The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is a race for 3-year-olds and older and will be run around the two turns of the main track.
Purse: | $1,000,000 | Grade: | 1 |
Distance: | 1 Mile | Age: | 3+ |
The 2024 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile will be held on Saturday, November 2 at Del Mar. Bet & watch the race with OffTrackBetting.com (OTB) - US Legal Online Wagering.
DEL MAR, Calif. (Nov. 2, 2024) - Hronis Racing's Full Serrano (ARG) ($28.80) swept to the front at the top of the stretch and had more than enough to hold off Post Time by 1 1/2 lengths to win the 18th running of the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) to conclude the two-day World Championships program at Del Mar.
Trained by John Sadler and ridden by Joel Rosario, Full Serrano completed the mile on a fast main track in 1:35.48. It is the third Breeders' Cup victory for Sadler and 16th for Rosario. Rosario previously won the Dirt Mile with Dakota Phone in 2010 and Knicks Go in 2020.
Longshot T O Saint Denis (JPN) led the field through fractions of :22.30 and :45.47 with Full Serrano lurking just to his outside. On the far turn, Full Serrano went looking for the lead and in the stretch quickly opened up. Post Time rallied from last to get second, 2 ¼ lengths in front of favored Domestic Product.
Full Serrano is a 5-year-old son of Full Mast out of the Jump Start mare Serra Do Mar (ARG). The victory, which came on the heels of a runner-up effort in the 1 ¼-mile Pacific Classic (G1), was worth $520,000 and increased his earnings to $797,223 with a record of 17-6-5-2
Race 12 at Del Mar
Saturday, November 2 - Post 8:25 PM
Entry | Horse | ML Odds | Jockey | Trainer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Saudi Crown | 5-1 | Florent Geroux 126 Lbs |
Brad Cox |
2 | T O Saint Denis (JPN) | 30-1 | Ryusei Sakai 126 Lbs |
Daisuke Takayanagi |
3 | Full Serrano (ARG) | 15-1 | Joel Rosario 126 Lbs |
John Sadler |
4 | Katonah | 30-1 | Lanfranco Dettori 126 Lbs |
Doug O'Neill |
5 | Three Technique | 30-1 | Rafael Bejarano 126 Lbs |
Jason Cook |
6 | Seize the Grey | 10-1 | Jaime Torres 123 Lbs |
D. Lukas |
7 | Tumbarumba | 30-1 | Luis Saez 126 Lbs |
Brian Lynch |
8 | Post Time | 12-1 | Sheldon Russell 126 Lbs |
Brittany Russell |
9 | Domestic Product | 7-2 | Flavien Prat 123 Lbs |
Chad Brown |
10 | Muth | 9-2 | Juan Hernandez 123 Lbs |
Bob Baffert |
11 | Cagliostro | 30-1 | Jose Ortiz 126 Lbs |
Cherie DeVaux |
12 | Mufasa (CHI) | 12-1 | Tyler Gaffalione 126 Lbs |
Ignacio Correas IV |
13 | Pipeline | 30-1 | John Velazquez 126 Lbs |
Cherie DeVaux |
14 | Skippylongstocking | 4-1 | Irad Ortiz, Jr. 126 Lbs |
Saffie Joseph, Jr. |
Although a Grade 3 winner at 1 1/16 miles and a Kentucky Derby (G1) alum, Domestic Product's best work has come since the 3-year-old Practical Joke colt returned to one-turn races. Domestic Product earned his first triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure (101) in a 7 ½-length victory in the Dwyer Stakes (G3) at 1 mile July 6 at Aqueduct. He then generated a career-high 106 Beyer for a neck victory in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) at 7 furlongs Aug. 24 at Saratoga.
Domestic Product's only other start around one turn came in his Aug. 5, 2023, career debut at Saratoga when he finished fifth in a 6-furlong maiden special weight event.
Domestic Product spent early 2024 on the Kentucky Derby trail, highlighted by a victory in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) at 1 1/16 miles March 9 at Tampa Bay Downs. Domestic Product ran 13th in the Kentucky Derby and finished second in the Pegasus Stakes (Listed) at 1 1/16 miles June 15 at Monmouth Park before his Dwyer romp. He never has faced older horses.
