Eleven, including a filly, pre-entered for loaded Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland

A field of 11 Thoroughbreds was pre-entered Wednesday for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic to be contested Nov. 7 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington.

Improbable, who enters the 37th annual Breeders’ Cup World Championships coming off three consecutive Grade 1 victories, is the potential favorite, but faces a variety of talented challengers.

Authentic, winner of the 2020 Kentucky Derby, is joined by 2020 Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law. Older horses expected to challenge include Maximum Security, the disqualified winner of the 2019 Run for the Roses, and Tom’s d’Etat, a multiple graded stakes-winning 7-year-old who captured the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs in June.

Swiss Skydiver, the filly who won the 2020 Preakness Stakes for Lexington trainer Kenny McPeek, was pre-entered in both the Classic and the Distaff. Though she earned an automatic berth to the Classic by virtue of her Preakness win, her first preference was listed Wednesday as the Distaff. McPeek will need to choose by Monday when horses will be officially entered and post positions will be drawn for all 14 Breeders’ Cup races.

The Classic field also includes By My Standards, Global Campaign, Higher Power, Tacitus and Title Ready.

Five races for 2-year-olds are set for Nov. 6, a day that has come to be known as Future Stars Friday. Nine races for older horses are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7. Keeneland is hosting the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for only the second time. The first was 2015, when Triple Crown winner American Pharoah won the Classic to capture Thoroughbred racing’s “grand slam.”

All-told, Breeders’ Cup entrants will be doing battle for more than $31 million in purses over the two days in Lexington.

“We are delighted with the overall quality and depth of all the Breeders’ Cup fields and thank horsemen here in the U.S. and from around the world for pre-entering,” said Drew Fleming, Breeders’ Cup president and CEO. “It’s a true testament to the interest and excitement of participating in the World Championships and the resiliency of the Thoroughbred industry. Equally important, despite a challenging year for everyone, we are pleased to keep our purse levels at $31 million, the same as last year. This would not be possible without the help and support of many, especially our breeders and nominators who we sincerely thank for their continued support.”

The event will be conducted without spectators in attendance because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Keeneland was recently awarded the right to host the Breeders’ Cup again in 2022 when conditions are expected to have improved.

If Swiss Skydiver goes in the Distaff, she will face a daunting test from 2018 Distaff winner Monomoy Girl, who has won 12 of her 14 career races and finished second in the other two while compiling career earnings of $3,386,818. The 5-year-old Monomoy Girl, trained by Brad Cox, was sidelined for more than a year after winning the 2018 Distaff while overcoming a number of ailments but returned to the track May 16 this year and has won all three races since her return.

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, always a headliner in Kentucky because the 1 1/8-mile race for 2-year-olds provides an early look at next year’s top Kentucky Derby contenders, received 15 pre-entrants on Wednesday. Leading what will ultimately be limited to a 14-horse field is Jackie’s Warrior, who is undefeated in four starts for trainer Steve Asmussen and most recently won the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 10.

Top challengers in the Juvenile figure to be Brad Cox’s Essential Quality and Dale Romans’ Sittin On Go.

Only eight contenders were pre-entered for the Juvenile Fillies and 11 for the Classic, the Distaff, the Turf, and the Filly and Mare Sprint. On the upper end, 24 were pre-entered for the Juvenile Turf Sprint, 23 for the Juvenile Turf and the Dirt Mile, and 22 for the Turf Sprint.

A total of 201 horses were pre-entered Wednesday, 39 of which will be shipping in from overseas.

Only one of last year’s champions has returned to defend its title. Uni, trained by Chad Brown, enters the Breeders’ Cup Mile off a victory in the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 3.

Art Collector, who won the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in July then was sidelined by an ailment shortly before the Kentucky Derby, is back in Lexington for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, for which 18 contenders were pre-entered Wednesday. Among them is 2019 Preakness Stakes winner War of Will.

