2014 Breeders' Cup Classic

Last updated
31st Breeders' Cup Classic
Breeders' Cup Classic
Location Santa Anita
Date November 1, 2014 (2014-11-01)
Winning horse Bayern
Jockey Martin Garcia
Trainer Bob Baffert
Owner Kaleem Shah
Conditions fast
Surface Dirt
  2013
2015  

The 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 31st running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2014 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 1, 2014 at Santa Anita race track in Arcadia, California.

Breeders Cup Classic American Thoroughbred horse race

The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of 1 14 miles (2,000 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October or early November. All of the races to date have been held in the United States except for the 1996 edition held at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The 2014 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 31st edition of the premier event of the North American thoroughbred horse racing year. It took place on October 31 and November 1 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North American racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December. The 2014 Breeders' Cup results were highly influential in the Eclipse Award divisional championship voting.

Arcadia, California City in California, United States

Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States located about 13 miles (21 km) northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It is the site of the Santa Anita Park racetrack and home to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. The city had a population of 56,364 at the 2010 census, up from 53,248 at the 2000 census. The city is named after Arcadia, Greece.

Contents

In a controversial result, Bayern, who led every step of the race, survived a 10-minute stewards' inquiry into the start of the race and was left the winner. Bayern had crossed in front of several horses at the break, causing serious bumping to occur. The stewards agreed that interference had occurred but did not feel that they could determine if this affected the result of the race.

Bayern (horse) American Thoroughbred racehorse

Bayern is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2014, he won the Grade I 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic, following wins in the Haskell Invitational and the Pennsylvania Derby. He is owned by Kaleem Shah, who purchased him as a two-year-old, based upon the advice of his teenaged son. He was named after Shah's favorite soccer team, FC Bayern Munich. The horse was trained by Bob Baffert, and was retired in 2015.

The Classic was run on dirt at one mile and one-quarter (approximately 2000 m) with a purse of $5,000,000. It was run under weight-for-age conditions, with entrants carrying the following weights: [1]

Contenders

There was a full field of fourteen for the Classic, led by four horses who were considered Horse of the Year contenders: Shared Belief, California Chrome, Tonalist and Bayern. Unusually, all four favorites were three-year-olds – the older horse division had been depleted by the retirement of horses such as Mucho Macho Man and Game On Dude. [2]

Shared Belief

Shared Belief was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old, the gelding was unbeaten in three races, including the Hollywood Prevue Stakes and CashCall Futurity, and was named American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt for 2013 at the Eclipse Awards.

California Chrome American Thoroughbred racehorse

California Chrome is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was named the 2014 and 2016 American Horse of the Year. He won the 2014 Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the 2016 Dubai World Cup. In 2016, he surpassed Curlin as the all-time leading North American horse in earnings won.

Tonalist American Thoroughbred racehorse

Tonalist is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2014 Belmont Stakes, beating the favored California Chrome, who was attempting to win the Triple Crown. Tonalist won the Peter Pan Stakes in May 2014. He is the first horse since A.P. Indy in 1992 to win the Peter Pan/Belmont double. Later in the year he defeated older horses to win the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Shared Belief was the pre-race favorite, coming into the race undefeated. He had missed the Triple Crown races in the spring due to injury, but recovered to beat older horses in both the Pacific Classic and Awesome Again. [3]

The Awesome Again Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1982 during the Oak Tree Racing Association at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

California Chrome was the second choice at 4-1 on the morning line, [4] based on his dominant wins in the Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. However, California Chrome had injured himself when finishing fourth in the Belmont Stakes and finished sixth in his return in the Pennsylvania Derby. [5]

The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of ​1 18 miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $1 million. It is one of the final prep races on the official Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Kentucky Derby American stakes race for Thoroughbreds, part of the Triple Crown

The Kentucky Derby, is a horse race that is held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of one and a quarter miles (2.0 km) at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds and fillies 121 pounds.

Preakness Stakes American stakes race for Thoroughbreds, part of the Triple Crown

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat thoroughbred horse race held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds (57 kg); fillies 121 lb (55 kg). It is the second jewel of the Triple Crown, held two weeks after the Kentucky Derby and two or three weeks before the Belmont Stakes.

