THREE STARS: The Three Best Performances Of Breeders' Cup Weekend - At The Post With Mut
A year later than most racing fans hoped, we finally got the showdown between two of the best older horses in training Saturday night, when Forever Young squared off against Sovereignty in the Breeders' Cup Classic. It was the last of 14 Breeders' Cup Championship races over two days.
If you bet the favorites on Friday and Saturday, you did really well. Over the 14 BC races, 7 were won by the race favorite, 5 by second choices, and then 2 by third choices. That's right - the winner in EVERY Breeders' Cup race was one of the top three betting choices.
If you ate the chalk, you crushed.
When the chalk wins, I lose. So does Elio, who got tagged with a Stock Down this morning on Wake Up Barstool. Unfair. Elio said Sovereignty was the most likely winner of the Classic.
I liked 17-1 The Puma in the Classic - he ran second - and I cashed ZERO tickets. Stock down for me, too. Hope you guys cashed.
Maybe you bet less this year. Betting on one of racing's biggest weekends was also down - almost 8% from 2025. Smaller fields and winning favorites over and over and over will do that.
But there was some great racing. And to this bald blogger, three performances stood out. Call it my Three Stars of the Breeders' Cup.
⭐⭐⭐
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The European horses are just BETTER on turf, and we saw that in full display in Friday's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Filly Turf. Sun Goddess was highly touted coming in, and she did not disappoint.
She was right off the leader early, showing good early pace. When the jockey asked in the lane, she effortlessly blasted off to the front and never looked back. Champion jockey Ryan Moore barely had to ask, and she responded, winning by three easy lengths. She got a 92 Beyer speed figure as she won her fourth Grade 1/Group 1 race. Sick turn of foot.
She's loaded with talent, and we hope to see her back at Belmont next fall in another BC race.
⭐⭐
It was the biggest race of the weekend, I get it, but Sovereignty's win in the Classic was still the weekend's second-best performance in Lexington.
Like, he won this thing pretty easily in the end. But it was just a 7-horse field and his main rival, Forever Young, just did not have it. Further Ado running in the Dirt Mile and not being in here also helped him.
He could have won the Triple Crown last season, but they skipped the Preakness. Credit to the connections for coming back to race in 2026.
A lot of times in boxing, we get a matchup we wanted just a little too late - that's what Forever Young/Sovereignty felt like Saturday night.
He earned a very solid 110 Beyer for his effort, and he deserves all the flowers. Does he go down as an all-time great? Eh. I don't think so - all-time very, very good. Credit to trainer Bill Mott for having him ready to run big in his last race before retirement.
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And credit anyone who played him in DraftKings awesome King Of The Track promo - paid $106 to all the winners. Awesome stuff. 10-1 or so on the heavy second-choice in the betting.
Also, shoutout The Puma for an awesome second. How the hell did I not have this exacta? Blogged that I liked him. Made a video. No exacta, Mut? Really? I'm so dumb. He ran huge. He's back in 2027, and I hope we see him at the Pegasus.
⭐
Jaw-dropping.
That's how I'd describe the performance from T O Elvis in the Breeders' Cup Sprint. #1 Star of Breeders' Cup Weekend.
You had Englishman run huge on the end and looked like he might cap off his campaign with a monster win. I thought he was well on his way. But here came the Japan runner, FLYING in the lane.
I mean, look how far back he is.
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Insane finish - his final 8th of a mile under 12 seconds. This was outrageous stuff - you just don't see horses close like this on the dirt. His 112 Beyer was the fastest figure of the day. What a performace. Englishman ran his race, but T O Elvis was just too good.
Michael Reaves. Getty Images.Keeneland looked like it was a great spot for the event, but I'll be happy when it comes to New York next fall. Hopefully, I'm there with Elio, Dave, and the boys firing away.
Fun weekend. I wish we had fewer favorites. And I wish I had more winners. But as far as star power? We saw plenty of it this weekend in Lexington.
Also, again, I liked the The Puma at 17-1, he ran second, and I didn't cash. I stink. But the Breeders' Cup didn't.