2020 Breeders’ Cup

What: World Championships of Thoroughbred horse racing, including 14 races over two days

When: Nov. 6-7

Where: Keeneland Race Course in Lexington (no spectators)

Breeders’ Cup Classic

Pre-entered field for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 7, with odds from USRacing.com (Official entries, post positions and morning-line odds to be set Monday):

Improbable (3-1)

Tiz the Law (3-1)

Maximum Security (9-2)

Authentic (11-2)

Tom’s d’Etat (7-1)

Swiss Skydiver (8-1)

Global Campaign (16-1)

By My Standards (20-1)

Tacitus (33-1)

Higher Power (50-1)

Title Ready (not available)

Breeders’ Cup pre-entries

FRIDAY, NOV. 6

JUVENILE TURF SPRINT

Post time: 2:30 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Purse: $1 million

Grade: 2

Distance: 5 ½ furlongs

Surface: Turf

For: 2-year-olds

Last year’s winner: Four Wheel Drive

2020 pre-entered field: After Five, Amanzi Yimpilo (Ireland), Blame the Booze, Bodenheimer, Campanelle (Ireland), County Final, Cowan, Dirty Dangle, Golden Pal, Gypsy King, Into the Sunrise, Invincible Gal (Great Britain), Lipizzaner, Mighty Gurkha (Ireland), Momos, Omaha City, Outadore, Pizzazz, Royal Approval, Second of July, Trade Deal, Ubettabelieveit (Ireland), Union Gables, Windy City Red.

JUVENILE FILLIES TURF

Post time: 3:10 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Purse: $1 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 1 mile

Surface: Turf

For: 2-year-old females

Last year’s winner: Sharing

2020 pre-entered field: Alda, Aunt Pearl (Ireland), Campanelle (Ireland), Crazy Beautiful, Editor At Large (Ireland), Invincible Gal (Great Britain), Madone, Miss Amulet (Ireland), Mother Earth (Ireland), Nazuna (Ireland), Oodnadatta (Ireland), Pizzazz, Plum Ali, Royal Approval, Simply Ravishing, Snowfall (Japan), Spanish Loveaffair, Tetragonal (Ireland), Union Gables.

JUVENILE FILLIES

Post time: 3:50 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Purse: $2 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 1 1/16 miles

Surface: Dirt

For: 2-year-old females

Last year’s winner: British Idiom

2020 pre-entered field: Crazy Beautiful, Dayoutoftheoffice, Girl Daddy, Princess Noor, Princess Secret, Simply Ravishing, Thoughtfully, Vequist.

JUVENILE TURF

Post time: 4:30 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Purse: $1 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 1 mile

Surface: Turf

For: 2-year-olds

Last year’s winner: Structor

2020 pre-entered field: Abarta, After Five, Barrister Tom, Battleground, Cadillac (Ireland), Catman, Devilwala (Ireland), Dolder Grand, Ebiko (Ireland), Fire At Will, Go Athletico (France), Gretzy the Great, Gypsy King, Harlan Estate, Into the Sunrise, It Can Be Done, Mutasaabeq, New Mandate (Ireland), Outadore, Public Sector (Great Britain), Sealiway (France), The Lir Jet (Ireland), Windy City Red.

JUVENILE

Post time: 5:10 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Purse: $2 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 1 1/16 miles

Surface: Dirt

For: 2-year-olds

Last year’s winner: Storm the Court

2020 pre-entered field: Calibrate, Camp Hope, Classier, Dreamer’s Disease, Essential Quality, Hot Rod Charlie, Jackie’s Warrior, Keepmeinmind, King Fury, Likeable, Next, Reinvestment Risk, Rombauer, Sittin On Go, Smiley Sobotka.

SATURDAY’S RACES

FILLY AND MARE SPRINT

Post time: 12:02 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Purse: $1 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 7 furlongs

Surface: Dirt

For: Female 3-year-olds and up

Last year’s winner: Covfefe

2020 pre-entered field: Bellafina, Bell’s the One, Come Dancing, Frank’s Rockette, Gamine, Inthemidstofbiz, Sally’s Curlin, Sconsin, Serengeti Empress, Speech, Venetian Harbor.

TURF SPRINT

Post time: 12:39 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Purse: $1 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 5 1/2 furlongs

Surface: Turf

For: 3-year-olds and up

Last year’s winner: Belvoir Bay

2020 pre-entered field: Archidust, Big Runnuer, Bombard, Bulletproof One, Chaos Theory, Diamond Oops, Equilateral (Great Britain), Extravagant Kid, Four Wheel Drive, Front Run the Fed, Glass Slippers (Great Britain), Got Stormy, Imprimis, Into Mystic, Leinster, Just Might, Manny Wah, Oleksandra (Australia), Texas Wedge, Wet Your Whistle, Wellabled, Wildman Jack.

