Younger has solely performed one race since ending third on the Dubai World Cup in early April. Does that trouble you?
moss: That does not concern me in any respect. He had one race earlier than the Breeders’ Cup Traditional in Japan final fall and is properly ready for the Breeders’ Cup. Maybe he, like Fierce, was too near the tempo. He ran a tough race and completed third. He is in all probability a greater horse now as a four-year-old than he was as a three-year-old. His race within the Saudi Cup was the most effective dust race on the earth to date this yr. If he can replicate that kind within the classics, he can have an awesome likelihood.
Pedula: How pricey was it for Mindframe to lose a jockey within the final race earlier than the Traditional, the Jockey Membership Gold Cup?
moss: I feel it is solely a bit. As (coach) Todd Pletcher identified, he ran with out a rider so he may get one thing out of the race. Todd had the choice of getting ready him once more and bringing him again earlier than the Breeders’ Cup, however he did not actually really feel it was needed. I belief Pletcher on that. The query is just: Is Mindframe adequate?
Pedula: May Jose Ortiz’s transfer to enterprise into journalism make a distinction for him, or is it nonetheless an uphill climb?
moss: For me, simply placing the names of the highest 20 riders within the nation in my bag and pulling one out is sufficient to win these large races. I do not assume there may be that large of a distinction. (Humberto) Rispoli confirmed within the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes and Pacific Traditional that he may trip horses with out incident and be an excellent rider. Personally, I’ve little interest in altering jockeys.
Pedula: Will Rebels Romance be capable of rating a 3rd victory on the Longines Turf, or is the 7-year-old maybe not the identical horse?
moss: In his final race in New York he was nearly as good as ever in each approach. He clearly has the benefit of being well-traveled. This might be his fifth journey throughout the Atlantic in the US. He has gained the Breeders’ Cup twice. This eliminates one perennial concern for horses coming to the US from Europe. How will they deal with journey? How will they take care of the totally different racing types in America and the tightness of the corners?
Pedula: Who’s Japan’s most anticipated winner of this yr’s Breeders’ Cup?
moss: Perhaps I am underestimating a few of their horses. Not many Japanese runners come to the US, so it is tough to judge their kind. Usually we do not understand how they stack up in opposition to our greatest horses. However for me, when Japanese horses on paper, Eternally Younger is the one horse I can confidently say has an excellent likelihood.
Pedula: Who would you select on your Longines Distaff?
moss: There isn’t any doubt that earthquakes are stunning. Even when Torpedo Anna was in Distaff, I might select Seismic Magnificence. She’s actually cooking on all cylinders. At the start of the race, you will not have a lot velocity. It is a residence recreation for her and the Bob Baffert Barn. If she runs like she did the final two occasions, we’ll in all probability see her within the winner’s circle.
Pedula: Can I request a dwell lengthy shot?
moss: Sea the Fireplace, a turf mare, may go 8-1 or 10-1. Individuals wouldn’t be as acquainted with her European physique kind. There’s Sea Fields Fairly, who at all times bets large. There are some Godolphins (runners) with nice kind. See The Fireplace could also be the most effective worth play of the 2 days.
Pedula: Lastly, which horses are within the prime 4 within the Traditional?
moss: Depth, Sierra Leone, Eternally Younger, Baeza.
