Brown readies for Lady Eli’s final race in the Breeders' Cup

Chad Brown, the current Eclipse Award winner as Top Trainer, has 13 horses pre-entered in Breeders’ Cup 2017, second only to the 14 of European trainer Aidan O’Brien. Lady Eli heads a talented group of runners that includes Practical Joke in the Dirt Mile, Rushing Fall in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, in the Turf Beach Patrol, and Separationofpowers in the Juvenile Fillies.

Brown has quickly put together a strong record at the championships. He burst onto the Breeders’ Cup scene in 2008 when his first entry ever, Maram, was victorious in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Since then, he has compiled an overall record of eight winners from 58 starters with six second and five third-place finishes plus earnings of $9.7 million.

Lady Eli will be running in her third Breeders’ Cup this year. She won the Juvenile Fillies Turf as a 2-year-old, and last year she lost by a nose in the Filly and Mare Turf. She will be making the final start of her career at Del Mar before going into the sales ring in November in Kentucky.

Out of his 13 horses, Brown said, “Lady Eli will probably be the most favored of any horses that I have, and she has a huge chance to win.”

Regardless of the outcome, Brown and his staff have to be prepared for Lady Eli’s departure from their barn after her accomplishments on the track and her miraculous recovery from laminitis. Brown talked about the unique qualities of his 5-year-old star mare and what is to come in the near future.

“Lady Eli is a very special horse to me and my entire staff and her owners -- for all that she has overcome, for her incredible talent, for the many places that she has brought us together," he said. "We’re very proud of her, obviously.

“You come across very rare horses, not too often in your life. I find her to be very rare, more than any horse I’ve ever been around. I’ve never seen one up close with this much heart and determination.

“It will take quite a lot of time to get over it. Other Grade 1 fillies will come in the barn. None will be like her. I just understand how rare she is. It will be tough, but we’re prepared for it. The one thing you know training these horses is that their careers normally are not that long and they’re going to come and go. You have to be aware of that when you sign up for a job like this. This is a special situation, though. Things will never quite be the same.

"But, hopefully when the time comes for to go on to her second career that she lives out a long life. I plan on visiting her quite a bit, wherever she is.”

No doubt that after Lady Eli retires, just as Brown said, “Things will never quite be the same" for so many thoroughbred racing fans.