DIRT MILE

Post time: 1:18 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Purse: $1 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 1 mile

Surface: Dirt

For: 3-year-olds and up

Last year’s winner: Spun to Run

2020 pre-entered field: Art Collector, Bodexpress, Bon Raison, C Z Rocket, Complexity, Global Campaign, Hog Creek Hustle, Jasper Prince, Jesus’ Team, Knicks Go, Midnight Sands, Mr Freeze, Mr. Money, Nashville, Owendale, Pingxiang, Pirate’s Punch, Rushie, Sharp Samurai, Silver Dust, True Timber, Vekoma, War of Will.

FILLY AND MARE TURF

Post time: 1:57 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Purse: $2 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 1 3/16 miles

Surface: Turf

For: Female 3-year-olds and up

Last year’s winner: Iridessa

2020 pre-entered field: Angel Power, Audarya, Civil Union, Cayenne Pepper, Half Light (Ireland), Harvey’s Lil Goil, Lady Prancealot (Ireland), Mean Mary, Mehdaayih (Great Britain), My Sister Nat (France), Mucho Unusual, Nay Lady Nay (Ireland), Peaceful (Ireland), Rushing Fall, Sistercharlie (Ireland), Starship Jubilee, Tarnawa (Ireland), Terebellum (Ireland).

SPRINT

Post time: 2:36 p.m.

TV: NBC-18

Purse: $2 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 6 furlongs

Surface: Dirt

For: 3-year-olds and up

Last year’s winner: Mitole

2020 pre-entered field: Bon Raison, C Z Rocket, Collusion Illusion, Diamond Oops, Echo Town, Empire of Gold, Firenze Fire, Frank’s Rockette, Hog Creek Hustle, Jasper Prince, Lasting Legacy, Manny Wah, Nashville, Pingxiang, Vekoma, Whitmore, Yaupon.

MILE

Post time: 3:15 p.m.

TV: NBC-18

Purse: $2 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 1 mile

Surface: Dirt

For: 3-year-olds and up

Last year’s winner: Uni

2020 pre-entered field: Beau Recall (Ireland), Casa Creed, Circus Maximus (Ireland), Digital Age (Ireland), Factor This, Halladay, Ivar (Brazil), Kameko, Lope Y Fernandez (Ireland), March to the Arch, One Master (Great Britain), Order of Australia (Ireland), Raging Bull (France), Safe Voyage (Ireland), Sharp Samurai, Siskin, Starship Jubilee, Uni (Great Britain).

DISTAFF

Post time: 3:54 p.m.

TV: NBC-18

Purse: $2 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 1 1/8 miles

Surface: Dirt

For: Female 3-year-olds and up

Last year’s winner: Blue Prize

2020 pre-entered field: Ce Ce, Dunbar Road, Harvest Moon, Harvey’s Lil Goil, Horologist, Lady Kate, Monomoy Girl, Ollie’s Candy, Point of Honor, Swiss Skydiver, Valiance.

TURF

Post time: 4:33 p.m.

TV: NBC-18

Purse: $4 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 11/2 miles

Surface: Turf

For: 3-year-olds and up

Last year’s winner: Bricks and Mortar

2020 pre-entered field: Arklow, Channel Maker, Donjah (Germany), Lord North (Ireland), Magical (Ireland), Mean Mary, Mehdaayih (Great Britain), Mogul (Great Britain), Red King, Tarnawa (Ireland), United.

CLASSIC

Post time: 5:13 p.m.

TV: NBC-18

Purse: $6 million

Grade: 1

Distance: 1 1/4 miles

Surface: Dirt

For: 3-year-olds and up

Last year’s winner: Vino Rosso

2020 pre-entered field: Authentic, By My Standards, Global Campaign, Higher Power, Improbable, Maximum Security, Swiss Skydiver, Tacitus, Title Ready, Tiz the Law, Tom’s d’Etat.

This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 1:31 PM.