Join Today

$100 sign-up bonus

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Breeders' Cup > Juvenile

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile

The 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile will be held at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on Saturday, November 4th.

The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series started in 2007, and awards automatic Breeders’ Cup bids to the winners of defined races. Those Juvenile qualifying prep races are:

  1. Iroquois Stakes, a Grade 3 race run in September at Churchill Downs in Kentucky
  2. Frontrunner Stakes, a Grade 1 race run in October at Santa Anita Park in California
  3. Champagne Stakes, a Grade 1 race run in October at Belmont Park in New York
  4. Breeders’ Futurity, a Grade 1 race run in October at Keeneland in Kentucky

 

The Juvenile Winners

The $2 million Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is the richest 2-year-old race in North America. The 1 1/16 mile race, restricted to male 2-year-olds, is often a preview of the stars of the Triple Crown races for the following year. The Juvenile is a season-defining event, as the race often determines the Eclipse Award Champion 2-year-old male, and also the winter-book favorite for the Kentucky Derby.  

In the lead-up to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, 12 of the past 20 winners were favored in their last start. But the last BC Juvenile race favorite to win the race was Shanghai Bobby in 2012 (7-5), and a total of 11 race-day favorites have won the Juvenile. The two longest odds horses to win the Juvenile were both 30-1 when Vale of York (IRE) beat the favorite Lookin’ at Lucky by a head in 2009 at Santa Anita, and 1999 winner Anees came from the very back of the pack to win by more than 2 lengths at Gulfstream Park.  

Some notable achievements for past Juvenile winners include Timber Country (1995), who became the first Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner to win one of the U.S. Triple Crown races for 3-year-olds when he won the 1995 Preakness Stakes. The 2006 winner, Street Sense, became the first to capture the Kentucky Derby, and the other Juvenile winner to win the Run for the Roses the following May was Nyquist (2015).

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile speed record was set by Midshipman in 2008 when he ran the 1 1/16 mile race in 1:40.94. The late jockey Garrett Gomez rode for trainer Bob Baffert.

 

BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE WINNERS & RECORDS

Year/Track Winner/ Jockey/ Time/
Date/Distance Owner Trainer Odds
2016 - SA  Classic Empire  J. Leparoux 01:42.6
Nov 05 - 1 1/16M John C. Oxley M. Casse $4.50
2015 - KEE Nyquist  M. Gutierrez 01:43.8
Oct 31 - 1 1/16M Reddam Racing LLC D. O'Neill $4.70
2014 - SA  Texas Red  K. Desormeaux 01:41.9
Nov 01 - 1 1/16M Brehm, Erich, Detmar, Wayne, Michaels, Lee, Desormeaux, J. Keith et al. J. Desormeaux $13.90
2013 - SA  New Year's Day  M. Garcia 01:43.5
Nov 02 - 1 1/16M West, Gary and Mary B. Baffert $10.50
2012 - SA  Shanghai Bobby  A. Napravnik 01:44.6
Nov 03 - 1 1/16M Starlight Racing, Magnier, Mrs. John, Tabor, Michael B. and Smith, Derrick T. Pletcher $1.30*
2011 - CD  Hansen  R. Dominguez 01:44.4
Nov 05 - 1 1/16M Hansen, Kendall, M.D. and Sky Chai Racing M. Maker $7.10
2010 - CD  Uncle Mo  J. Velazquez 01:42.6
Nov 06 - 1 1/16M Repole Stable T. Pletcher $1.40*
2009 - OSA Vale of York (IRE)  A. Ajtebi 01:43.5
Nov 07 - 1 1/16M Godolphin Racing LLC S. bin Suroor $30.60
2008 - OSA Midshipman  G. Gomez 01:40.9
Oct 25 - 1 1/16M Darley Stable B. Baffert $3.60
2007 - MTH War Pass  C. Velasquez 01:42.8
Oct 27 - 1 1/16M Robert V. LaPenta N. Zito $2.20*
2006 - CD  Street Sense  C. Borel 01:42.6
Nov 04 - 1 1/16M Jim Tafel LLC C. Nafzger $15.20
2005 - BEL Stevie Wonderboy  G. Gomez 01:41.6
Oct 29 - 1 1/16M Merv Griffin Ranch Co., The D. O'Neill $4.50
2004 - LS  Wilko  L. Dettori 01:42.1
Oct 30 - 1 1/16M Reddam, J. Paul and Roy, Susan J. Noseda $28.30
2003 - SA  Action This Day  D. Flores 01:43.6
Oct 25 - 1 1/16M B. Wayne Hughes R. Mandella $26.80
2002 - AP  Vindication  M. Smith 01:49.6
Oct 26 - 1 1/8M Padua Stables B. Baffert $4.10
2001 - BEL Johannesburg  M. Kinane 01:42.3
Oct 27 - 1 1/16M Tabor, Michael B. and Magnier, Mrs. John A. O'Brien $7.20
2000 - CD  Macho Uno  J. Bailey 01:42.1
Nov 04 - 1 1/16M Stronach Stables J. Orseno $6.30
1999 - GP  Anees  G. Stevens 01:42.3
Nov 06 - 1 1/16M The Thoroughbred Corporation A. Hassinger, Jr. $30.30
1998 - CD  Answer Lively  J. Bailey 01:44.0
Nov 07 - 1 1/16M John Franks B. Barnett $2.70*
1997 - HOL Favorite Trick  P. Day 01:41.5
Nov 08 - 1 1/16M Joseph P. Lacombe P. Byrne $1.20*
1996 - WO  Boston Harbor  J. Bailey 01:43.4
Oct 26 - 1 1/16M Overbrook Farm D. Lukas $2.40
1995 - BEL Unbridled's Song  M. Smith 01:41.6
Oct 28 - 1 1/16M Paraneck Stable J. Ryerson $5.20
1994 - CD  Timber Country  P. Day 01:44.6
Nov 05 - 1 1/16M Overbrook Farm, Gainsway Thoroughbreds Ltd. and Lewis, Robert and Beverly D. Lukas $2.40*
1993 - SA  Brocco  G. Stevens 01:43.0
Nov 06 - 1 1/16M Broccoli, Mr. and Mrs. Albert R. Winick $3.00
1992 - GP  Gilded Time  C. McCarron 01:43.4
Oct 31 - 1 1/16M Carl Ichan D. Vienna $2.00*
1991 - CD  Arazi  P. Valenzuela 01:44.8
Nov 02 - 1 1/16M Paulson, Allen E. and al Maktoum, Sheik Mohammed F. Boutin $2.10*
1990 - BEL Fly So Free  J. Santos 01:43.4
Oct 27 - 1 1/16M Thomas Valando F. Schulhofer $1.40*
1989 - GP  Rhythm  C. Perret 01:43.6
Nov 04 - 1 1/16M Ogden Mills Phipps C. McGaughey III $2.60
1988 - CD  Is It True  L. Pincay, Jr. 01:46.6
Nov 05 - 1 1/16M E. V. Klein D. Lukas $9.20
1987 - HOL Success Express  J. Santos 01:35.2
Nov 21 - 1M E. V. Klein D. Lukas $4.10
1986 - SA  Capote  L. Pincay, Jr. 01:43.8
Nov 01 - 1 1/16M Beal, French, Jr. and Klein D. Lukas $2.40*
1985 - AQU Tasso  L. Pincay, Jr. 01:36.2
Nov 02 - 1M Gerald Robins N. Drysdale $5.60
1984 - HOL Chief's Crown  D. MacBeth 01:36.2
Nov 10 - 1M Star Crown Stable R. Laurin $0.70*