Breeders betting for the Filly and Mare Sprint will not include champion horse Indian Blessing.
Trainer Bob Baffert said that the horse will not be part of Breeders wagering since she is not comfortable on the synthetic surface at Santa Anita.
Breeders betting would have seen Indian Blessing as one of the favorites for the Filly and Mare Sprint at the sports book if she had been entered. She had a couple of workouts on the surface at Santa Anita and they just were not that good. “The last two works here have just been very average for her. She’s a great work horse, and my rider said she is just totally different on synthetics,” Baffert said. "She’s not the same filly and she travels totally different on it. She’s always fought it. Coming into Breeders’ Cup, she’s running against great competition, and I just don’t feel comfortable running her against synthetic specialists.”
Indian Blessing was the top two-year-old filly in 2007 and won in Breeders betting in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She was the top female sprinter last year as she won six of nine starts. She won the Gallant Bloom Handicap in late September. “When I lead her out there, she’s been so good to us, and I don’t want to embarrass her. I know if I lead her up there [for the Filly and Mare Sprint], I don’t feel confident about her winning the race, and if I don’t feel confident, I don’t want to put her through that," Baffert said.
Breeders betting begins at the sportsbook on Friday, November 6th with the Breeders Cup Marathon. That race in Breeders betting will be followed by the Juvenile Fillies Turf and the Filly & Mare Sprint. The Juvenile Fillies race is next in Breeders betting followed by the Filly & Mare Turf. Friday in Breeders betting at the sports book is capped off by the $3 million dollar Ladies’ Classic. All of Friday’s races in Breeders wagering will be televised by ESPN 2.
Breeders wagering at the sportsbook on Saturday, November 7th begins on ABC television with the Juvenile Turf. It is followed in Breeders betting by the Turf Sprint and the Dirt Mile. Those Breeders betting races will be televised by ABC. The rest of the Breeders Cup wagering races will be televised on ESPN beginning with the Juvenile. That Breeders betting race is followed by the Mile, the Sprint, the Turf and Breeders betting on Saturday concludes with the $5 million dollar Breeders’ Cup Classic.