McKinzie Remains on Top in Breeders' Cup Rankings
Image:
Description:
Photo: Coglianese Photos
McKinzie wins the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 13, 2019) -- Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman's 4-year-old McKinzie, winner of both the Alysheba Stakes (G2) and the Whitney (G1), has retained the No. 1 position in the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings for the 10th consecutive week. Trained by three-time Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner, Bob Baffert, McKinzie accumulated 303 votes this week, and leads Godolphin's two-time Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Thunder Snow (IRE) (252 votes) in second place.
Gary and Mary West's TVG.com Haskell Invitational winner Maximum Security rose one spot from fourth to third this week, reversing places with the 5-year-old Whitney runner-up Yoshida (JPN), owned by China Horse Club International, WinStar Farm and Head of Plains Partners. Yoshida (145 votes), trained by Bill Mott, is tied in fourth place with Charles Fipke's 6-year-old Stephen Foster (G2) winner Seeking the Soul (145 votes). Trained by Dallas Stewart, Seeking the Soul is expected to start in Saturday's $1 million TVG Pacific Classic (G1).
Robert LaPenta, Madaket Stables, Siena Farm and Twin Creeks Racing Stables' 4-year-old Catholic Boy (129 votes), second in the Suburban Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park on July 6, remains in sixth place.
Gary and Mary West's Game Winner (106 votes), the 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner, who is being pointed to next week's Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, is in seventh place. Also trained by Baffert, Game Winner, who won last month's Los Alamitos Derby (G3), worked six furlongs handily this morning at Del Mar in 1:12.
Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's 4-year-old Vino Rosso (87 votes), third-place finisher in the Whitney, stays in eighth place.
Fox Hill Farm's 3-year-old Omaha Beach (69 votes), winner of the Arkansas Derby (G1), moves up one spot this week and into ninth-place tie with Hronis Racing's 6-year-old Santa Anita Handicap (G1) winner Gift Box (69 votes). Trained by Richard Mandella, Omaha Beach worked six furlongs handily in 1:13.60 at Del Mar on Monday, and could make his return to the races in the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 25.
The Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly rating of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park, Nov. 2, are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings are announced each week through Oct. 15 and can be found on the Breeders' Cup website along with the list of voting members.
In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter ranks horses by assigning their allotted votes on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.
Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings Top 10 -- Aug. 13, 2019 *
Rank Horse Total Votes First Place Votes Previous Week
1 McKinzie 303 25 1
2 Thunder Snow (IRE) 252 3 2
3 Maximum Security 149 1 4
4 Seeking the Soul 145 1 5
4 Yoshida (JPN) 145 0 3
6 Catholic Boy 129 1 6
7 Game Winner 106 0 7
8 Vino Rosso 87 0 8
9 Gift Box 69 0 9
9 Omaha Beach 69 0 10
*Note -- The Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no official bearing on qualification or selection into the Breeders' Cup Classic.
***
Each NBC Sports Breeders' Cup Challenge Series Win and You're In -- Presented by America's Best Racing telecast will include the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings with commentary from the on-air talent.
Upcoming races in the Classic Division that will be televised through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series programming include the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) from Parx Racing on Sept. 21; Awesome Again Stakes (G1) from Santa Anita Park and the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) from Belmont Park on Sept. 28.
The 2019 Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track at Santa Anita, will be televised live and in primetime on NBC. Thirteen winners of the Classic have been voted Horse of the Year.
About Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup administers the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing's year-end Championships. The Breeders' Cup also administers the Breeders' Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. The 2019 Breeders' Cup World Championships, consisting of 14 championship races (13 Grade 1 events and one Grade 2 race) with purses and awards totaling more than $30 million, will be held on Nov. 1-2 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., and will be televised live by the NBC Sports Group. Breeders' Cup press releases appear on the Breeders' Cup website, www.breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders' Cup on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.