Breeders' Cup 2015 Payouts: Prize Money, Purse Info for All Races on Friday

Before Saturday's main event, when Triple Crown winner American Pharoah will race for the last time ever, the 2015 Breeders' Cup wasn't short on action Friday.

The final days of horse racing's season will culminate Saturday, but Friday saw four races that fielded a few first-time Breeders' Cup winners who walked away with hefty purses.

Let's take a look at the day's action.

Juvenile Turf: Hit It a Bomb

Finish	Horse	Jockey	Prize Money
Win	Hit It A Bomb	Ryan Moore	$550,000
Place	Airoforce	Julien Leparoux	$180,000
Show	Birchwood	James Doyle	$100,000

In the first Breeders' Cup race to ever be held at Keeneland Racecourse, Hit It a Bomb won the $1 million Juvenile Turf in improbable fashion.

Hit It a Bomb came around the final turn toward the end of the pack. Manhattan Dan, who was in the No. 3 slot and entered the race at 20-1, per the Breeders' Cup, was in the lead by about a length.

Then, it became a frenzy in the final quarter-mile. Dressed in Hermes and Manhattan Dan were in first and second coming down the stretch before fatigue began to set in. As those two fell down the pack, Hit It a Bomb charged toward the front along with Airoforce and Birchwood. In the end, jockey Ryan Moore got enough from his two-year-old Colt to win his seventh Breeders' Cup race.

At the Races provided a clip of the hectic finish:

Hit It a Bomb's trainer Aidan O'Brien won the Juvenile Turf for the third time, an impressive feat that was accomplished by the calm demeanor of his jockey, per Nicole Russo of the Daily Racing Form.

“We were worried about the ground—he’s really a firm-ground horse," O'Brien said. "Ryan gave him a marvelous ride. He said he was going to leave him relaxed the first part of the race and work it out from there.”

There was no way that Hit It a Bomb was supposed to win this race, let alone place or show. None of the top three was in position to come close in this race, but that's the unpredictability and drama you get in a crowded field.

Call it strategy or a second wind, but that was an impressive finish by Hit It a Bomb, who has now won all three races in which he has taken part.

Las Vegas Dirt Mile: Liam's Map

Finish	Horse	Jockey	Prize Money
Win	Liam's Map	Javier Castellano	$550,000
Place	Lea	Jose Lezcano	$180,000
Show	Red Vine	Joel Rosario	$100,000

These Friday races are at least a mile long. Fatigue is going to set in at some point. Liam's Map won the Las Vegas Dirt Mile with a constant pace and a burst of speed at the end.

Liam's Map was sixth coming around the final turn, with Lea seemingly in control. Right as Liam's Map made the turn, the colt turned on the jets and blazed past Lea for the improbable win by 2 ½ lengths. Even more impressive, perhaps, was that Liam's Map also set a track record with a time of one minute, 34.54 seconds.

NBC Sports' Larry Collmus, who calls the Triple Crown races and Breeders' Cup, shared his thoughts on the horse whom Javier Castellano rode to victory:

Marcus Hersh from the Daily Racing Form was taken aback by how well the four-year-old Colt ran:

Castellano won for the fifth time in the Breeders' Cup. Having already notched his 4,000th win earlier this year, getting a win like this was nothing new for Castellano. It was another instance where a horse took advantage of a crowded field and found its opportunity to strike.

Just when it seemed as though Liam's Map was down and out, the gray colt charged ahead and won trainer Todd Pletcher his eighth career Breeders' Cup victory.

Juvenile Fillies Turf: Catch a Glimpse

Finish	Horse	Jockey	Prize Money
Win	Catch a Glimpse	Florent Geroux	$550,000
Place	Alice Springs	Ryan Moore	$180,000
Show	Nemoralia	Joel Rosario	$100,000

The only drama needed for Catch a Glimpse was losing the lead.

Once the two-year-old filly found her way back into the front of the pack, she didn't relinquish the lead again. Catch a Glimpse had to make a late charge down the final quarter-mile, edging out Alice Springs and Nemoralia.

Catch a Glimpse appeared to be caught in between three horses before finishing with the impressive win, which also gave trainer Mark Casse his first Breeders' Cup victory. At the Races provided a clip of the finish:

Ryan Moore, who rode Hit It a Bomb to victory in the Juvenile Turf, rode Alice Springs to an impressive second-place finish, as noted by Racing Post's official Twitter account:

Casse told Jonathan Lintner of the Courier-Journal that he's been trying to let everyone know how good Catch a Glimpse is and hopes this race did enough to convince those people.

"Not many people listen to me, but this filly's a good filly," Casse said. "When she won the Natalma prep, she was much better than she looked."

It was almost a wire-to-wire finish for Catch a Glimpse, but the fact that she had enough in the tank to win comfortably down the stretch made it a good win for the young filly from Canada. This may not be the last time we hear of Catch a Glimpse in a big-time race.

Longines Distaff: Stopchargingmaria

Finish	Horse	Jockey	Prize Money
Win	Stopchargingmaria	Javier Castellano	$1,100,000
Place	Stellar Wind	Victor Espinoza	$360,000
Show	Curalina	Joel Rosario	$200,000

It ended up being a successful Friday for Javier Castellano, who rode Stopchargingmaria to a win in the 1 ⅛-mile Longines Distaff.

But it didn't come without controversy.

As the horses were coming around the final turn, Stopchargingmaria drifted more than once toward Stellar Wind. After drifting, Stopchargingmaria made a late charge toward the front and won the race by a neck.

Stewards made an inquiry and wondered if the decision would be reversed, but no action was taken after much deliberation, per Racing Post.

TVG provided the whole race on its website:

Stopchargingmaria trainer Todd Pletcher also shared his thoughts on the inquiry, per Matt Hegarty of the Daily Racing Form:

Stellar Wind jockey Victor Espinoza, who is also the jockey for American Pharoah, thought Stopchargingmaria drifted enough to sway the outcome, per Racing Post:

Despite the controversy, it turned out to be a stellar finish for Castellano and Pletcher, winning both the Las Vegas Dirt Mile and the most of the $2 million purse from the Distaff. It was a strong day for the powerful trainer-jockey combo.