LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland on Saturday — the second day of the two-day event — should be fun and exciting with beautiful weather and world-class racing and, alas, one important element missing.
"I miss the fans," said trainer Bill Mott.
Yes, the fans. It's just not quite the same without the fans, especially the Breeders' Cup, where the best of the best go head-to-head in front of a fan base that has followed the sport all year long and loves the setting most. Yet, as has been the case with horse racing since March, only the participants are allowed at Keeneland this weekend.
"It's a beautiful week at Keeneland," said trainer Mark Casse. "It's so disappointing to our fans that love our sport so much that they can't come out and watch."
It's a shame, too, given the quality of the fields, especially the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic, post time set for 5:18 p.m. on NBC.
Improbable is the 5-2 morning-line favorite after consecutive Grade 1 wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup, Whitney and Awesome Again for trainer Bob Baffert. After a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, Improbable ran fifth in last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile before returning to the longer distances as a 4-year-old.
You have Tiz the Law (3-1), winner of the Florida Derby, Belmont Stakes and Travers before being beaten by Authentic in the Kentucky Derby. Authentic (6-1) is here, too. He also won the Haskell and is fresh off finishing second to Swiss Skydiver in a stirring Preakness Stakes at Pimlico back on Oct. 3.
Don't forget Maximum Security (7-2), who has posted two victories and a runner-up finish since being moved to Baffert's barn after his previous trainer, Jason Servis, was indicted in March on federal charges of obtaining and administering performance-enhancing drugs.
The 7-year-old Tom's d'Etat (6-1) could be a wild card, having won four straight races, including the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs on June 27 before a bad break from the starting gate led to a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Whitney, won by Improbable.
"I don't think anybody's ever gone into the Classic where it was a soft field," said Tom's d'Etat trainer Al Stall, who won the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic with Blame. "The X-factor this year is the 3-year-olds."
That would be Tiz the Law and Authentic. Under racing's normal calendar year, the major races involving 3-year-olds are held in the spring with a smattering of races in late summer leading up to the Breeders' Cup.
"Sometimes the 3-year-olds are down and out by this time," said Stall, "(American) Pharoah being the exception."
After becoming the first horse to win the Triple Crown in 37 years, Pharaoh finished second in the Travers at Saratoga before bouncing back to win the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015, completing racing's version of the Grand Slam.
With COVID-19, however, this year's schedule has been spaced out over several months. The Belmont was run in June, the Kentucky Derby in September and the Preakness in October, just a month before the Classic.
"They all look in good form," Stall said. "I wouldn't be surprised if any one of eight to 10 horses win the race."
Yes, the Classic field is that deep and that talented. If only the fans could be here to see it live and in person instead of at home on their televisions.
"It's kind of sad really," said trainer Graham Motion. "We'll be very glad when the fans come back."
Said Mott, who trains Tacitus (20-1) in the Classic: "You love it when they cheer you; you love it when they boo you. I love to see them slapping their hip with the Racing Form when they're coming down the track. The horses are a little quieter, yes, but we're willing to forfeit that just to have the fans back."