Chad Brown trains Domestic Product for his breeder, Seth Klarman (Klaravich Stables, Inc). Brown and Klarman, a Massachusetts hedge fund manager, have raced numerous other Grade 1 winners together, including Early Voting (2022 Preakness), Newspaperofrecord (IRE) (2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf), Complexity (2018 Champagne) and Practical Joke (2017 Jerkens). Complexity, a hot first-crop sire of 2024, concluded his racing career with a fourth-place finish in the 2020 Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1). Practical Joke finished fourth in that 2017 race.
Domestic Product, a Kentucky bred, is the second foal out of Goods and Services, an unraced daughter of Paynter.
Dr. Venkman has options after a 1-length victory in the $300,000 San Diego Handicap (G2) July 27 at Del Mar, a 1 1/16-mile race that marked the two-turn debut for the lightly raced 4-year-old son of Ghostzapper. The San Diego marked the fifth career start for Dr. Venkman, who finished second in his 2024 debut, the $200,000 Triple Bend Stakes (G2) for older horses at 7 furlongs June 1 at Santa Anita.
His second attempt going two turns came Aug. 31 in the FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic (G1) going 1 1/4 miles at Del Mar. The result was a fourth-place finish in the field of eight, 3 lengths behind the victorious Mixto.
Dr. Venkman closed 2023 with a second-place finish in the $250,000 Perryville Stakes (Listed) for 3-year-olds at 7 furlongs on Oct. 21 at Keeneland. The Perryville, to date, is the only start outside California for Dr. Venkman, who is campaigned by trainer Mark Glatt and owners Dan Agnew, Clint Bunch, Mark Cohen and James Hailey.
Dr. Venkman began his career with consecutive victories at the 2023 Del Mar summer meet. Dr. Venkman, a Kentucky bred, is named for actor Bill Murray's character in the 1984 hit movie, "Ghostbusters."
Ghostzapper capped his 2004 Horse of the Year campaign with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). He has three Breeders' Cup victories as a sire. Dr. Venkman is the second stakes winner for his dam, Theory of Change, a daughter of 2011 Arkansas Derby champion Archarcharch. Glatt, as an agent, purchased Dr. Venkman for $105,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the consignment of Hidden Brook Farm, which bred the gelding in partnership with Ghostzapper Syndicate.
Glatt is winless in eight Breeders' Cup starts, but he finished second in the 2021 Sprint (G1) with Dr. Schivel, third in the 2017 Mile (G1) with Blackjackcat and third in the 2020 Dirt Mile (G1) with Sharp Samurai.
Full Serrano (ARG) has made a successful transition to American racing after making his first 14 starts in Argentina, where he finished second, beaten a nose, in the Botafogo Stakes (G3) at about 1 ¼ miles on turf Jan. 13 at Hipódromo de San Isidro.
Hronis Racing, the prominent California ownership group headed by Kosta Hronis, privately purchased Full Serrano following the Miguel Alfredo Martinez de Hoz Stakes (G1) on Feb. 3 and sent the 5-year-old son of Full Mast to John Sadler, its longtime trainer. Full Serrano, in his America debut, was a front-running 2 ¼-length allowance winner at 1 mile Aug. 3 at Del Mar. Full Serrano tested Grade 1 company in his next start, finishing second in the Pacific Classic over 1 ¼ miles Aug. 31 at Del Mar. Full Serrano held a 1 ½-length advantage in midstretch before being caught by Mixto and beaten a half-length.
Full Serrano, in his fifth lifetime start, broke his maiden in March 2023. Among his four victories in Argentina was the Ski Atrevida Handicap at about 1 mile on dirt in October 2023 at Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo.
Sadler and Hronis Racing already have teamed to win the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) twice - 2018 with Accelerate and 2022 with Flightline. Accelerate (champion older dirt mile) and Hronis Racing (outstanding owner) collected Eclipse Awards in 2018. Flightline, campaigned in partnership by Hronis Racing, was the 2022 Horse of the Year. Stellar Wind, another Sadler/Hronis Racing collaboration, won an Eclipse Award in 2015 as the country's champion 3-year-old filly.
Full Serrano is by Full Mast, a Juddmonte homebred who was a Group 1 winner in France. Full Serrano's dam, Serra Do Mar (ARG), is by Jump Start, a Grade 2 winner in 2001 for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.
