Breeders' Cup Results 2014: Replay Video, Highlights and Recap for Classic Race
Bayern bested a 14-horse field to capture a stunning—and somewhat controversial—victory at the 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic in Santa Anita Park.
The brilliant thoroughbred led the race wire-to-wire but garnered an official inquiry when he veered left and bumped Shared Belief and V.E. Day right out of the gate. However, the race officials let the final results stand, per NBC Sports:
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It's a huge win for Bayern and his ownership group, as many expected either California Chrome or Shared Belief to come away with a win in the main event of the Breeders' Cup weekend.
Toast of New York closed well during the home stretch but simply ran out of track and finished second. California Chrome made a late break on the outside as well but finished just short of Bayern and Toast of New York for third place.
The 14-horse Classic was the ninth and final race of Day 2 at the Breeders' Cup, which saw a total of $19.5 million awarded in prize money to the top horses in each competition.
Bayern's owners will take home the lion's share of the $5 million purse. Here is a look at the final standings and payout from the main event of the Breeders' Cup.
| Win | Bayern | $2.75 million |
| Place | Toast of New York | $900,000 |
| Show | California Chrome | $500,000 |
| 4th | Shared Belief | $300,000 |
Recap
The Classic was hyped as an epic showdown between California Chrome, former Triple Crown hopeful and winner of the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, and Shared Belief, a graceful thoroughbred who was a perfect 7-for-7 in his career coming into the Classic.
Legendary jockey Mike Smith—who won his 21st Breeders' Cup race earlier in the day, the most of any jockey—was atop Shared Belief for the race. There was a bit of a controversy right at the start, as Bayern appeared to bump Shared Belief right out the gate, knocking the latter horse, as well as V.E. Day, off their strides.
Daily Racing Form's Jay Privman gave his thoughts on the start:
Bayern appeared to be unaffected by the early contact and raced out to the lead, setting a very difficult pace for the remaining horses to follow.
There was plenty of jockeying for position throughout the middle portion of the race, with several horses coming close to making damaging contact. Daily Racing Form's Matt Hegarty noted it was a rough race right from the start:
Bayern forced every horse to keep up with his incredible pace, but only two were up to the challenge. Toast of New York broke from the middle of the pack at the top of the home stretch, running neck-and-neck with Bayern for much of the final leg.
California Chrome made a huge burst of his own to the outside, and it looked like he might catch the other two horses. However, Bayern would finish strong and edge out Toast of New York in a race that called for plenty of flash photography.
Shared Belief would finish a distant and thoroughly disappointing fourth. Smith felt the early contact affected his horse's performance, via RacingPost.com:
Privman was shocked at the official decision to uphold the final standings:
Bayern's victory turned out to be a huge win for legendary trainer Bob Baffert, per Jo McKinnon of A Racetrack Somewhere:
California Chrome's third-place finish is a fine result, even though a win was likely needed to draw added attention from casual fans. Still, his legacy within the horse-racing world should be quite secure. Finishing no worse than fourth in four of the biggest events in horse racing in a single year is no easy feat.
Shared Belief's fourth-place finish could be seen as proof positive that the collision at the start affected his ability to get into a full gallop and run a good race.
Indeed, the thoroughbred had won his first seven starts, but it's hard to argue with the depth of this talented field.
Bayern ran a fantastic race and is clearly a potential Horse of the Year candidate with a victory in America's most lucrative horse-racing competition.
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