Did the main track play fair on Breeders' Cup Day 1?

Breeders’ Cup Day 1 at Del Mar has passed. While the controversy over Modern Games’ accidental scratch and win in the Juvenile Turf put a cloud over the day for bettors, the good news is that the main track plays fair.

Here is a short race-by-race recap of the dirt races on Friday’s card and a final conclusion on why the dirt course appears unbiased at this point.

Race 1

Triple Tap made a nice bid from the back portion of the field.

After initially giving up seven lengths in the opening quarter, he worked his way forward on the turn and mowed down the leader Sumo to win by 2 1/4 lengths. Sumo had settled right off the leader in the opening half-mile through a fast pace with a first quarter in 21.64 and four furlongs in 43.73.  

It does seem like Triple Tap received a pace setup. Regardless, the half-brother to American Pharoah made sure the first dirt winner was a closer.

Race 3

From fifth and 2 1/4 lengths behind, Big Switch worked her way forward on the turn and engaged the leader and favorite Big Novel at the top of the stretch. Big Switch proved strongest and kicked clear for a 2 3/4-length win.

Big Novel initially contested the pace on the inside. At first, she responded to Big Switch’s challenge on the turn. But she proved no match for the oncoming Big Switch. For what it is worth, Big Novel still created 6 1/2 lengths of separation between her and the third-place Vivacious Vanessa.

Big Switch won with stalking tactics, while a deeper closer won Race 1. 

Race 5

Another closer? Finneus began this race in ninth and 5 1/4 lengths behind the leader after the first quarter. He ran in the clear, while the front part of the field became crowded with a number of speed types traveling near the lead.

Finneus pushed his way forward and worked his way to the outside on the turn. From a wide position, he gradually moved past Slow Down Andy and Fast Draw Munnings and prevailed by half a length over Slow Down Andy in second.

It looked like Finneus worked hard to pass those two.

The fractions were moderate at 22.15 and 45.11.

Fast Draw Munnings had contested the pace, while Slow Down Andy tracked the leaders in fourth. Even though Finneus closed for the eventual win, the good efforts of Fast Draw Munnings and Slow Down Andy countered any notion of a closer bias.

Race 7 – Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

Time to shortly summarize the two Breeders’ Cup races on dirt.

In the Juvenile Fillies, Echo Zulu started well and crossed over the short field to take command of the lead heading into the first turn. Meanwhile, the public second choice Juju’s Map and third choice Hidden Connection both failed to break clean and needed a moment to get into stride as Echo Zulu sped away to the front.

From that point, Echo Zulu set the pace uncontested. She led the field through fractions of 23.42 and 47.01, which are likely moderate fractions.

Echo Zulu then accelerated on the turn. Tarabi and Juju’s Map initially tried to run with Echo Zulu, but she proved too strong and opened up in the lane.

In the end, Echo Zulu won by 5 1/4 lengths. She scored the first win on the card for a dirt pacesetter, although the moderate fractions did help.

The closers in this race completely failed, as the 1-2-3 horses through the opening quarter still took up the 1-2-3 positions at the end. The only difference is that Juju’s Map outfinished Tarabi for the runner-up spot.

Race 9 – Breeders' Cup Juvenile

After Jack Christopher scratched out of the field, the race became more vulnerable to a pacesetter.

As expected, the Bob Baffert-trained Corniche took advantage of the favorite’s scratch by crossing over from the outside and securing the lead.

Corniche led with a one-length cushion over his stablemate Pinehurst and Commandperformance on the outside. Given he ran as a closer in the Champagne Stakes (G1), Commandperformance was closer than expected.

The fractions appear fast at first glance, compared with the Juvenile Fillies. Corniche took the field through a 23.03 opening quarter and 46.15 half-mile.

Corniche never opened up by a huge margin, but he kept doing enough.

The long shot Giant Game gave his best challenge at the top of the stretch, and Corniche repelled him. Then, Pappacap tipped out from the inside path and took aim at the leader in mid-stretch. Corniche had enough left to hold Pappacap off as well and retained the one-length advantage until the wire.

Pappacap and Giant Game both came from mid-pack.

Commandperformance faded to fourth after stalking closely on the outside. He lost by 5 3/4 lengths, while Pinehurst faded to fifth by 8 1/2 lengths.

Corniche’s winning performance made for a second win by a dirt pacesetter.

Conclusion

Given those results, the track seemed fair overall to any kind of style.

As stated above, the earlier dirt races were won by closers. But Echo Zulu and Corniche won on the front end, which made for a day of varied winning styles on dirt. Bettors likely will hope for this type of dirt surface on Breeders' Cup Day 2.