Bayern, known for his front-running style, was one of the most difficult entries for the bettors to assess. He had several impressive wins during the year, including the Haskell Invitational and Pennsylvania Derby, beating California Chrome in the latter. However, he had also lost badly to California Chrome in the Preakness and V.E. Day in the Travers in races where he was challenged for the early lead. His "one-dimensional" style made him vulnerable, especially if longshot Moreno went to the lead with him as expected. [2]

The other leading contenders were: [3] [4]

Race description

Bayern broke rapidly from the gate and "took a hard left turn" toward the rail, bumping Shared Belief in the process. Knocked off stride, Shared Belief in turn stumbled into Moreno, who had been expected to challenge Bayern for the early lead. Moreno lost his footing and never challenged. Bayern got good position on the rail and an uncontested lead while setting a fast pace. [6]

For most of the race, Bayern was followed by Toast of New York, who had also bumped into both Shared Belief and Moreno while moving into position. California Chrome was not involved in the contact, racing on the outside a few lengths behind in third. He started to close as they entered the stretch but could not get by: Bayern won by a nose over Toast of New York with California Chrome a neck back. Shared Belief closed ground late to finish fourth. [7] [8]

After a 10-minute inquiry, the stewards decided to let the results stand, explaining later that the rules in California made the decision subjective, requiring them to determine if the foul affected the result of the race. "We all agreed there was interference, no question, Bayern broke in. Three or four horses suffered interference," said steward Scott Chaney. "Did it change the outcome? Any interference could. At the start of a mile-and-a-quarter race we're really loathe to make a change. You really don't want us handicapping the race." [9] Many still disagreed with the decision, especially given the impact on the expected pace scenario. [10] Shared Belief's part-owner, Jim Rome said, "The message is pretty much that you can commit a foul at the beginning of a race. But that can be extremely dangerous to horse and jockey." [11] The controversy overshadowed the performances of the top finishers, who ran the 1 14-mile race in 1:59.88. [12]

Results

FinishProgram
Number
Margin
(lengths)
HorseJockeyTrainerFinal
Odds
Winnings
1st 7 Nose Bayern Martin Garcia Bob Baffert 6.102,750,000
2nd 9 Neck Toast of New York Jamie Spencer Jamie Osborne 18.40 900,000
3rd 13 3 12 California Chrome Victor Espinoza Art Sherman 4.40 500,000
4th 6 1 14 Shared Belief Mike Smith Jerry Hollendorfer 2.50 300,000
5th 11 12 Tonalist Joel Rosario Christophe Clement 4.40 100,000
6th 12 3 12 Candy Boy Corey Nakatani John Sadler 20.30
7th 2 1 12 Cigar Street John Velazquez William Mott 11.60
8th 8 Neck Zivo Jose Lezcano Chad Brown 11.40
9th 3 Head Imperative Lanfranco Dettori George Papaprodronnou 66.10
10th 10 Head Footbridge Rafael Bejarano Eoin Harty 69.70
11th 5 Nose V. E. Day Joseph Talamo James Jerkens 25.70
12th 1 3 12 Prayer for Relief Irad Ortiz Jr. Dale Romans 54.90
13th 14 22 14 Majestic Harbor Tyler Baze Sean McCarthy 45.60
14th 4 Moreno Javier Castellano Eric Guillot 26.10

Source: Equibase [1]

Times:14 – 0:23.12; 12 – 0:46.44; 34 – 1:10.22; mile – 1:34.16; final – 1:59.98.
Fractional Splits: (:23.12) (:23.32) (:23.78) (:23.94) (:25.72)

Payout

Payout Schedule: [1]

Program
Number
HorseWinPlaceShow
7Bayern14.208.005.20
9Toast of New York18.0010.80
13California Chrome5.40

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Chart of the 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic". Equibase. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 "BC Classic: Horse of the year honors on the line". ESPN.com. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Shared Belief, California Chrome Lead Record 201 Pre-Entries for 2014 Breeders' Cup". www.paulickreport.com. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 "2014 BC Classic". www.chef-de-race.com. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  5. Xie, Sterling. "Breeders' Cup Classic Lineup Odds and Predictions". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  6. Witz, Billy (1 November 2014). "Breeders' Cup 2014: In Classic, Bayern Bumps the Favorite, Shared Belief, Then Wins in a Wild Finish". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  7. Shinar, Jack. "Bayern Wins Breeders' Cup Classic Slugfest". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  8. Polacek, Scott. "Breeders' Cup 2014: Results and Payouts for All Races". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  9. Shinar, Jack. "Santa Anita Steward Explains Classic Ruling". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  10. Finley, Bill. "Bayern should have been DQ'd". ESPN.com. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  11. LaMarra, Tom. "Rome on Classic: 'Garbage Result' Ruined Race". bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  12. Haskin, Steve. "Haskin's Breeders' Cup Classic Recap: Bayern and the Brouhaha". cs.bloodhorse.com. Retrieved 5 September 2016.