Argentine trainer Ignacio Correas IV has had the Midas touch with South American imports, notably Blue Prize (ARG), who capped her racing career with a victory in the 2019 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at Santa Anita. The Kentucky-based Correas has a candidate for the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) in Mufasa (CHI), who, in his second American start, set a 7-furlong track record (1:19.86) in an Aug. 12 allowance race at Colonial Downs. The time was just off the North American dirt record (1:19.40), according to Equibase.
Mufasa earned his first stakes victory in North America in his next start, the 7-furlong Vosburgh (G3) at Aqueduct on Sept. 28. Racing over a sealed sloppy track, Mufasa swept to the lead at the head of the stretch and drew off for a 4 1/4-length victory as the favorite in the field of six.
Mufasa is a Group 3 winner in Chile, where he made his first 10 career starts. Mufasa's only loss to date in eight races "about 1 mile" or shorter came in his American debut when he finished sixth in a 6 ½-furlong allowance June 30 at Churchill Downs. Mufasa (10 of 13 overall) was making his first start since Dec. 9.
Mufasa races for Chilean owners Carlos Saavedra (Stud Los Leones) and Pedro Hurtado (Stud Vendaval, Inc.), also the breeder. Saavedra and Correas won the Seeking the Pearl Stakes in 2021 at Colonial Downs with Cheetara (CHI), a Group 2 winner in Chile. Hurtado (Haras Paso Nevado Stud Farm) is also one of Chile's top breeders.
Mufasa is a 5-year-old son of top American stallion Practical Joke, who shuttled several years ago between Kentucky's Coolmore America and Haras Paso Nevado. Mufasa is out of Miscanti (CHI), a daughter of the late Scat Daddy (another Coolmore America/Haras Paso Nevado shuttle).
Correas also conditions turf standout Didia (ARG), a millionaire Grade 1 winner who began her racing career in Argentina, and finished third in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) with Le Da Vida (CHI). Le Da Vida began her career in Chile.
One of the top 3-year-olds in the country after winning the San Vicente Stakes (G1) and Arkansas Derby (G1), Muth was expected to be favored in the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1), but an illness derailed those plans.
The Zedan Racing Stables-owned colt was withdrawn after traveling to Pimlico for the second leg of the Triple Crown after trainer Bob Baffert said he spiked a high fever.
Given five months off after that setback, Muth reappeared in the Sept. 1 Shared Belief Stakes (Listed) at Del Mar at a mile. Second for the first half-mile, Muth took charge on the second turn and pulled away for a 2-length victory.
"I asked a lot of him today, but he responded really well," winning jockey Juan Hernandez said. "I think all the credit is to Bob, because they were putting a lot of work towards this horse. Today in the race this horse showed up. He is a different horse, because when he started out in the first couple races, he was very fast. He didn't want to settle. The last couple races he has relaxed really well. He rode very sharp today. He stayed behind the pace just like I asked of him. He is a very special horse."
Muth took on older horses for the first time in the Sept. 28 California Crown Stakes (G1), formerly known as the Awesome Again Stakes (G1), at the trainer's home base of Santa Anita. He stalked the leaders to the top of the stretch when he began to tire and finished last of six as the favorite, 15 3/4 lengths behind the victorious Subsanador (ARG).
Previously at Santa Anita, Muth won the 2023 American Pharoah Stakes (G1) before a runner-up finish in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1) behind champion Forte.
In other starts, the son of 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Good Magic won a maiden race at Santa Anita in June before a runner-up finish in the Best Pal Stakes (G2) at Del Mar.
One of the country's top 3-year-olds when he won the 2023 Preakness Stakes (G1), National Treasure seems an even better 4-year-old.
Following a close runner-up finish to Horse of the Year Cody's Wish in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) last November, National Treasure began his 2024 season strikingly Jan. 27 by outlasting Senor Buscador by a neck to win the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes presented by Baccarat (G1) at Gulfstream Park.
Sent to the Middle East by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert to pursue the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1), he again ran well, only to finish fourth behind Senor Buscador, Ushba Tesoro (JPN) and Saudi Crown at King Abdulaziz Racecourse.
