Liam's Map, who just missed capturing the Whitney four weeks ago, leads a field of eight horses for the $600,000 Woodward this Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., for the live telecast of the "Summer at Saratoga, Breeders' Cup Challenge Series - Presented by Lane's End Farm" at 5 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
The 1 1/8 mile Woodward, for 3-year-olds and up in the Breeders' Cup Classic division, is the sixth of 10 telecasts under the "Breeders' Cup Challenge Series - Presented by Lane's End" banner of automatic qualifying races leading into the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Oct. 30-31, which will be televised live on
NBCSN and
NBC from Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. Saturday's show will also include the Spinaway Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, a "Win and You're In" qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
Laffit Pincay III hosts live coverage from Saratoga, joined by analysts Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey, the Hall of Fame jockey, five-time Breeders' Cup Classic winner, reporter Carolyn Manno, analyst/handicapper Bob Neumeier, and race caller Larry Collmus. Daily Racing Form's Matt Bernier will also serve as handicapper.
Liam's Map, the 6-5 favorite, is one of four starters in the race from trainer Todd Pletcher's barn. The 4-year-old colt is coming off a giant effort in the Whitney on August 8 at Saratoga, in which he set a terrific pace and nearly took the star-studded field from start-to-finish before being picked up by Honor Code in the final jumps. Ridden by Javier Castellano from post position 2, Liam's Map had won four consecutive races coming into the Whitney.
The biggest danger to Liam's Map could come from Godolphin Stable's Bay of Plenty, trained by Kiaran McLaughlin. A 4-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro, Bay of Plenty stepped into stakes winning company on August 9 when he captured the Alydar Stakes at Saratoga from the start. Bay of Plenty, ridden by Joel Rosario, is 5-for-9 lifetime, and may be poised to deliver on the high promise he's shown throughout his career.
Among the other candidates in the Woodward are two horses trained by Jimmy Jerkens, the 4-year-old Effinex, a stretch runner who won the Suburban at Belmont Park in July, and Wicked Strong, who won last year's Wood Memorial and finished second in the 2014 Travers by a nose.
Pletcher's three other Woodward starters are Mike Repole's Coach Inge, who was third in Suburban in his last start, and won the Brooklyn Handicap earlier this year; Goldmark Farm's Mylute, second in the Alydar Stakes and Sumaya Stable's Protonico, who won the Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs on May 1.
As an added element to the racing action, fans can also get into the excitement of the Travers, which offers them the chance to correctly select the exact order of finish of the race and win a trip the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The game is free to enter and play, and fans can register and submit their picks for each race online at: http://www.milliondollarfinish.com/. The fantasy player with the highest score for each designated race will win a once-in-a-lifetime VIP trip for two to the sold-out 2015 Breeders' Cup. Along with the 10 chances to win during the Challenge Series, fans can enter for a shot at the ultimate prize of $1 million during the Breeders' Cup World Championships by predicting the correct order for the top 10 finishers in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic, which will air on Saturday, October 31 on NBC.
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About Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup administers the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Thoroughbred racing's year-end Championships. The Breeders' Cup also administers the Breeders' Cup Challenge qualifying series, which provides automatic starting positions into the Championships races. The 2015 Breeders' Cup World Championships, consisting of 13 grade I races and purses totaling $26 million, will be held October 30-31 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., and will be televised live by the
NBC Sports Group. Breeders' Cup press releases appear on the Breeders' Cup Web site, www.breederscup.com. You can also follow the Breeders' Cup on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
No purchase necessary to enter or win. The Promotion registration period begins on or about April 28, 2015 at 12:01 a.m. ET and ends on October 31, 2015 at 5:40 p.m. ET. Promotion is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States & D.C., who are 18 years of age or older. See Official Rules at www.MillionDollarFinish.com/rules for exact registration times for each race, additional eligibility restrictions, prize descriptions/restrictions/ARVs and complete details. Void where prohibited. PROMOTION IS DEVISED AS A NON-GAMBLING PROMOTION and is intended solely for entertainment purposes. Promotion is sponsored by Breeders' Cup Limited. Breeders' Cup Limited is the sole sponsor of the Promotion.
NBC Sports and NBCUniversal Media, LLC are not sponsors of the Promotion and are not associated with the administration of the Promotion in any way. Entrants are providing information to sponsors and not to
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