Bass Racing’s up-and-coming 3-year-old colt Annapolis will break from Post 11 when the starting gate opens for a highly competitive field of 14 thoroughbred racehorses in Saturday’s prestigious Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Boasting a purse of $2 million, the BC Mile is one of 14 races being contested in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships today and tomorrow at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky.
Annapolis, a product of the thoroughbred breeding and racing operation run by Fort Worth philanthropist Ramona Bass and her son Perry Bass II, qualified for Saturday’s race with an impressive first-place finish Oct. 8 in Keeneland’s $1 million Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes. Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher and ridden by top jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., Annapolis posted a stakes record time of 1:33.29 while prevailing over second-place finisher Ivar by a length and a half.
The Breeders’ Cup Mile – officially titled The FanDuel Breeders’’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund) – will be telecast by USA network as part of afternoon-long race coverage that runs from noon-2:30 p.m. (CDT) on USA and from 2:30-5 p.m. on NBC.
Scheduled post time for the BC Mile on USA is 2:10 p.m. Central time.
Annapolis, listed at 10-1 odds on Keeneland’s morning line, has a race record of five wins and two seconds in seven lifetime starts. All of his races have been on grass, as is the Breeders’ Cup Mile. He has shown a preference for firm turf, so his handlers and fans are hoping for good weather in Lexington. Here’s Saturday’s forecast, courtesy of the National Weather Service: Showers likely, mainly after 2 p.m. (EDT). Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. Breezy, with a south wind 16 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 41 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Translation: Any rain could be light and might hold off until near or after race time, so Annapolis would seem to have a good chance of running on solid ground.
The morning line favorite (7-2) in the race is Irish-bred Modern Games, a 3-year-old colt that has won 6 of 12 lifetime starts, including last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar racetrack in California.
The Bass breeding operation is no stranger to the Breeders’ Cup championships. Bass Stables LLC also bred Roy H, winner (under different ownership) of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in both 2017 and 2018.
While friends and fans of the Basses and Annapolis are focusing their attention most intently on the Mile, legions of racing buffs are no doubt looking forward to the marquee race on Saturday’s card, the Breeders’ Cup Classic. The overwhelming favorite in the race is undefeated 4-year-old Flightline, winner of the Sept. 3 Pacific Classic at Del Mar by a spectacular 19 1/4 lengths. Other contenders include Pletcher-trained Life Is Good, Kentucky Derby runner-up Epicenter and long-shot Derby winner Rich Strike.
Post time for the Classic is 4:40 p.m. Central time on NBC.