Returned to the United States, Baffert gave the son of Quality Road some time off to focus on a domestic campaign for owners SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Bob Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital and , and Catherine Donovan.
He brought him back June 8 in another seven-figure contest: the $1 million Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1), a stallion-making race known as the Met Mile. Racing at Saratoga Race Course, he shot to the lead and extended his advantage at every call, crossing the finish 6 1/4 lengths ahead of Post Time and leaving White Abarrio, the 2023 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner, far behind in fifth.
National Treasure returned to Saratoga on Aug. 3 for the $1 million Whitney (G1) where he encountered a muddy track for the second time in his career. The first time was in the 2023 Travers (G1) at Saratoga in which he finished fifth. In the Whitney, racing on the inside, he finished sixth of 10 runners as the favorite, 10 lengths behind wire-to-wire winner Arthur's Ride.
On Sept. 28, National Treasure made his first start at Santa Anita since last year's Breeders' Cup. Racing in the 1 1/8-mile California Crown (G1), he set the pace as the second choice in the field of six only to yield in deep stretch to finish second a head behind Subsanador (ARG).
Though the Met Mile provides an automatic paid berth into the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile via the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In, the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles would present a more rewarding opportunity for National Treasure.
Two years ago, Flightline pulled off the Met Mile/Classic double -- with a 19 1/4-length win in the Pacific Classic (G1) coming in between -- and later was honored as Horse of the Year.
A Maryland man from head to hoof, the ultra-consistent Post Time continues to perform well on the national stage after a signature victory in the Carter Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G2) for older horses at 7 furlongs April 6 at Aqueduct. The Carter marked the second career start outside Maryland for the 4-year-old Frosted colt.
Post Time is unbeaten in eight starts in Maryland. He's 7 for 7 at Laurel, including the General George Stakes (G3) Feb. 17, and 1 for 1 at Pimlico. His seventh victory at Laurel came in the 1-mile Polynesian Stakes on Sept. 14 with an 11 1/2-length victory over four outmatched rivals as the 1-20 favorite.
Prior to the Polynesian, Post Time's previous four starts had been in New York, where he also finished second in Saratoga's Hill `n' Dale Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at 1 mile June 8 and third in its Whitney Stakes (G1) at 1 1/8 miles Aug. 3. Post Time has a 9-2-2 record from 13 lifetime starts and earnings of $997,910.
Post Time, a Maryland bred, is campaigned by trainer Brittany Russell and owner Ellen Charles (Hillwood Stable LLC). Russell, in 2023, became the first female to lead the annual trainer standings on the Maryland circuit (Laurel, Pimlico and Timonium). Russell, who started her first horse in 2018, won 119 races. Russell's husband, Sheldon, is a champion jockey in Maryland and Post Time's regular rider.
A Maryland native, Charles has raced, among others, millionaire Grade 3 winner Cordmaker and Grade 3 winner Bandbox. The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association named Charles its Owner of the Year in 2016 and Post Time champion 2-year-old male of 2022. Charles named Post Time after her late grandmother, Marjorie Merriweather Post, owner of the Postum Cereal Company.
Bred by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Brooke Bowman and Milton P. Higgins III, Post Time was an $85,000 purchase at Fasig-Tipton's 2021 Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling Sale. Post Time is the third foal out of Laurel stakes winner Vielsalm, a daughter of Fairbanks. Post Time's second dam is Merriweather.
Trainer Brad Cox's two-race plan for Saudi Crown to reach the Breeders' Cup hit a snag when the 4-year-old Always Dreaming colt was scratched from the $400,000 Ack Ack Stakes (G3) at 1 mile Sept. 28 at Churchill Downs because of a foot issue. Saudi Crown was the 4-5 program favorite for the Ack Ack, a "Win and You're In" event that Cox planned to use as Saudi Crown's final prep for the $1 million Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile (G1) on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
After a trip to Middle East earlier in the year, Saudi Crown took his first step toward the Dirt Mile with a front-running 1 ¾-length victory in the R.A. "Cowboy" Jones Stakes at 1 mile Aug. 11 at Ellis Park. Saudi Crown opened 2024 with a front-running 5 ¾-length victory in the Louisiana Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 20 at Fair Grounds.
