Nysos, Citizen Bull give Baffert exacta in Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Odds-on favorite Nysos went eyeball to eyeball down the stretch with stablemate Citizen Bull and got his head down at the finish to win the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Saturday at Del Mar.

Not only did Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert get the exacta, he also got his first Dirt Mile victory. Added to his win with Splendora on Saturday in the Filly & Mare Sprint, Baffert moved into a tie with Aidan O’Brien for the most career wins in the Breeders’ Cup. Each has 21.

Citizen Bull, last year’s Juvenile winner, set a hot pace with jockey Juan Hernández guiding him through early fractions of 21.74 and 44.96 seconds. In the first turn Nysos settled in fifth under Flavien Prat, who moved forward into second up the backstretch, still two lengths from the lead.

Three-quarters of a mile went in 1:09.08 as Citizen Bull decelerated in the second turn. Nysos moved alongside him in the two path, and the duel was on.

Citizen Bull had a narrow lead through seven-eighths of a mile in 1:21.67, but Nysos dug in and ground out the victory by a head.

The winning time was 1:34.71 on the fast main track.

It was the ninth Breeders’ Cup riding win for Prat, who also piloted Splendora.

Nysos has overcome setbacks throughout his career. This summer foot trouble kept him out of Grade 1 starts in the Pacific Classic and Pennsylvania Derby. The 4-year-old Nyquist colt owned by Baoma Corp had not raced since he won the San Diego Handicap (G2) in July. He missed 15 months between the winter of 2024 and spring of 2025, when he suffered his only loss in seven career starts.

Citizen Bull lost by a head and was followed by Chancer McPatrick in third, Tumbarumba fourth and 2024 winner Full Serrano fifth in the field that was scratched down to eight.

White Abarrio, who won the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic, was a post-parade scratch. He was one of the two horses who was removed from the race by track veterinarians. NBC Sports reported it was because of concern that the 6-year-old horse was lame in his left front leg.

Kentucky Derby 2024 winner Mystik Dan, who was 6-1 on the morning line, was scratched by vets Saturday morning. It was the second horse trained by Kenny McPeek to be taken out of the Breeders’ Cup by California Horse Racing Board doctors. Blackout Time was removed Friday from the Juvenile.

“Both my Breeders’ Cup horses have been scratched by regulatory vets,” McPeek wrote in a Saturday morning post on X. “My team put both these horses on the plane without a single soundness concern. Neither horse has had any history of unsoundness.”

McPeek told Daily Racing Form that he was told there was a problem with the 4-year-old colt’s left ankle.

The Dirt Mile was established in 2007, when the Breeders’ Cup went from a one- to two-day event.