2010 Breeders' Cup Classic

Thoroughbred horse race Dirt 27th Breeders' Cup Classic Breeders' Cup Classic Churchill Downs 2010 11 6 Blame Garrett Gomez Albert Stall Jr. Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider fastChart of the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbPDFChartPlus.cfm?RACE=11&BorP=P&TID=CD&CTRY=USA&DT=11/06/2010&DAY=D&STYLE=EQB Equibase 28 April 2017 72,739 2009 2011 The 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 27th running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2010 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 6, 2010, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky with a purse of $5,000,000. In a highly publicized race, the mare Zenyatta was attempting to defend her victory in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic and retire undefeated. Running well behind in the early portion of the race, she made a sustained drive but came up a head short of the winner, Blame. The Classic is run on dirt at one mile and one-quarter (approximately 2000 m). It is run under weight-for-age conditions, with entrants carrying the following weights: Northern Hemisphere three-year-olds: 122 lb Southern Hemisphere three-year-olds: 117 lb Four-year-olds and up: 126 lb Any fillies or mares receive a 3 lb allowance Contenders Many horsemen and handicappers considered the 2010 field to be one of the best ever assembled, including the top three-year-olds and older horses. "I would imagine that when this race was designed, when they came up with the concept in 1982, this is what they had in mind", said trainer Todd Pletcher. "It brings the best horses in the world together, on a neutral playing field, on a traditional dirt surface. We'll see what happens." One of the most popular horses in recent memory, Zenyatta came into the Classic as the even-money favorite off of a nineteen race win streak. However, there were several factors that made her vulnerable in the race. She had only raced against male horses once, in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic, and the field for the 2010 renewal was considered to be much deeper. She had raced almost exclusively in California and on synthetic dirt surfaces, and it was unknown how she would respond to traveling across country and racing at Churchill Downs.Privman Jay History in the making in Breeders' Cup Classic http://www.drf.com/news/history-making-breeders-cup-classic Daily Racing Form 28 April 2017 en The leading contenders included:Pedulla Tom Unbeaten Zenyatta tops record 184 entries for Breeders' Cup – USATODAY.com https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/horses/breeders/2010-10-27-zenyatta-breeders-cup_N.htm usatoday30.usatoday.com 28 April 2017 Blame, who had won the 2009 Clark Handicap and 2010 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs, and was considered to have a "home field advantage". He also won the Whitney Handicap and finished second in the Jockey Club Gold Cup Quality Road, winner of the Donn Handicap, Metropolitan Handicap and Woodward Stakes Haynesfield, winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup Lookin at Lucky, the top three-year-old contender after winning the Preakness Stakes, Haskell Invitational and Indiana Derby First Dude, runner-up in the Preakness Unlike the years before, there were no entries from Europe, largely due to the change to a traditional dirt surface that favored North American runners compared to the synthetic dirt surface over which the race was run in 2008 and 2009. Espoir City entered from Japan but was given little chance by the bettors. Race description Quality Road and First Dude went to the early lead, setting moderate opening fractions. Blame settled in the middle of the pack, while Zenyatta trailed far behind. Her stride was uneven —– "like a rocking horse", according to The New York Times —– and she took some time to settle. Around the far turn, both Blame and Zenyatta started to close ground. Blame, much closer to the pace and benefiting from a perfect trip, reached the lead by mid-stretch and looked likely to win. Zenyatta had been moving fast but faced a wall of horses in front of