The Breeders’ Cup: California Chrome, the experience and the races

It all began one afternoon while I was in my dorm. The Breeders’ Cup, the world championships of horse racing, was coming to Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Oct. 31-Nov. 1, and I thought it would be an interesting experience covering the event for the Daily Trojan. I contacted Aubrey, one of the Daily Trojan sports editors, and told her about my idea. Aubrey liked the idea and found where I could sign up for a press credential to cover the Breeders’ Cup. After filling out some paperwork and a few phone calls later, I was approved to receive a press credential for the biggest annual weekend of horse racing.

The main reason I was interested in covering the Breeders’ Cup was to see California Chrome, a horse who had won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness earlier in the year, race in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

I was born and raised in Yuba City, California, which is where one of California Chrome’s owners, Perry Martin, resides. Though I’m a big sports fan and have ridden horses before, I rarely watched horse racing. When I heard about California Chrome’s connection to Yuba City, I decided to watch the Kentucky Derby to root for California Chrome. After watching California Chrome take victory, I became an instant fan of his and suddenly became interested in horse racing. After hearing about California Chrome’s backstory about how his sire and dam had mediocre racing records and how California Chrome was bred for only $10,000, I had even more reason to root for him when he ran in and won the Preakness a few weeks later.

When California Chrome attempted to win the Belmont Stakes and horse racing’s first Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978, Yuba City held a huge celebration and viewing party for the race on Plumas Street in the business district. When I heard that this was going to happen, I made sure I was there. Despite the triple digit temperatures in Yuba City that day, fans of California Chrome came from far and wide to attend the event. Plumas Street was lined with music and business booths, and two big monitors were set up at the ends of Plumas Street that showed the race live. Unfortunately, California Chrome finished fourth in the Belmont Stakes. Nevertheless, I loved being there and seeing my hometown come together to celebrate the accomplishments of an athlete who had a connection to Yuba City. Thus, when I received approval for a press credential, I was filled with joy that I was finally was going to see the horse that impacted me, and my entire hometown of Yuba City, race live.

On Friday, I raced off to Santa Anita Park after getting out of my last class at 1pm. I was able to get to the race course and find my way to the auxiliary press box before the first Breeders’ Cup race started. There was food and water for the press members and the view of the track was stunning. The difficult thing about the press box was that the view during races was not the greatest. Since the press box was situated towards the end of the front stretch, I couldn’t tell what horses were leading and by how much when they were coming to the finish line, so I had to look up at the video boards to find out that information. This, in my opinion, took away the unique advantage of being at the races live. However, at the beginning of races, the press had the best seat in the house as the horses would run very close to our section at top speeds.

The first Breeders’ Cup race, the Juvenile Turf, did not disappoint. The Juvenile Turf, a mile race ran on turf that is restricted to two-year-old male horses, was won by Hootenanny, a colt that had a 2-1-1 record in four races coming into the event. Hootenanny, who started the race from post five with 6-1 odds, stayed in the top three for most of the race before making his final charge to the front late and winning by ¾ of a length over second place finisher Luck of the Kitten.

Next up was the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, which is open to three-year-olds and up. 2013’s victor and odds-on favorite, Goldencents, was slated to retire from racing following the race regardless of the outcome. Goldencents had a lifetime record of six wins and seven runner-up finishes in his 17 career races coming into the Dirt Mile. As if it was meant to be, Goldencents brought home the victory in the Dirt Mile for the second year in a row, despite fierce competition from horses Vicar’s in Trouble and Tapiture during the eight furlong race. Goldencents and Vicar’s in Trouble created a huge gap between themselves and the rest of the field in the early going. However, as the race went on, Vicar’s in Trouble faded and Tapiture began to make his move towards the front. It would not be enough as Goldencents held Tapiture off just long enough to get the win by 1 ¼ lengths.

Then came the Juvenile Fillies Turf, which was restricted to two-year-old female horses. Lady Eli, who had won in both of her only career starts, showed why she was the odds-on favorite in dominant fashion. Starting inside from post four, Lady Eli won the mile race in 1:33.41, which was 1.38 seconds faster than Hootenanny’s winning time in the Juvenile Turf. On top of that, Lady Eli’s time was the fastest ever recorded in Juvenile Fillies Turf. Lady Eli ultimately won by 2 ¾ lengths over second place finisher Sunset Glow.

The final Breeders’ Cup event on the Friday card was the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The Distaff is limited to female horses three years old and older. Untapable, who sported seven wins in ten career races, became the third horse of the day to be the odds-on favorite in a Breeders’ Cup race and win. Untapable raced in mid-pack for most of the race, then turned on the jets near the end to take over the lead from Iotapa. Untapable would win by 1 ¼ lengths over second place finisher Don’t Tell Sophia, who beat Iotapa to the finish line by a nose.

