Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita
Las Vegas, NV - The Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile comes our way this Saturday, November 3 from Santa Anita Park in Arcadia California. Horses three years old and upward will go one mile around two turns on Santa Anita's main track as they chase their share of the $1 million purse.
A field of nine three year olds has been confirmed for the well balanced Dirt Mile. It is race 6 on Santa Anita's Saturday card with a post time of 1:14 PM. Let's take a brief glance into all nine entries and their past performances ahead of this lucrative Grade 1 event.
2012 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile Race Favorites
Shackleford - Shackleford won the 2011 Preakness, finished fourth in the Derby and fifth in the Belmont Stakes - he has to be considered a serious contender in this one as the reigning second place finisher in this race and as the top three year old from 2011. He won the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Stakes on May 5 over Amazombie and followed that up with an equally impressive score in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap over Caleb's Posse on May 28. Shackleford had a brief layoff and returned with a disappointing eighth in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt Handicap on August 5 but rebounded with an OK second last time out in the Grade 2 Kelso to Jersey Town. He will be looking to return to form for trainer Dale Romans and will be looking to better his close second in last year' edition of this prestigious race.
Emcee - lightly raced colt has four wins and two third place finishes in seven career starts. He is coming off an impressive win last time out in the Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga September 1 for his first graded stakes score to follow a third in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt Handicap, a win in an Allowance Optional Claiming, a fourth in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap in April and a third in the Grade 3 Tom Fool in March. He had been knocking on the door for some time and finally broke through last time out - will the momentum continue?
Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile 2012 | Remaining Field Entries
Jersey Town - finished sixth in this race last year but has been inconsistent since. Last time out was a very nice win in the Grade 2 Kelso to follow a decent third in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes behind Emcee, a sixth in the Grade 1 Vanderbilt Handicap and a second in the Sir Shackleton Stakes in March. He has raced four times in 2012 and has gotten better each and every start.
Fed Biz - Bob Baffert trained colt has three wins in five career starts including two this year with all of his wins coming at one mile - the El Cajon Stakes August 31 at Del Mar followed an Allowance Optional Claiming score at Santa Anita way back in February. Last time out was an OK third in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby for trainer Bob Baffert.
Rail Trip - owns wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup and the Grade 2 Californian - but that was back in 2009 and 2010. It took until the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap on July 28 for Rail Trip to win again. His last two starts have resulted in a pair of fourths - in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic and the Grade 1 Awesome Again here September 29.
Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile betting at Santa Anita with OffTrackBetting.com
John Scott - has five wins, a second and a third place finish in nine career starts. He has placed in five of six starts this year with three wins, a decent second in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap three back and an OK third last time out in the minor Lava Man California Cup Classic here October 13.
Delegation - will make his graded staked debut after just three career starts. He started his career with two straight wins and followed it up with a second last time out in the Mystic Lake Derby at Canterbury Park on July 28.
Tapizar - Tapizar was a serious Triple Crown Contender last year before a knee chip all-but-ended he three-year-old aspirations. Still, Tapizar has to be considered for the Breeders' Cup even though he was a disappointing sixth last time out in the Grade 2 Kelso at Belmont Park September 29. He had an impressive win in the West Virginia Governor's Stakes in August to follow a decent second in the Grade 3 Razorback at Oaklawn in March. He also has a good win at the Grade 2 San Fernando Stakes at Santa Anita on January 14. Trainer Steve Asmussen is expecting a bounce back from his worst career performance on Saturday.
Second City - had four wins in four career starts but struggled to a tenth last time out in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby - his first race against top notch talent. He had a win in the Grade 3 British Columbia Derby served notice that he could surprise in this race.
