Breeders' Cup Results 2014: Twitter Reacts to Thrilling Classic Race

Bayern went wire to wire to win what proved a contentious 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic.

The three-year-old was the strongest horse in the field, bullying his way to the rail and never surrendering the lead. Toast of New York and California Chrome made pushes down the final stretch, but they couldn't close the gap on Bayern.

Words can't do justice to the finish, which saw the three horses all within feet of one another at the line. It was a breathless conclusion to a fantastic race.

There was a bit of controversy after the race when race officials looked back at footage from the start. When Bayern moved inside to the rail, he made contact with Shared Belief, who then bumped into Moreno. There's no doubting that Bayern instigated the contact, but the crux of the discussion was as to whether the move was intentional.

The stewards eventually made no change to the finish, giving Bayern the victory.

Twitter Reaction

Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde tweeted how fruitless an exercise it's been to bet against Bayern in the past, and he came good once again:

With Bayern earning the win, trainer Bob Baffert picked up the first Breeders' Cup Classic win of his illustrious career. Rick Bozich of WDRB in Louisville saluted the legendary trainer:

After the race, Baffert said that his instructions for jockey Martin Garcia were to get an early lead, and then the rest would be easy from there, per At The Races:

Although Bayern was the big winner on the day, both Toast of New York and California Chrome gave their owners reasons to be happy on Saturday.

For California Chrome, the winner of the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, it was yet another big payday. ESPN's Darren Rovell believes the three-year-old could command a $6 million stud fee after his wildly successful year:

Toast of New York entered as an outside favorite and performed above expectations. Lee Mottershead of Racing Post felt the horse did Great Britain proud:

Going back to that controversial start, Jay Privman of the Daily Racing Form felt that Bayern's move to the inside should've been considered interference:

Kevin Modesti of the Los Angeles Daily News wanted to hear the stewards' justification for not disqualifying Bayern:

Privman commended Shared Belief and jockey Mike Smith for overcoming the early adversity and finishing in fourth, which was no easy feat given the bump by Bayern:

This Breeders' Cup Classic will likely be remembered in part for Bayern's start and bump into Shared Belief. However, that won't take the shine off his brilliant performance.