After the first day of racing had ended, I walked to the stables to try and find California Chrome since the stables were a place media members were allowed. I was surprised that there were not too many extra people in the stable area, especially since media were allowed access. Knowing California Chrome’s barn and stall number, I was able to find him fairly quickly. It was great to see him in person, especially since not many people were around other than guards watching over all the barns to ensure the protection of all the race horses. This made the meeting more private and special to me. Although I was not allowed to surpass a white post about eight feet or so in front of California Chrome’s stall, I was still able to get a good view of Chrome and even was able to take a few pictures before darkness settled and I had to head back to campus.

The next morning, I awoke to my alarm clock at 4:30 a.m. and was off to Santa Anita Park once again a little after 5 a.m. I was hoping to get to see California Chrome one last time before he went off to race later that day in the Classic. I arrived at the track around 5:30 a.m. and walked around the paddock area for a few minutes, thinking it was too early to go into the stables. I was able to get some pictures of the famous statues near the paddock and also read about some of the greatest moments in Breeders’ Cup history that were posted in the same area. I also paid a visit to Clocker’s Corner near the beginning of the front stretch and it was actually fairly busy for that time of the morning.

A little after 6 a.m., I finally made my way to California Chrome’s stall. The walk was quite muddy due to all the rain that had fallen, so I had to be careful not to get my formal clothes dirty. When I arrived, California Chrome’s trainers Art and Alan Sherman were there and so was Raul Rodriguez, California Chrome’s groom. I exchanged a few words with Art about how I came from Yuba City and how California Chrome had impacted both me and Yuba City. In fact, with every member from the California Chrome camp I talked to, I mentioned my Yuba City connection. An NBC Sports crew then showed up and took an interview with Art Sherman. A short time later, California Chrome’s main photographer, Kathleen Waldvogel, arrived to see California Chrome. While she was there, she gave me some helpful suggestions on how I could become a better sports photographer based on how she captures her photographs. I continued to stay at California Chrome’s stall area for quite some time, taking some more photographs and just being happy that I could see this special, personable, beautiful, hometown race horse so up close.

When I finally left California Chrome’s stall area, I journeyed down to Clocker’s Corner once again, hoping to find California Chrome’s owners. While I was not able to find Martin, I did find California Chrome’s other owner, Topaz Lake, Nevada native Steve Coburn. I talked to Coburn briefly and someone also volunteered to take our picture together. After that encounter, I spent some time talking to one of the Breeders’ Cup volunteers before heading to the auxiliary press box for another great day of racing.

The first Breeders’ Cup race of the day, the 1 1/16 mille Juvenile Fillies, produced perhaps the biggest upset of the entire weekend. Take Charge Brandi, a horse that had only one career win and 61.70-1 odds of winning, shocked everyone by winning the race in 1:41.95 by ½ a length over Top Decile, who was one of the favorites. The finish was so unexpected that, in terms of betting, a correct $1 superfecta bet paid $97,620.

The Filly and Mare Turf (1 ¼ miles) saw another upset, albeit it was not anywhere near the extent of what happened in the Juvenile Fillies race. Dayatthespa, at 11-2 odds, led the entire race and brought home her 11^th career victory. Dayatthespa finished 1 ¼ lengths ahead of second place finisher Stephanie’s Kitten. The favorite, Dank, who was 2013 champion of the race, finished in fourth 1 ¾ lengths back.

The first Breeders’ Cup race of the day that had an odds-on favorite win was the Filly and Mare Sprint. Judy the Beauty, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint runner-up, held off second place finisher Better Lucky down the stretch to win by a head in the seven furlong race. Judy the Beauty’s winning time was 1:21.92. The victory also gave jockey Mike Smith his unprecedented 21^st Breeders’ Cup victory.

The Turf Sprint was ran at an even shorter distance of approximately 6 ½ furlongs. Three-year-old colt Bobby’s Kitten, who started from post six, made an unbelievable run in the home stretch, going from dead last to first on the outside and stealing the win from the odds-on favorite No Nay Never by half a length in a time of 1:12.73. The victory was Bobby’s Kitten’s fifth career win in 11 starts.

