Breeders' Cup 2020 Results: Final Race Times, Payouts and Friday Reaction

One of the biggest weekends in horse racing kicked off Friday, with five races over the course of the afternoon. The Breeders’ Cup dubs Friday’s slate of races, “Future Stars Friday,” with all five juveniles races run on the same day before the main event on Saturday.

Here are the results — and payouts — from Friday’s races at the notably-fanless Keeneland racing downs in Lexington, KY:

Juvenile Turf Sprint

Purse: $1,000,000

Finish — Post — Horse (Win; Place; Show, based on $2 bet)

1. 14 — Golden Pal  ($3.60; $2.80; $2.60)

2. 5 — Cowan (N/A; 8.00; $5.60)

3. 6 — UBettaBelieveIt (N/A; N/A; 8.60)

Golden Pal kicked off the 14-race weekend with a victory in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, paying off bets on the heavy odds-on favorite (4/5) coming in. Golden Pal held off a late run down the final stretch from Cowan and UBettaBelieveIt, posting a winning time of 1:02:82. 

Jockey Frankie Dettori celebrated with a leap off his horse after claiming the victor.

Juvenile Fillies

Purse: $2,000,000

Finish — Post — Horse (Win; Place; Show, based on $2 bet)

1. 2 — Vequist  ($15.20; $6.80; $4.40)

2. 3 — DayOutOfTheOffice (N/A; $5.20; $3.60)

3. 5 — Girl Daddy (N/A; N/A; 3.80)

Vequist and jockey Joel Rosario pulled ahead of this seven-horse field, winning with a time of 1:42:40. It marked the 12th Breeders’ Cup win for Rosario. Vequist pulled away from a tight group that included DayOutOfTheOffice, Girl Daddy and Simply Ravishing. Princess Noor, the favorite, never threatened the top of the pack, ultimately finishing fifth.

Juvenile Fillies Turf

Purse: $1,000,000

Finish — Post — Horse (Win; Place; Show, based on $2 bet)

1. 5 — Aunt Pearl ($7.20; $5.40; $3.80)

2. 8 — Mother Earth (N/A; $19.60, $3.80)

3. 2 — Miss Aumlet  (N/A; N/A; $6.40)

In the Juvenile Fillies Turf, Aunt Pearl took the lead out of the gates, ahead by three lengths after the first turn, and never looked back. Jockey Florent Geroux shepherded the wire-to-wire win. 

Chad Brown, who won 5 of the last 12 Junior Fillies Turf races, trained Editor-at-Large, who finished 14th of 15 horses in the race.

Juvenile Turf Presented by Coolmore America

Purse: $1,000,000

Finish — Post — Horse (Win; Place; Show, based on $2 bet)

1. 7 — Fire At Will ($62.40; $24.40; $14.00)

2. 9 — Battleground (N/A; $5.60, $3.80)

3. 8 — Outadore  (N/A; N/A; $7.60)

We got our first major upset of the weekend in the Juvenile Turf Presented by Coolmore America.

In the final stretch, Fire At Will dashed ahead of Outadore, who led most of the way. But the Ricardo Santana-led horse timed its sprint perfectly, claiming an easy win and the 30-to-1 upset. Mutassabeq came in the odds-on favorite (9/2) but simply couldn’t make up for a wide first turn and a sloppy start. 

The win marked Santana’s 2nd career Breeders’ Cup victory as a jockey and trainer Mike Maker’s 3rd Breeders’ Cup win.

“To be honest, I thought he was way overpriced,” Maker said on NBC Sports Network after the win. “... Just a very professional, classy horse.”

TVG Juvenile:

Purse: $2,000,000

Finish — Post — Horse (Win; Place; Show, based on $2 bet)

1. 5 — Essential Quality ($9.40; $6.20; $4.40)

2. 12 — Hot Rod Charlie (N/A; $51.60, $24.00)

3. 6 — KeepMeInMind  (N/A; N/A; $11.20)

The most anticipated race of the day lived up to its billing.

In the TVG Juvenile, Essential Quality took the $2,000,000 purse. A five-horse group jockeyed for top position during the first half mile, but Essential Quality lurked from behind, and in the final stretch darted past 94-to-1 long shot Hot Rod Charlie to claim the victory by less than a length.

In the end, the most fortunate bettors left with lots of cash to bring into Saturday's set of races.