her. Jockey Mike Smith moved her out wide then made several more adjustments before the mare was able to find running room. In deep stretch, she started to close ground rapidly but came up a neck short.Drape Joe Zenyatta Falls to Blame in Breeders' Cup Classic https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/sports/07breeders.html The New York Times 28 April 2017 6 November 2010Mitchell Eric Heartbreaking Thriller: Blame Beats Zenyatta http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/139536/heartbreaking-thriller-blame-beats-zenyatta BloodHorse.com 28 April 2017 en After the race, Smith was in tears, blaming himself for the defeat. "I got away slow and got squeezed out of there," he said. "I couldn't level her off. If you have to blame anyone today, it would be me." Blame's Classic victory marked the first Breeders' Cup Classic win for trainer Albert Stall Jr. and owners Adele Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm, which was celebrating its 100th anniversary. "I'm still pinching myself," said Dilschneider. "I've been involved with the Hancock family for years, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Seth Hancock, owner of Claiborne. How many family-owned and operated farms are there left? That's the beauty of this. You can't let it slip away. And they won't. With Claiborne, the horse always comes first."Haskin Steve Time to Give Blame His Due http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2014/10/20/haskin-time-to-give-blame-his-due.aspx cs.bloodhorse.com 28 April 2017 en Garrett Gomez, Blame's jockey, had mixed emotions about the win. "(Zenyatta)'s been an ambassador for racing. We had a lot of people out here supporting her", he said. "She was going for 20 for 20 and she came up a head short. I'm glad I was able to give her the defeat, but at the same time I wish she could have gone out 20 for 20 at someone else's expense." With three Grade I wins in 2010 and the head-to-head victory over Zenyatta, Blame's connections believed he deserved to be named American Horse of the Year.Privman Jay Blame denies Zenyatta in Breeders' Cup Classic http://www.drf.com/news/blame-denies-zenyatta-breeders-cup-classic Daily Racing Form 28 April 2017 en Ultimately however that honor went to Zenyatta, with five Grade I wins in 2010.Wirth Jennifer Zenyatta Has Earned Horse of the Year http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/thoroughbred-bloggers-alliance/archive/2010/11/12/zenyatta-has-earned-horse-of-the-year.aspx cs.bloodhorse.com 28 April 2017 en She was also named Champion Older Female Horse while Blame was unanimously named the Champion Older Male Horse.Zenyatta takes Horse of the Year over Blame http://www.drf.com/news/zenyatta-takes-horse-year-over-blame Daily Racing Form 28 April 2017 en Results FinishProgramNumberMargin(lengths)HorseJockeyTrainerFinal OddsWinnings1st 5 Head Blame Garrett Gomez Albert Stall Jr. 5.202,700,000 2nd 8 3 1 2 lengths Zenyatta Mike Smith John Shirreffs 1.00 900,000 3rd 6 Neck Fly Down Julien Leparoux Nicholas Zito 26.50 495,000 4th 12 1 3 4 lengths Lookin At Lucky Martin Garcia Bob Baffert 4.90 300,000 5th 2 3 1 2 lengths Paddy O'Prado Kent Desormeaux Dale Romans 33.40 150,000 6th 10 1 length Etched Alan Garcia Kiaran McLaughlin 62.80 7th 7 1 2 length Musket Man Rajiv Maragh Derek Ryan 28.20 8th 4 1 2 length First Dude Robby Albarado Dale Romans 37.30 9th 9 3 1 2 lengths Pleasant Prince Joel Rosario Wesley A. Ward 63.80 10th 11 8 1 4 lengths Espoir City (JPN) Tetsuzo Sato Akio Adachi 30.50 11th 3 6 1 2 lengths Haynesfield Ramon A. Dominguez Steve Asmussen 18.00 12th 1 Quality Road John Velazquez Todd Pletcher 6.50 Source: Equibase Times: 1 4 – 0:23.24; 1 2 – 0:47.14; 3 4 – 1:11.01; mile – 1:37.12; final – 2:02.28. Fractional Splits: (:23.24) (:23.90) (:23.87) (:26.11) (:25.16) Payout Payout Schedule: ProgramNumberHorseWinPlaceShow5Blame12.404.403.808Zenyatta3.602.806Fly Down8.60 $2 Exacta (5–8) Paid $33.20 $2 Trifecta (5–8–6) Paid $465.00 $1 Superfecta (5–8–6–12) Paid $980.40 References 30em Category:Breeders' Cup Classic Breeders' Cup Classic Breeders' Cup Classic Breeders' Cup Classic, 2010 Category:2010 in Louisville, Kentucky