Next up was the Juvenile. Two race competitors, Calculator and early favorite American Pharaoh, were scratched from the event due to injuries. With American Pharaoh out, Carpe Diem became the odds-on favorite to win. However, like most of the Breeders’ Cup races that had already been ran on Saturday, the favorite did not come home as the victor. Instead, Texas Red reached the finish line first in the 1 1/16 mile race with a time of 1:41.91. Texas Red had stayed at the back of the pack in the early part of the race, but then charged to the front, took the lead on the outside, and increased his lead in the final few hundred yards to win by an impressive 6 ½ lengths over Carpe Diem, who placed second. The win was only the second of Texas Red’s young career and his first Grade 1 stakes victory.

In the $3 million Turf, five-year-old Main Sequence shined bright in the final portion of the race, taking the lead from Flintshire and winning the 12 furlong event with a time of 2:24.91. Flintshire finished second half a length back and Telescope, the odds-on favorite, finished outside the top three in fourth place 2 ¼ lengths behind Main Sequence. The win was Main Sequence’s fourth straight in a Grade 1 race since he came to trainer Graham Motion’s barn earlier in 2014 after being based in Great Britain.

The shortest race of the Breeders’ Cup was the Sprint, which was only 6 furlongs (3/4 of a mile) in length. Work All Week, who came into the race with 11 wins in 14 starts, stayed near the front for the majority of the race before making his move late and finishing half a length ahead of the 2013 Sprint winner Secret Circle. The win was the first Grade 1 victory for both Work All Week and his trainer Roger Brueggemann. In addition, with the win, Work All Week remains undefeated on dirt in his career.

The final race before the Classic was the Mile. At 30-1 odds, Karakontie rallied late to beat second place finisher Anodin and third place finisher Trade Storm. The Mile was the first race on U.S. soil for Karakontie, who was bred in Japan and had only been previously raced in France. Karakontie had previously raced in eight events and won four of them.

With 12 races down, there was only one left to go: the famous Breeders’ Cup Classic. At the start, Bayern, who started in post position seven, immediately darted to his left. This caused the horses on the inside, including the undefeated Shared Belief, to bump into each other and fall back. Bayern was able to take the lead early and he would never give it up, despite stiff competition from Toast of New York and California Chrome (both of whom started outside of Bayern) down the stretch. In fact, Toast of New York finished second by a nose and California Chrome finished third by a neck to Bayern. At the conclusion of the race, there was a stewards’ inquiry regarding Bayern’s actions at the start of the race and if his actions ultimately changed the outcome of the race. After a few intense minutes, the stewards decided to not disqualify Bayern and gave him the win, citing that the interference did not affect the outcome of the race. With Bayern’s victory, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert earned his first Breeders’ Cup Classic victory. The call was controversial and met with criticism by some horse racing fans claiming that the interference indeed hindered the chances of Shared Belief and the other horses on the inside.

After the stewards released their final verdict on the interference, I walked out of Santa Anita Park planning to head home. However, I stopped in the parking lot and decided to go see California Chrome one last time, in case I never saw him in person again. When I arrived at California Chrome’s stable, there were more people than usual around California Chrome’s stall. California Chrome had not made his way back to his stall yet, so I talked to some of California Chrome’s camp members. Art Sherman was leaving, so I said my final good-bye and thank you to him on his training of California Chrome. I also talked to some people who were working for HRTV about internship opportunities at the network. As the conversations continued around the stall area, and with the white post that separated the press from the horses removed, I asked and was allowed to go past where that white post would have been. To me, that was a great feeling. Moments later, everyone had to move over as California Chrome made his way into the barn area. Despite having just run a hard race, California Chrome was calm and looked great. Members of the California Chrome camp and myself expressed how proud and happy we were with California Chrome’s performance. A few minutes later, I made my way out of the stables and headed back to USC from Santa Anita Park for the final time.

The Breeders’ Cup weekend was one I will never forget. I can’t thank the Daily Trojan and the Breeders’ Cup enough for this opportunity I received. I met so many great people, especially the members of the California Chrome camp, during my two days at Santa Anita Park. I loved telling people about my Yuba City connection to California Chrome and I was also able to give out some of my sports reporting business cards to potential contacts that I met, like the NBC Sports and HRTV crews. The fact I was able to see California Chrome on three different occasions, up close, almost privately, and for long periods of time was simply amazing for me. California Chrome, in my opinion, is a hero in Yuba City and I felt so proud to be a Yuba City citizen that day when the city held a festival for California Chrome. For every sport and team I became interested in watching and covering, there was a catalyst. To me, California Chrome was the catalyst for my interest in horse racing. I’m so glad that California Chrome’s owners have decided to race him next year as a four-year-old and I can’t wait to continue following California Chrome’s journey. Who knows, maybe if he races in the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky next year, I just may do this experience all over again.