Breeders' Cup 2014 Payouts: Prize Money Purse for Classic and More Races
Bayern capped off a thrilling day at the 2014 Breeders' Cup with a fantastic wire-to-wire win in the Classic, the undisputed main event of the tournament.
Bayern's win was a bit of shock result, as many expected either Shared Belief or California Chrome to win the competition and take home the majority of the $5 million purse.
The 2014 Breeders' Cup is one of the most lucrative events in all of sports. It's a full-on Grade 1-racing bonanza, with nine competitions scheduled to take place within a span of six hours at Santa Anita Park on Saturday.
There is money to be made at an event like this, as the purse payouts on Day 2 alone total $19.5 million, per The New York Times' Joe Drape.
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Day 1 of the Breeders' Cup saw Untapable, Goldencents, Lady Eli and Hootenanny win the four races on tap. Their success in the races likely whet the appetites of the trainers and jockeys seeking glory on Saturday. Nine more winners joined their ranks on a suitably thrilling Saturday that offered an engrossing look at all this sport has to offer.
Classic
| Finish | Horse | Jockey | Prize Money |
| Win | Bayern | Martin Garcia | $2.75 million |
| Place | Toast of New York | Jamie Spencer | $900,000 |
| Show | California Chrome | Victor Espinoza | $500,000 |
The Classic certainly lived up to its name with a huge helping of drama, although the race may soon be noted more for its controversial start than the thrilling finish. Bayern burst out of the gate, but veered to his left and collided with Shared Belief and V.E. Day. Daily Racing Form's Jay Privman gave his take on the scrum at the start.
Bayern was unfazed by the contact and raced out to the early lead. He would set a fine pace for the entire 1-1/4 mile contest, but he wouldn't come away with an easy victory. Toast of New York made a late break and chased him down on the home stretch, while California Chrome made a dazzling move on the outside.
All three horses would run stride for stride to the finish line, with Bayern holding on for the upset result. Shared Belief, one of the odds-on favorites heading into the game, would end up in a distant fourth. The race officials would take a look at the start, but upheld the result, per NBC Sports:
It's a shocking result that leaves Bayern as a potential Horse of the Year candidate, although some voters may take issue with the manner of his victory in one of the biggest races of 2014.
14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies
| Win | Take Charge Brandi | Victor Espinoza | $1.1 million |
| Place | Top Decile | Rosie Napravnik | $360,000 |
| Show | Wonder Gal | Mike Smith | $200,000 |
Take Charge Brandi pulled off a shocking victory in the 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies, the first race of Breeders' Cup Saturday. TVG relayed just how long the odds were on Take Charge Brandi to win:
The young filly pipped Top Decile, one of the favorites heading into the competition, on the final stretch. Take Charge Brandi was almost a wire-to-wire leader, holding off late charges from Top Decile and Wonder Gal to come away with the unlikely win.
Filly & Mare Turf
| Win | Dayatthespa | Javier Castellano | $1.1 million |
| Place | Stephanie's Kitten | John Velazquez | $360,000 |
| Show | Just the Judge | Jamie Spencer | $200,000 |
Jockey Javier Castellano did well to ride Dayatthespa to a well-deserved victory in a compelling race. Stephanie's Kitten and Just the Judge made late breaks, but Castellano's pace and timing was excellent and he and his horse were able to hold on for a narrow victory. Castellano gave his thoughts on the race, via the Breeders' Cup Twitter account:
Defending champion Dank, an Irish horse, finished a disappointing fourth.
Draftkings Filly & Mare Sprint
| Win | Judy the Beauty | Mike Smith | $550,000 |
| Place | Better Lucky | Javier Castellano | $180,000 |
| Show | Thank You Marylou | John Velazquez | $100,000 |
Jockey Mike Smith earned his 21st career Breeders' Cup victory atop Judy the Beauty, edging out Better Lucky at the finish line in a race worthy of a photo finish.
