Breeders' Cup 2015: TV Schedule, Dates, Race Times, Weather Forecast and More
With post-position draws out of the way, the Breeders' Cup is nearly upon us. This year's edition on the weekend is set to be one of the best in recent memory.
Triple Crown champion running in the Classic? Check. International superstar on the grounds and running? Check. Top filly in the country running in the Classic? Check.
On top of all that, you throw in a few other horses who rank as some of the best in the world, along with the best trainers and best jockeys, and you're looking at a weekend that has the makings of arguably the most prolific Breeders' Cup in the event's history.
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There's going to be a lot to keep track of over the next few days, but consider this your early guide on how to view the Breeders' Cup and what to watch for as the horses take to Keeneland Racecourse this weekend.
Viewing Info
What: The Breeders' Cup
When: Friday, October 30-Saturday, October 31
Where: Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky
Where To Watch: NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) and NBC
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra
Weather Forecast
Weekend weather info via the National Weather Service.
Race Info and TV Schedule
| Juvenile Turf | 3:30 p.m. (Fri) | NBCSN | Turf | 1 Mile | $1 Million |
| Las Vegas Dirt Mile | 4:10 p.m. (Fri) | NBCSN | Dirt | 1 Mile | $1 Millon |
| Juvenile Fillies Turf | 4:50 p.m. (Fri) | NBCSN | Turf | 1 Mile | $1 Million |
| Longines Distaff | 5:35 p.m. (Fri) | NBCSN | Dirt | 1 1/8 Miles | $2 Million |
| 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies | 12:05 p.m. (Sat) | -- | Dirt | 1 1/16 Miles | $2 Million |
| Turf Sprint | 12:45 p.m. (Sat) | -- | Turf | 5 1/2 Furlongs | $1 Million |
| Filly & Mare Sprint | 1:25 p.m. (Sat) | NBCSN | Dirt | 7 Furlongs | $1 Million |
| Filly & Mare Turf | 2:10 p.m. (Sat) | NBCSN | Turf | 1 3/16 Miles | $2 Million |
| TwinSpires Sprint | 2:50 p.m. (Sat) | NBCSN | Dirt | 6 Furlongs | $1.5 Million |
| Mile | 3:30 p.m. (Sat) | NBCSN | Turf | 1 Mile | $2 Million |
| Sentient Jet Juvenile | 4:10 p.m. (Sat) | NBC | Dirt | 1 1/16 Miles | $2 Million |
| Longines Turf | 4:50 p.m. (Sat) | NBC | Turf | 1 1/2 Miles | $3 Million |
| Classic | 5:35 p.m. (Sat) | NBC | Dirt | 1 1/4 Miles | $5 Million |
Full race info and entries are at BreedersCup.com.
Top Storylines to Watch
American Pharoah vs. Beholder
Possibly the best male and definitely the best female will square off in the Classic this year.
By now, you all know the story of American Pharoah. How the Pioneerof the Nile colt took the world by storm and won the first Triple Crown in 37 years and then took his show on a nationwide tour before falling to Keen Ice in the Travers Stakes.
Pharoah, Shared Belief and last year's Triple Crown threat, California Chrome, stole the spotlight over the last couple of years, so I'll give you a pass if you're less familiar with the incredible filly, Beholder.
Beholder, a five-year-old mare out of Henny Hughes, is trained by Richard Mandella and owned by the ever-powerful Spendthrift Farm. The connections are nice, for sure, but what about her performance on the track?
Well, all Beholder does is win. Seriously.
OK, not seriously, but pretty close.
Throw out the filly's fourth-place finish in the Ogden Phipps back in June 2014, and you'd have to go back to May 2013 to find the last time she came in anything other than first place.
In her last six races, Beholder has logged five graded-stakes wins, including four Grade 1 contests. One of them was the Pacific Classic, where she ran against the boys and topped a field including Bayern, Hoppertunity, Catch a Flight, Imperative and Hard Aces.
In short, she's really good, and she should give Pharoah and the rest of the field a good run for their money.
The Ramsey Show
Ken and Sarah Ramsey own about a billion horses. Or at least it feels like it.
It also feels like half of those billion horses are entered in Breeders' Cup races this weekend.
In total, the two will enter six horses in five races. They don't just stuff the ballot box, though, and a couple of their entries have legitimate designs on winning.
Bobby's Kitten, Big Blue Kitten and Stephanie's Kitten are three horses who could provide a great price for those who are willing to roll the dice on some entries with possible double-digit odds.
Bobby's Kitten is last year's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner, and he's back to defend his crown in 2015. Though he hasn't displayed the same form in his four-year-old season that he did in his three-year-old one, he's absolutely dangerous if he regains his 2014 form.
Meanwhile, Big Blue Kitten will look to take down heavy favorite Golden Horn in the Longines Turf.
Big Blue Kitten ran in this race last year and didn't run particularly well. However, since then, the seven-year-old Kitten's Joy offspring has finished first or second in nine of his 10 races including a win in his most recent, the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.
My favorite of the Ramsey horses in this year's Breeders' Cup is Stephanie's Kitten, and she's running in the Filly and Mare Turf.
While hanging out around the paddock at Saratoga this past summer, Ken Ramsey told me that Chad Brown called Avi's Kitten "the best filly in his barn." He thought so much of the filly that he renamed the horse "Avi's Kitten" after his daughter.
Brown may think highly of his young filly, but he's overlooking a huge piece in his barn, that being Stephanie's Kitten.
The six-year-old Kitten's Joy offspring is a force to be reckoned with, and seems to always come up big in marquee races. In fact, just last year, the then-five-year-old finished second in this same race to Dayatthespa.
She'll have tough competition in the form of Legatissimo, Miss France and Secret Gesture, but Stephanie's Kitten has a real shot to bring yet another Breeders' Cup victory to the Ramsey barn.
Golden Horn Comes Stateside
No horse has ever won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Breeders' Cup Turf Mile in the same season. In addition, no trainer has ever earned more than £10 million in a single racing season.
Golden Horn and his trainer, John Gosden, will set out to accomplish both of those feats when they enter the gate for the Turf Mile this weekend.
Essentially, Golden Horn is to European racing what Pharoah is to American racing. The three-year-old son of Cape Cross (a descendent of the legendary stallion Danzig) has an incredible record in 2015, having logged Grade 1 victories in the Epsom Derby, the Coral Eclipse, the Irish Champion Stakes and the aforementioned Arc de Triomphe.
It's quite impressive what Golden Horn has been able to accomplish this year, and with a chance to add to his resume at Keeneland this weekend, look for him to capitalize and cap off what will be arguably one of the most impressive seasons in racing history.
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