Saudi Crown then finished a game third in the Saudi Cup (G1) at about 1 1/8 miles Feb. 24 in Saudi Arabia and 12th in the Godolphin Mile (G2) on March 30 in the United Arab Emirates.
An accomplished 3-year-old, Saudi Crown's six-race campaign was highlighted by a front-running victory in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx. Saudi Crown, unraced at 2, concluded his 3-year-old campaign with a 10th-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
Cox, a 10-time Breeders' Cup winner, trains Saudi Crown for FMQ Stables (Faisal Mohammed Alqahtani), which purchased the gray colt for $240,000 at the 2022 OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training. Saudi Crown is from the first crop of Always Dreaming, the 2017 Kentucky Derby winner. Saudi Crown's dam, New Narration, is an unraced daughter of Tapit. Saudi Crown, a career winner of $3,070,985, was bred in Kentucky by CHC Inc.
Seize the Grey seized his moment this spring when racing in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes (G1), taking command at the start and defeating Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Mystik Dan in the breakout performance of his 3-year-old season.
But the race was not his only stellar effort as a 3-year-old. In March, he ran third in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park and his coming out party as a stakes-winning sophomore occurred in the Pat Day Mile presented by SAP (G2) on the Kentucky Derby undercard at Churchill Downs.
The final leg of the Triple Crown did not go Seize the Grey's way as he faded to finish seventh behind Dornoch in the June 8 Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga after setting the pace.
Then in a return appearance at Saratoga July 27, he finished fourth in the Jim Dandy Stakes Presented by Mohegan Sun (G2), this time after being rated early. He finished 12 lengths behind victorious Fierceness in the 1 1/8-mile race.
Seize the Grey rebounded from the Jim Dandy on Sept. 21 at Parx when he scored a front-running victory in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1). Setting an uncontested pace, Seize the Grey was challenged in the stretch by Stronghold but repulsed that bid and drew off to win by 3 3/4 lengths.
Seize the Grey is trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, who is still flourishing his late 80s and showing the world he can win some of the most important races in North America. Seize the Grey gave him his seventh victory in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown and 15th Triple Crown win over his legendary career.
With Seize the Grey owned by the microshare partnership MyRacehorse, Lukas got to share the Preakness experience with hundreds of owners on-track, and even-more watching off-site. More than 2,500 MyRacehorse shareholders own a fractional interest in Seize the Grey.
A son of the late Arrogate out of the stakes-placed Smart Strike mare Smart Shopping, Seize the Grey's breeding rights were sold this summer to Gainesway, where he will stand at stud upon his retirement from racing.
A precocious, stakes-winning juvenile whose 3-year-old campaign was derailed by setbacks, Senor Buscador has excelled as an older horse.
Now 6, Senor Buscador is enjoying his finest campaign while competing in some of the richest races aroundcross the world. In January, he was second, beaten a neck by National Treasure in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes presented by Baccarat (G1) at Gulfstream Park, with his customaryl late rally falling just short.
The following month, he traveled to the Middle East, where he rallied from far back frorm the clouds to win $20 million Saudi Cup (G1), capitalizing on a fast pace and a long stretch at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh that suited his hard-charging style.
Under Junior Alvarado, Senor Buscador passed most of the field in the final 300 meters, defeating Japanese star Ushba Tesoro (JPN) by a head. With his rewarding victory in the 1 1/8-mile race, he avenged prior defeats to such high-class horses as White Abarrio, National Treasure, Derma Sotogake (JPN), and Hoist the Gold -- none of whom could keep pace with him late.
Trainer Todd Fincher then took him to Dubai to compete in the $12 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) for Sharaf Mohammed S. Al Hariri and Joey Peacock. The son of Mineshaft would again run well, finishing third behind blowout winner Laurel River and just a neck behind Ushba Tesoro in second.
Following that March 30 race, Senor Buscador was given a break. He resumed breezing in late May at San Luis Rey Training Center in Southern California. Senor Buscador returned to the races Aug. 24 at Del Mar in the 7-furlong Pat O'Brien (G2), his first race at that sprint distance since the 2022 Pat O'Brien. He made his customary run from the back of the pack in the field of eight to finish fourth, 6 3/4 lengths in back of the victorious Raging Torrent.
