BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Florida Thoroughbred Breeders are represented by four Florida-breds among the 205 contenders pre-entered for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup World Championships to be run Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita Park.
The 40th Breeders’ Cup World Championships consists of 14 races with purses and awards totaling more than $31 million highlighted by the Grade 1, $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic the featured event among the nine Breeders’ Cup Championship races on the Saturday program. There are five races, exclusively for 2-year-olds on Friday with the Grade 1, $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile among the most anticipated events.
Florida-bred Clapton has been entered to run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic by trainer Chad Summers. The 4-year-old son of Arindel’s Brethren will attempt to join Unbridled (1990), Skip Away (1997) and Mucho Macho Man (2013) as Classic winners bred in the Sunshine State.
Bred by Arindel, Clapton will race in the orange and black colors of Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi’s RRR Racing and comes into the Classic off of a victory in the Grade 2 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs on Sept. 30.
Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman’s Speed Boat Beach is pre-entered for the Grade 1, $2 million Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Bred in Florida by Richard Heysek’s Caperlane Farm, Speed Boat Beach will make his second appearance in the Breeders’ Cup, having finished ninth in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) won by Mischief Magic (Ire) at Keeneland.
Speed Boat Beach is trained by Bob Baffert and looks to become the sixth Florida-bred winner of the Sprint. Florida-breds Eillo (1984), Precisionist (1985), Smile (1986), Cherokee Run (1994) and Big Drama (2010) are the five previous Florida-bred winners.
Two Florida-breds have pre-entered the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.
Peter Redekop B.C. Ltd.’s April Vintage and NBS Stable, Crown’s Way Racing LLC and Kevin Marko’s Shards will try to become the second Florida-bred winner of the Juvenile Turf Sprint along with 2020 winner Golden Pal.
By Vino Rosso, April Vintage is trained by Peter Miller and was bred in Florida by Loren Nichols while Shards, a son of Pleasant Acres Stallions resident Bucchero, will be saddle by Kelsey Danner.
The post-position draw will be held Monday, Oct. 30 and will air from 7:30-9:30 p.m. ET on FanDuel TV.
The Breeders’ Cup will be televised live on NBC, Peacock, USA Network, and FanDuel TV. The NBC coverage includes an expanded network window from 3:30-7 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 4. Fans can visit BreedersCup.com/Watch for a detailed broadcast and streaming schedule.
