The world's fastest Thoroughbreds compete in the Sprint, sometimes achieving speeds nearing 40 M.P.H. in the stretch. This race is contested at three-quarters of a mile for male and female horses, 3-years-old and older.

Breeders' Cup Sprint

Dr. Venkman

In taking the "Win and You're In" Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar on Aug. 23, Dr. Venkman earned a guaranteed fees-paid spot in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

To prep for a Nov. 1 engagement in the World Championships at Del Mar, Dr. Venkman went postward in the 6-furlong Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2) and finished a solid second, 1 3/4 lengths behind Imagination.

Trainer Mark Glatt liked what he saw when he first eyed Dr. Venkman at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and purchased him as agent for $105,000. The son of Hall of Famer and 2004 Breeders' Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1) winner Ghostzapper has since banked $701,300 with four wins and five seconds in just 11 starts.

"He was on the smaller size as a yearling," Glatt said in a BloodHorse article posted July 23. "He had enough length to him, and I gambled that he'd grow. Today, he's a very nice-looking horse, not big, but not small, either."

According to the article, Dr. Venkman had a tendency to find trouble with a series of mishaps so the decision was made to geld him.

"Of course, that was before we knew he could run," Glatt said.

Unveiled in the summer of his 3-year-old season, Dr. Venkman showed just how well he could run by winning his first two starts by a combined 10 ¾ lengths at Del Mar. In his third start, he was runner-up in Keeneland's Perryville Stakes (Listed) and has since raced exclusively in graded stakes company highlighted by his 2024 San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar and Pat O'Brien triumphs.

Dr. Venkman's ownership group is headed by Mark Cohen of Los Angeles and partners Alipony Racing, Dan Agnew, Clint Bunch and James Hailey.

Lovesick Blues

Lovesick Blues always has been competitive but not at the elite level until July 26 when the 7-year-old gelding circled the field and cruised to a 1 ¾-length triumph in the "Win and You're In" Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) at Del Mar. In addition to improving his record to nine wins in 41 starts and improving his bankroll to $770,000, he gained a guaranteed spot in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) including entry fees.

The Bing Crosby was Lovesick Blues' fifth start for owner-trainer Librado Baracio, who campaigns as Mia Familia Racing Stable. Baracio purchased Lovesick Blues privately from owner-breeder Nicholas Alexander after the gelding's off-the-board finish in an allowance-optional claiming race at Del Mar last summer. For his new connections, Lovesick Blues gained his first stakes victory when he captured the Siren Lure Stakes (Listed) on the Santa Anita turf course in May.

Part of the credit for the Bing Crosby score goes to jockey Geovanni Franco who is well acquainted with Lovesick Blues via training time and in his recent races.

"Turning from home he was doing it just like a morning workout," Franco said immediately after the Bing Crosby. "By the time he hit the stretch, he was all out. I have only been able to ride him in the grass races. And he excels well on the grass, but as far as working him on the main track, he is always dragging me out there. I told Librado, `why not take a chance?'"

Lovesick Blues went to the grass for final tuneup for the Breeders' Cup in the 6 1/2-furlong California Flag Handicap at Santa Anita on Oct. 11. Last early in the field of seven, Lovesick Blues closed fastest of all to finish second a nose shy of favored Man O Rose.

Prior to this year, Lovesick Blues spent the majority of his career in the claiming and allowance ranks with an occasional on-the-board appearance in races restricted to California-breds. He is a son of Grade 3 winner Grazen, who was bred and raced by Alexander and is one of the state's leading sires. Lovesick Blues' dam Queenofhercastle, by Ministers Wild Cat, also produced his full sister Dorie Miller, a steady performer on the Southern California circuit.

Nakatomi

Nakatomi is having his best season yet at age 6. He punctuated the point on Oct. 3 when he scored a neck victory in the "Win And You're In" Phoenix Stakes (G2) at Keeneland after being runner-up the previous two years. He will be trying the Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) for the third consecutive year. His best result was third in 2023 at Santa Anita.

"He's like (20-year NFL quarterback) Brett Favre. He keeps going the older he gets," trainer Welsey Ward said. "We don't run him very many times a year. I think that's what keeps him excited when he comes over (for the race). He only has a few starts each year, so that's contributing to him wanting to do it."

Nakatomi first flashed his brilliance in his debut as 2-year-old at the 2021 Keeneland April meeting and has been a force in the upper echelons since. The gelding has collected nearly $2 million in 24 starts that with a 7-4-7 record. Nakatomi was sold for $25,000 at Fasig-Tipton's October yearling sale in Lexington, Kentucky to Marc Detampel, who campaigned him solely and later in partnership with Qatar Racing and others. The partnership was dissolved when current owners Qatar Racing and Mrs. Fitriani Hay purchased Nakatomi for $205,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale in Lexington, Kentucky.

When not at Ward's Keeneland base, Nakatomi is turned out at Hunter Valley Farm near Lexington, where he receives special treatment.

"After the Breeders' Cup, he'll go to the farm and (manager) Fergus Galvin's little girl rides him," Ward said. "She gives him carrots and rides him bareback. When he gets over to the farm, he switches off. He's like a pony."

Nakatomi's sire Firing Line finished second to American Pharoah in the 2015 Kentucky Derby (G1).

Imagination

Imagination stamped his ticket to the Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) when he overtook fellow Sprint contender and last year's winner Straight No Chaser to capture the Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G2) on Sept. 28. Imagination was content to race on the outside and well behind the front-running Straight No Chaser and others before making a four-wide rally on the turn and cruising past heavily favored Straight No Chaser in the closing yards to win by 1 ¾ lengths. As a "Win and You're In" race, the Santa Anita Championship Stakes gives Imagination a guaranteed fees-paid spot into the Sprint.

