BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Florida Thoroughbred breeders will be represented by eight entrants in this year’s edition of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, the most since 11 Florida-breds went postward in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland Race Course. Should all eight start, that would bring the total number of Florida-bred starters in Breeders’ Cup races to 403 in the 42-year history of the event, more than any other state, province or country outside of Kentucky and Ireland. Florida-breds have won 30 Breeders’ Cup races.

The 2025 World Championships will again feature 14 Grade 1 races and more than $34 million in purses and awards. A total of 177 horses entered from 13 countries and five continents – Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. There are 55 international contenders.

Live Oak Stud will try to up their place in the Florida-bred record books with Ultimate Love in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) on Friday and Bring Theband Home in the $1 Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) on Saturday.

Live Oak Stud is currently tied with Meadowbrook and Farnsworth Farm as the all-time leaders of Breeders’ Cup wins by breeder of Florida-bred horses with two each. Live Oak homebreds Miesque’s Approval and World Approval won the 2006 and 2017 Breeders’ Cup Mile respectively.

Should Ultimate Love and Bring Theband Home both start, Live Oak Stud would join Arthur I. Appleton atop the list of most Breeders’ Cup starts by breeder of Florida-breds with 15 each.

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf is Friday’s eighth race with a 7:05 p.m. ET post time and Ultimate Love has drawn post one. At 8-1 on the morning line, Ultimate Love is trained by Mike Trombetta and will be ridden John Velazquez.  

Also in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filles Turf is NBS Stables’ Ground Support trained by Kelsey Danner. Ground Support and will break from post 11 with Adam Beschizza in the irons and she was bred in Florida by Champion Equine. She is 15-1 on the morning line.

The Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint is the fifth race on Saturday with a post time scheduled at 3:41 p.m. ET.

Bring Theband Home is trained by Mark Casse and will start from post five with Javier Castellano up. He is 12-1 on the morning line.

Also entered is the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint is Alex and JoAnn Lieblong’s Florida homebred Reef Runner, who is trained by David Fawkes and will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione. Reef Runner has post two and is 6-1 on the morning line in the five furlong contest on the grass.

Bring Theband Home and Reef Runner try to join Golden Pal, the only Florida-bred winner of Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. 

John Ropes’ Grade 1-winning homebred Dorth Vader has drawn post 12 in the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) as the 5-year-old daughter of Girvin attempts to join Hollywood Wildcat (1993), One Dreamer (1994), Jewel Princess (1996), Beautiful Pleasure (1999) and Ginger Punch (2007) as winners of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The nine-furlong Distaff has been carded as Race 8 on Saturday with a post time of 5:01 p.m. ET. Trained by George Weaver, Dorth Vader is listed at 5-1 on the morning line and will be ridden by John Velazquez.

Multiple stakes-winner Lennilu will try to join Golden Pal (2020) among the Florida-bred winners of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) as she has drawn the outside post 12 and is 8-1 on the morning line. Lennilu is owned by Amy Dunne, Caitlin Dunne, Brenda Miley, Jean Wilkinson, Hoffman Family Racing LLC, Tranquility Lake Farms LLC, Maury Harrington and Christopher K. Harrington. The 2-year-old daughter of Pleasant Acres Stallions’ Leinster was bred by Helen and Joseph Barbazon. The five-furlong Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint is the sixth race on Friday with a post time of 5:45 ET.

Leon King Stable Corp’s Bentornato and James Thares’ Mad House attempt to add to a strong list of Florida-bred winners of the $2 million Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), the six-furlong test scheduled as the sixth race on Saturday with a 4:21 p.m. ET post time.

The Breeders’ Cup Sprint has been won five times by Florida-breds including the first three versions when Eillo won in 1984, Precisionist in 1985 and Smile in the 1986 edition. Other Florida-bred Breeders’ Cup Sprint winners are Cherokee Run in 1994 and Big Drama in 2010.

Bentornato looks to avenge his runner-up finish to champion Straight No Chaser in last year’s Sprint as the 5-2 morning line favorite this year. Trained by Jose D’Angelo, Bentornato has post 10 and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr. The son of Bridlewood Farm stallion Valiant Minister was bred by the Tanma Corp.

Bred by Jean White, Wavertree Farm and SGV Thoroughbreds, Mad House will be ridden from post 13 by Luis Saez for trainer David VanWinkle. Mad House has been listed at 30-1 in the program.

Return to the October 28 issue of Wire to Wire