Breeders' Cup 2015 Results: Final Race Times, Payouts and Friday Reaction

The Breeders' Cup, horse racing’s final major event of the year, galloped to a great start Friday at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky, with four close finishes, leading into what should be a sensational Saturday of action.

Here is a look at the results and payouts from the first day of action:

Juvenile Turf

	Winner	Jockey	Winnings
Win	Hit It a Bomb	Ryan Moore	$550,000
Place	Airoforce	Julien Leparoux	$180,000
Show	Birchwood	James Doyle	$100,000

	Win	Place	Show
Hit It a Bomb	$16.40	$9.40	$6.80
Airoforce		$4.40	$3.20
Birchwood			$11.20

Ryan Moore anchored Hit It a Bomb to a last-ditch effort to secure victory in the opening Juvenile Turf event.

It marked the third win in five years for the tandem of Moore and trainer Aidan O’Brien, according to Lydia Symonds of Racing Post.

Moore started in Post 14, last place, and hung in the rear for most of the race, then charged to victory in the final stretch past Airoforce, courtesy of At the Races:

Hit It a Bomb owner Evie Stockwell told Symonds the low draw was an initial concern, but she was confident in Moore’s ability:

"Aidan and Joseph said he was very good from the outset but they were really worried about the draw and the ground, but luckily Ryan is as good as he is and he's a smart horse thankfully,” Stockwell said.

Often a gauge for top turf horses of the future, the Juvenile Turf consists of male two-year-olds, per the Breeders' Cup.

Moore was sidelined for 11 weeks and initially thought to be lost for the rest of 2015 after suffering a neck injury in July when his horse reared in the stalls in the final race at Newmark. Prior to the incident, Moore had set a record with nine wins during the Royal Ascot.

His dramatic win marked a fitting start to the two days of racing, courtesy of David Aragona of Timeform:

Las Vegas Dirt Mile

Winner	Jockey	Winnings
Liam's Map	Javier Castellano	$550,000
Lea	Jose Lezcano	$180,000
Red Vine	Joel Rosario	$100,000

	Win	Place	Show
Liam's Map	$3.00	$2.40	$2.10
Lea		$4.20	$3.00
Red Vine			$3.40

Javier Castellano charged the favored Liam’s Map from Post 3 to victory in the Las Vegas Dirt Mile race, comfortably passing Lea on the front stretch to win by nearly three lengths.

Liam’s Map galloped the one-mile dirt track with a record time of one minute, 34.54 seconds, according to the Associated Press (via USNews.com), giving Castellano his fifth Breeders' Cup victory and trainer Todd Pletcher his eighth, according to the NBC Sports telecast.

Keeneland Racecourse showed the final stretch from the stands:

The four-year-old colt hung near the back for most of the race before the late charge. Pletcher told NBC Sports Network the late start was an aspect he foresaw:

"

One thing Javier and I spoke about in the paddock before the race is he’s not always quick the first step. With the complexion of the race, the short run to the first turn, we wanted to make sure he broke well. And unfortunately he didn’t. 

I was concerned the whole way. the one thing that kept giving me some encouragement was every time something went wrong, he responded by jumping back into the bridle. It was a great effort by a great horse.

"

It was a fitting career finish for Liam’s Map, who will be retired to Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, on Sunday, according to Jonathan Lintner of the Louisville Courier-Journal. It is disappointing that the powerful colt won’t compete against American Pharoah in the Breeders' Cup Classic, as Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated noted: 

Juvenile Fillies Turf

Winner	Jockey	Winnings
Catch a Glimpse	Florent Geroux	$550,000
Alice Springs	Ryan Moore	$180,000
Nemoralia	Joel Rosario	$100,000

	Win	Place	Show
Catch a Glimpse	$14.80	$7.00	$5.80
Alice Springs		$5.80	$4.00
Nemoralia			$9.20

Ridden by Florent Geroux, Catch a Glimpse won her third straight turf race in 1:39.08 at 6-1 odds, fourth best among the 14 horses competing in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, per the Breeders' Cup.

Trainer Mark Casse secured his first Breeders' Cup victory in 26 attempts, according to Kellie Reilly of TwinSpires.com. It was a feel-good win for Casse, one of the most respected trainers in racing, per Rich Perloff of TVG:

Casse discussed his relief and excitement with BloodHorse.com's Claire Novak (via ESPN.com).

"It feels good. It feels really good," Casse said. "When this is all you've ever done for your entire life—this is my entire life. This is important."

Candice Hare showed Catch a Glimpse taking her victory lap while donned in Breeders' Cup purple shortly after the race:

After European horses won the first two races, Catch a Glimpse gave the United States its first win of this year’s Breeders' Cup on home turf, per Reilly, holding off the favored Alice Springs by just under a full length.

Longines Distaff

Winner	Jockey	Winnings
StopChargingMaria	Javier Castellano	$1,100,000
Stellar Wind	Victor Espinoza	$360,000
Curalina	Joel Rosario	$200,000

	Win	Place	Show
StopChargingMaria	$16.20	$8.40	$6.00
Stellar Wind		$9.20	$6.60
Curalina			$7.00

Castellano and Pletcher rode to their second win of the day on the heels of StopChargingMaria, who outlasted Stellar Wind by a neck in the Longines Distaff, according to Jason Frakes of the Louisville Courier-Journal.

The finish required video review after Stellar Wind’s jockey, Victor Espinoza, filed an objection, saying he was forced to pull up when the two bumped, according to the Associated Press (h/t Fox Sports).

At the Races showed the exchange on the final stretch:

The initial ruling was upheld when there was a lack of sufficient evidence to make an overturn, per the AP. 

The flair for drama in four phenomenal races set up the nine events Saturday, including the Breeders' Cup Classic, in which 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah will compete in his final race.