A Quick Breeders' Cup Guide For Uma Musume Fans
I figured this might help, given that a lot of first-time viewers are going to be tuning into the Breeders' Cup this weekend due to a certain horse game having a global release. So here's a quick and dirty guide so you know what you're watching!
What is the Breeders' Cup?
Compared to the Triple Crown and Triple Tiara races in the US, the races in the Breeders' Cup are quite new - the event was only started in 1984. It was created to be a sort of year-end championship for Thoroughbreds in North America, though horses from all around the world can enter (more on that later, there's an extremely relevant horse we need to talk about this year). Much like the races in the URA Finale, there are categories - sprints, juvenile races, etc. - and horses typically compete in those set categories. Except for the juvenile races, which are for two-year-olds, there aren't age limits - as long as you're 3 or older, you can run in the adult races, and many older horses can and do compete alongside their younger brethren here.
Since the Breeders' Cup is so new, a lot of the true greats of American and Canadian horse racing weren't able to compete in it. You won't see names like Man O'War, War Admiral, Seabiscuit, Secretariat, Kelso, Dr. Fager, Ruffian, Native Dancer, etc. around here - they all ran well before this event started. However, there are some modern legends who have run in the Breeders' Cup, so I'd like to highlight a few.
Zenyatta is a really special horse. A remarkably tall filly at 17.5 hands high (taller than Secretariat), she went into the 2009 Breeders' Cup undefeated. Much like Vodka in the 2007 Japanese Derby, Zenyatta's team opted to run her in the Breeders' Cup Classic instead of the Breeders' Cup Distaff (a fillies-only race). There are a few things you need to know about Zenyatta:
She liked to dance before her races to loosen up, a behavior she taught herself, and she enjoyed drinking Guinness stout.
She was arguably one of the best end closers of all time. I'd put her in the same category as Gold Ship.
Zenyatta, much like our friend Golshi, loved to hang in the back. She spends most of this race at the end of the field with 2009 Kentucky Derby upset winner Mine That Bird before making her move around the final corner. Even though you go in knowing this is how she ran her races, it's still remarkable to watch her powering her way through everyone.
Zenyatta was one of the few horses to attempt a repeat, but lost to another horse by a nose in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic, marking her only defeat in her entire career. As the 2008 Breeders' Cup Distaff winner and the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic winner, she has the distinction of being the only horse to win both races. Her final career record was 19-1, with her only loss coming in her final race, the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic repeat attempt. She's currently enjoying her retirement after a second career as a broodmare (one that admittedly has been more of a struggle for her than racing has, with a lot of lost foals). Her final foal is now two years old and preparing for her own racing career. Perhaps she saved the best for last - only time will tell.
Yes, his name is misspelled. His owners are aware and chose to keep the misspelling.
If you follow horse racing at all or were aware of the news on some level in 2015, you've probably heard his name before. American Pharoah was the first American Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978, ending a 37-year drought. Generally, most people would choose to immediately retire a horse upon winning those races to stud or broodmare duty, but Pharoah wasn't ready to hang up his cleats yet, and his team pointed him at the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Turns out he was perfectly fine.
In contrast to Zenyatta, American Pharoah spent his career as a front-runner, using his strong stamina to his advantage and leading races wire to wire. He never loses the lead in this race once. A good comparison to his running style would be Silence Suzuka. Notably, Pharoah's ears are pricked and alert the entire time.
By winning the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic, American Pharoah was dubbed the first winner of the modern Grand Slam of Thoroughbred Racing. The term has also been applied to winning the Triple Crown races and the Travers Stakes, a configuration won by Whirlaway in 1941. Notably, Pharoah also ran in the Travers Stakes in 2015, but lost to rival Keen Ice, continuing Saratoga's track reputation as the Graveyard of Champions. Obviously he wasn't deterred that much, because he bounced back and had complete control in the BCC a few months later. He just wasn't at his best on the day of the Travers.
What should I know about this year's races?
The Breeders' Cup races take place over the course of two days. This year, they'll be on 10/31 and 11/1, so I'm kind of hoping to see some cosplayers in the crowds on TV since they have the advantage of Halloween to avoid scrutiny from old-timers. If you visit the website for the Breeders' Cup, you may notice an interesting sponsor is there. That's right, it's Cygames themselves, who have started sponsoring American horse races as Uma Musume continues its global rise in popularity! When I tuned into some races a few weeks ago to watch what would be star filly Thorpedo Anna's last race before her retirement, not only were a bunch of the races sponsored by Cygames, but there were actual commercials for Uma Musume on TV in between the races. It was surreal to go from watching actual horses to suddenly being met by Spe-chan and friends. Cygames knows fans of the game are tuning in, and that they might make some new fans of the game from the people watching.