Senor Buscador returned to the races at Santa Anita on Sept. 28 in the 1 1/8-mile California Crown (G1). On this occasion, he did not deliver his normal closing kick and finished fifth of six 15 1/4 lengths behind the victorious Subsanador (ARG).
A start in this year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), taking place Nov. 2 at Del Mar, would mark his third outing at the World Championships. He was eighth in the 2022 Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and seventh in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Classic.
Skippylongstocking, a $37,000 purchase by owner Daniel Alonso as an unraced 2-year-old, has enjoyed a fairy-tale racing career by becoming a multi-millionaire.
Winner of the West Virginia Derby (G3) and Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3) as a 3-year-old in 2022, he has since developed into one of the top older horses in the country. Two races he won last year as a 4-year-old, the Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs and Charles Town Classic (G2), he also took again in 2024 -- plus he also won the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) in the spring.
In taking this summer's $1 million Charles Town Classic, he ran a race remarkably similar to the one he produced in 2023. Taking charge early, he blew away the competition, crossing the wire 5 3/4 lengths in front. He similarly won in front-running fashion last year, though by a 5-length margin.
His time of 1:50.34 under Jose Ortiz was quicker than his 2023 clocking of 1:51.37, giving every indication that 5-year-old son of Exaggerator is faster than ever.
Skippylongstocking surpassed the $3 million mark in earnings with a runner-up finish in the Woodward (G2) at Aqueduct on Sept. 28. Racing over a muddy, sealed track, Skippylongstocking tired in the final sixteenth of a mile and finished three-quarters of a length behind Tapit Trice.
The Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee has thrice been third in top-tier graded company -- beginning in the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) at Belmont Park in 2022, continuing last year in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Santa Anita Park, and this year in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs.
Though most of his experience has been in races at 1 1/8 miles or shorter, his show effort in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont would suggest he is not entirely limited to racing in short- and middle-distance routes. With a purse of $7 million, the 1 1/4-mile Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) is richer than the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Both two-turn races are Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
Three Technique's greatest success during his 39-race career has come around one turn, specifically 7 furlongs or a mile. Three Technique earned a fees-paid berth into the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) on Nov. 2 at Del Mar with a victory in the Ack Ack Stakes (G3) on Sept. 28 at Churchill Downs for trainer Jason Cook.
Three Technique ($1,177,237) became a millionaire in the 1-mile Ack Ack, his seventh lifetime victory. The 7-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Grade 1 winner Mr Speaker originally was raced by owner Bill Parcells, a two-time Super Bowl winning coach. Parcells purchased Three Technique (a football term for a defensive lineman's positioning) for $180,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky Select Yearling Sale in 2018.
After not panning out as a Kentucky Derby prospect in 2020, Three Technique's subsequent stakes and allowance struggles led to a November 2021 claimer at Churchill Downs. The Kentucky-based Cook won a 27-way shake to claim Three Technique for $40,000 on behalf of co-owner David Miller, a former University of Louisville quarterback.
Three Technique represents the most successful runner of Cook's 34-year training career. The 1-mile Knicks Go Overnight on the 2022 Kentucky Derby undercard marked Cook's first stakes victory since 1997. Three Technique also gave Cook his first career graded stakes victory in the 7-furlong John A. Nerud (G2) in July 2023 at Belmont Park. Three Technique, among only a half-dozen or so horses for Cook, finished sixth in the 2022 Dirt Mile (G1) and eighth in the 2023 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).
Cook, a Kentucky native, is the son of the late jockey Lois C. Cook, who won the 1957 Kentucky Oaks. Three Technique's dam, Nite in Rome (CAN), is a stakes-placed daughter of Harlan's Holiday. Three Technique's half-brother, Stan the Man, was multiple graded stakes placed.
Although top Louisiana-bred Tumbarumba is a son of grass standout Oscar Performance, the 4-year-old gelding's best work has come on dirt for trainer Brian Lynch. Tumbarumba (0 for 2 on turf) owns a 5-6-2 record from 14 dirt starts, highlighted by victories in the Ellis Park Derby in August 2023 at Ellis Park and the Fred W. Hooper Stakes (G3) in his 4-year-old debut Jan. 27 at Gulfstream Park. Both races were 1 mile.
