There were 9 Breeders' Cup Championship races contested on Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California before an announced crowd of 51,331. In this slideshow are photos from the first 5 races on the day.
A field of 12 two-year-old colts and geldings faced the starter in the $2 million Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile, contested at 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Lane's End Breeders' Futurity winner Square Eddie was sent off as the 7-23 favorite over Del Mar Futurity winner Midshipman at 4-1, exiting a runner-up finish in the Norfolk, and European invader Bushranger at 5-1, making his first synthetic start after winning the Prix Morny and the Middle Park Stakes on turf.
Square Eddie was sent to the early lead by jockey Rafael Bejarano, getting an opening quarter mile in 23.55, but Midshipman passed him on the outside down the backstretch to take over the lead, getting the half in 47.08 and 3/4 in 1:10.61. At the quarter pole, Midshipman pulled away to a 1 1/2 length lead, and easily held off Square Eddie down the lane to win by 1 1/4 lengths in 1:40.94 over the fast Pro-Ride surface. It was another 1/2 length back to 6-1 Street Hero third.
Results chart
On to Part 1 with the Classic, Turf, Sprint, and Juvenile Turf.