In The Money's J.J. Hysell gave his thoughts on Judy the Beauty's stunning versatility:
Better Lucky made a powerful charge right at the end, but Smith was able to ride his horse to perfection and add to his long list of sterling victories. Stonetastic got off to a fine start but faded late and finished a disappointing fourth.
Turf Sprint
| Win | Bobby's Kitten | Joel Rosario | $550,000 |
| Place | No Nay Never | Frankie Dettori | $180,000 |
| Show | Undrafted | John Velazquez | $100,000 |
Bobby's Kitten, an incredibly deft sprinter, raced around the outside of the pack and took the win in the 2014 Turf Sprint. Jockey Joel Rosario used the whip early and often, encouraging his horse to run freely on the outside and expend every bit of energy possible to overtake the field in one long, exciting move. No Nay Never held off several horses on the inside part of the track to take second, while Undrafted took third.
Sentient Jet Juvenile
Texas Red came all the way from the back of the pack to capture the Sentient Jet Juvenile, winning the race by several lengths and blowing away the surely flabbergasted competition.
| Win | Texas Red | Kent Desormeaux | $1.1 million |
| Place | Carpe Diem | John Velazquez | $360,000 |
| Show | Upstart | Jose Ortiz | $200,000 |
Texas Red was off the pace for a good portion of the race, with the likes of Super Colossal and Upstart pacing a tightly packed group to start. The winning horse made a powerful charge, utilizing long, smooth strides to absolutely blow away the competition. Carpe Diem ran a fine race and finished a distant second, while Upstart did well to hold on to third place.
Longines Turf
| Win | Main Sequence | John Velazquez | $1.65 million |
| Place | Flintshire | Maxime Guyon | $540,000 |
| Show | Twilight Escape | Javier Castellano | $300,000 |
One of the longest races of the day, the 1 1/2-mile Longines Turf race pitted the pace-setting horses against a few late breakers, with the latter group of thoroughbreds coming through with the top three spots.
Imagining, Starspangled Heat and Hardest Core came out strong early, leading the pack and jockeying for position along the inside rail. The pace picked up as the race went on, which seemed to be the ultimate demise of the early leaders.
Flintshire made a break on the outside at the top of the homestretch, but even his strong run was no match for Main Sequence, who moved up four spots in a matter of seconds to win the race and cap off a perfect year of racing. Racing Post's Lee Mottershead noted just how far Main Sequence has come as a horse in the past year:
Twilight Escape took advantage of some daylight along the rail to come out with a third-place finish.
Xpressbet Sprint
| Finish | Horse | Jockey | Prize Money |
| Win | Work All Week | Florent Geroux | $825,000 |
| Place | Secret Circle | Martin Garcia | $270,000 |
| Show | Private Zone | Martin Pedroza | $150,000 |
This six-furlong sprint was a truly thrilling contest, essentially one long turn and a dastardly stretch run due to the race's extremely short length. Fast Anna and Work All Week raced out to early leads and handled the turn quite well, moving in toward the inside rail and closing off lanes to the horses trailing them.
Work All Week then slipped past Fas Anna as soon as they turned into the home stretch. What looked like a two-horse race quickly added a third party, as Secret Circle made a breathtaking late charge to overtake Fast Anna and push Work All Week all the way to the finish line. Work All Week was just able to hold on for the narrow win on a well-work dirt track.
Mile
| Win | Karakontie | Stephane Pasquier | $1.1 million |
| Place | Anodin | Olivier Peslier | $360,000 |
| Show | Trade Storm | Jamie Spencer | $200,000 |
The Mile turned out to be a thrilling 5,280-foot sprint along a turf course at Santa Anita Park. Obviously broke out ahead of everyone early on, and looked like he would set an unattainable pace for the rest of the pack early on. However, Karakontie made a sensational move on the outside, quickly gaining ground on the entire pack and eventually surpassing a burnt out Obviously, who would fade badly down the home stretch.
Anodin and Trade Storm both galloped well and ended up with second- and third-place finished respectively.
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