Tumbarumba has finished second in his past four starts - all stakes - including the Ack Ack (G3) at 1 mile Sept. 28 at Churchill Downs. In his previous start, Tumbarumba was beaten a length by Cagliostro in the 1-mile Hanshin (Listed) on June 30 at Churchill Downs. Both horses are campaigned by Wathnan Racing.
The Australian-born Lynch originally campaigned Tumbarumba as an owner/trainer after purchasing him for $30,000 at Faisg-Tipton's 2021 Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale. Lynch also trained millionaire Oscar Performance, the 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner. Tumbarumba has bankrolled $598,190 in 16 races, with the Ack Ack the second start for Wathnan. Tumbarumba's dam, Naive Enough, is by champion Street Sense.
Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | Full Serrano | Joel Rosario | John W. Sadler | 1:35.48 |
2023 | Cody's Wish | Junior Alvarado | William I. Mott | 1:35.97 |
2022 | Cody's Wish | Junior Alvarado | William I. Mott | 1:35.33 |
2021 | Life Is Good | Irad Ortiz Jr. | Todd A. Pletcher | 1:34.12 |
2020 | Knicks Go | Joel Rosario | Brad Cox | 1:33.85 |
2019 | Spun to Run | Irad Ortiz, Jr. | Juan Guerrero | 1:36.58 |
2018 | City of Light | Javier Castellano | Michael McCarthy | 1:33.83 |
2017 | Battle of Midway | Flavien Prat | Jerry Hollendorfer | 1:35.20 |
2016 | Tamarkuz | Mike Smith | Kiaran P. McLaughlin | 1:35.72 |
2015 | Liam's Map | Javier Castellano | Todd Pletcher | 1:34.54 |
2014 | Goldencents | Rafael Bejarano | Leandro Mora | 1:35.19 |
2013 | Goldencents | Rafael Bejarano | Doug O'Neill | 1:35.12 |
2012 | Tapizar | Corey Nakatani | Steven M. Asmussen | 1:35.34 |
2011 | Caleb's Posse | Rajiv Maragh | Donnie Von Hemel | 1:34.59 |
2010 | Dakota Phone | Joel Rosario | Jerry Hollendorfer | 1:35.29 |
2009 | Furthest Land | Julien Leparoux | Michael J. Maker | 1:35.50 |
2008 | Albertus Maximux | Garrett Gomez | Vladimir Cerin | 1:33.41 |
2007 | Corinthian | Kent Desormeaux | James A. Jerkens | 1:39.06 |
The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is a 1-mile (1.6 km) Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up. As its name implies, it is part of the Breeders' Cup thoroughbred championships, the de facto year-end championship for North American thoroughbred racing, and is run on a dirt course (either natural dirt or a synthetic surface such as Polytrack). This contrasts with the similar Breeders' Cup Mile, run on grass. All Breeders' Cups to date have been conducted in the United States, with the exception of the 1996 event in Canada.
The Dirt Mile race was run for the first time in 2007 during the first day of the expanded Breeders' Cup at that year's host track, Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. It became a Grade I event in 2009.
Occasionally, various track configurations require minor changes in the distance of the race. The 2007 race at Monmouth Park was held at a distance of 1 mile 70 yards (1673 m) instead of the normal distance of 1-mile (1.6 km). The 2015 Breeders' Cup will be held at Keeneland, which does not have the ability to run one mile dirt races, and so the Dirt Mile is scheduled to be run out of the backstretch chute at a distance of 7 furlongs, 384 feet (1525 m).
Breeders' Cup Race | Grade | Purse | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint | I | $1,000,000 | November 1 |
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies | I | $2,000,000 | November 1 |
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf | I | $1,000,000 | November 1 |
Breeders' Cup Juvenile | I | $2,000,000 | November 1 |
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf | I | $1,000,000 | November 1 |
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint | I | $1,000,000 | November 2 |
Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint | I | $1,000,000 | November 2 |
Breeders' Cup Distaff | I | $2,000,000 | November 2 |
Breeders' Cup Turf | I | $5,000,000 | November 2 |
Breeders' Cup Classic | I | $7,000,000 | November 2 |
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | I | $2,000,000 | November 2 |
Breeders' Cup Sprint | I | $2,000,000 | November 2 |
Breeders' Cup Mile | I | $2,000,000 | November 2 |
Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile | I | $1,000,000 | November 2 |