If you want to see the stars of the future, tune in on Friday, 10/31 - all the juvenile races will be held on Halloween this year. A horse to watch is the rapidly greying Ted Noffey, who got his name due to a typo on social media in a post mentioning farm manager Ned Toffey. His sire is Into Mischief, a horse who's had a lot of success as a sire lately (Sovereignty is also his son, as is the champion filly sprinter Covfefe). Keep an eye on him, he may be special. Besides, we all probably have some favorite grey horses by now, so why not add one more?
If you want to see the next Bakushin, tune in for the first three races on Saturday, 11/1 - those are the sprints. Cygames is the lead sponsor for the dirt sprint, so expect a lot of commercials for a certain game around that time. I don't really know much about the sprinters this year, unfortunately, but sprints are always exciting since they're so fast-paced.
Finally, we get to the main event - the Breeders' Cup Turf, the Breeders' Cup Distaff, and the Breeders' Cup Classic. There's a lot of stories to follow with the Classic especially, so let's take a quick look.
The favorite is out of the race: Sovereignty, who won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes (he skipped the Preakness, so no Triple Crown), has been running a fever over the past few days. Initially favored to win the race, the three-year-old stepping out for his health and safety (the right move) blows the field right open. It's anyone's race now and that's going to be exciting. It's still a shame that he can't run, of course, but his health rightfully comes first.
There's a champion trying to repeat: Last year's winner, Sierra Leone, is trying for his second consecutive Breeders' Cup Classic win. Before Sovereignty was scratched, he was at 8-1 odds, so we'll see how that affects his chances going forward. He's an impressive horse and definitely one to keep an eye on.
Will Journalism have his moment in the sun?: Journalism was the projected horse to win the Triple Crown races this year, but Sovereignty defeated him at every turn when they met. Journalism did win the Preakness due to Sovereignty's absence. Perhaps the Classic will be his moment in the spotlight.
Contrary Thinking is running as a rabbit: You know how you can do a build with Nice Nature called Evil Nature/Nasty Nature that runs as a debuffer to help your other horses win in cup races? The real-life version of that is entering a horse as what's called a 'rabbit.' This year, that's Contrary Thinking's task. He's not expected to compete for the win, but you'll likely see him out front early setting a blisteringly fast pace. This is to tire out other front-runners and pace chasers/pressers so that stalker/late surger Sierra Leone (mentioned above) has a better chance of catching everyone late. It's a strategy that a lot of people dislike for obvious reasons as it's pretty underhanded. Don't expect to see him cross the line first, that's not why he's here.
FOREVER YOUNG: I need to talk about the horse I'm rooting for here for a moment, sorry. Forever Young is the only Japanese horse in the race, and he's owned by Susumu Fujita, the president and founder of CyberAgent, of which Cygames is a subsidiary. That's right, that means exactly what you think it means for this horse. Forever Young is an excellent late surger and one of the best Japanese dirt racers of all time already, coming in third in a photo finish at the 2024 Kentucky Derby and again in third in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic. He's absolutely a contender to win it this year at age 4, and if he does he'll likely be fast-tracked to Cute Anime Girl Status. He's a really fun horse to watch and Japanese racing fans have compared his cornering late in races to Narita Brian, so you know he's no slouch. You might recognize a few names in Forever Young's pedigree - his grandfather is Deep Impact, and therefore his great-grandfather is Sunday Silence. Other notables in there are, inevitably, Northern Dancer, Mr. Prospector, Storm Cat (a grandson of Secretariat who was a highly influential sire in the US), Seattle Slew, and the aforementioned Secretariat. You can view his race record here - he's been in the money in every single one. I'd love to see him win it.
After these races, scheduled so that they're prime-time viewing, we'll see the mile races and the Filly and Mare Turf. Again, I don't know too much about the competitors here, but maybe you'll find a new favorite!
Those are really the basics you need to go in and enjoy the Breeders' Cup races as an Uma Musume tourist! I'm happy to explain anything further in depth if need be. Have fun out there, and wish for a safe race for everyone!
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