Unlike most unraced prospects at public auctions, Imagination already was named when sold for $1,050,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The approach is typical for breeder Peter Blum, who traditionally uses one-word monikers. A little more than a year later, Imagination was at Del Mar for his first two career starts in which he was runner-up. As a newly turned 3-year-old on New Year's Day of 2024, Imagination became a winner at Santa Anita. Two months later, he won the San Felipe Stakes (G2) to become an early contender for the Triple Crown series. He continued competing primarily at the stakes level without winning and went to the sidelines before resurfacing in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship.

"We freshened him up," trainer Bob Baffert said of the win. "He needed a freshening. We gave him a lot of time. He looks beautiful and he has filled out. He's always been a good horse."

Patriot Spirit

Patriot Spirit stamped his ticket to the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) on Sept. 27 when he cruised to a 1 ½-length victory in the Vosburgh Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct for his first graded score. As part of the "Win and You're In" Challenge Series, the triumph gave the 4-year-old son of Constitution a guaranteed fees-paid starting position and travel expenses to Del Mar. A new location should not be an issue for Patriot Spirit as he owns wins at four tracks in his 15-race career that includes a total of six victories.

The Vosburgh success was no surprise to trainer Michael Campbell, who knew Patriot Spirit was ready for an even bigger effort than when he won the Reigh Count Stakes at Virginia's Colonial Downs in July.

"Rarely do I go home at night and dream about how a horse runs because they are supposed to win, especially as the favorite," Campbell said shortly after the Vosburgh. "But when you've been in the game as long as I've been, what happens is you recognize those watershed moments in a horse's career where `this guy is finally turning the corner.' He's run all big races, but it was that race that triggered something in him and in me to come (to the Vosburgh) with confidence."

Owner George Mellon purchased Patriot Spirit for $235,000 at the 2023 Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. March 2-year-olds in training sale. Five months later he romped to a 6-length triumph at Colonial Downs in his career debut. After two unsuccessful efforts in stakes company, Patriot Spirit won the Inaugural Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs to close his juvenile season. The other stakes win on his resume is the 2024 Illinois Derby at Hawthorne Race Course near Chicago.

Straight No Chaser

The champ is back. Straight No Chaser returns to the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) after winning the race last year en route to being crowned Eclipse Award champion sprinter.

The 6-year-old gelding does not race often but he makes every effort count with a sparkling record of seven wins and a $2,660,300 bankroll in just 13 starts. Trainer Dan Blacker, husband of FanDuel TV on-air reporter Christina Blacker, attributes Straight No Chaser's light racing schedule to "little issues."

Last year, Straight No Chaser closed his season by clinching the Sprint at Del Mar with a late stretch rally to score by a half-length after racing just behind the leaders. He opened 2025 with a 3 3/4-length victory in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G2) at Saudi Arabia's King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Feb. 22. In his only other start this year, he finished eighth in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates.

He made his next start Sept. 28 in the "Win And You're In" Santa Anita Sprint Championship (G2) that he won last year. He set the pace in the 6-furlong test until the sixteenth pole when he was collared by Imagination who drew off for a 1 3/4-length victory over Dr. Venkman with Straight No Chaser another half-length back in third.

Straight No Chaser is by Speightster, a son of 2004 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner and Eclipse Award champion sprinter Speightstown. His name - a phrase sometimes used when ordering an adult beverage - is a nod to his dam Margarita Friday, a daughter of 2001 Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner and champion 2-year-old colt Johannesburg. He was purchased for $110,000 at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-year-olds in training sale in Timonium, Maryland, by Myracehorse.com. With micro-shares selling for about $150 each, each Myracehorse.com ownership group has hundreds and sometimes thousands of partners.

Blacker credits the ownership group and jockey Johnny Velazquez for Straight No Chaser's success.

"The whole management team (has) been so patient," he said immediately after the 2024 Santa Anita Sprint Championship score. "Let the horse train himself and don't rush him. They let us give him some time to get right and ready."

Kopion

From her very first start, it was clear that Kopion was something special. In her only start at 2, the Richard Mandella-trained filly was sent off as the 3-10 favorite and she came home a 3 ¾-length winner going 6 ½ furlongs at Del Mar in November 2023.

Dusted off and brought back in the Santa Ynez Stakes (G3) six weeks later, the chestnut drew off to a commanding 5 ¾-length score in Santa Anita's 7-furlong test. Second to the highly regarded Kinza in the 1-mile Las Virgenes Stakes (G3) the following month, Kopion was a distant fourth behind Nothing Like You and runner-up Kinza in the 1 1/16-mile Santa Anita Oaks (G2) in April.

Shelved through most of the remainder of her 3-year-old season, Kopion was overlooked at 37-1 odds when returning in Santa Anita's La Brea Stakes (G1) while going 7 furlongs in late December and she proved up to the task, winning by 2 ¾ lengths. Showing her affinity for the 7-furlong distance, she followed up with a 4 1/2-length score over Hope Road in the Santa Monica Stakes (G2) in February before making it three straight when defeating Hope Road and race favorite Ways and Means in the sloppy renewal of the Derby City Distaff Stakes (G1) on May 3.

Heavily favored to keep the streak alive in the Great Lady M Stakes (G2) at Los Alamitos on July 5, Kopion finished second by 1 1/2 lengths to Grade 1 winner Sweet Azteca, who set a track record in the 6 ½-furlong race.

A $270,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase in 2022, Kopion is campaigned by Spendthrift Farm, who also stands Kopion's sire, Omaha Beach. The Kentucky-bred filly, a fourth-generation homebred, was bred by two-time Sovereign Award-winning breeder Ivan Dalos, founder of Tall Oaks Farm. Kopion's dam, unraced Galloping Ami, won the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Broodmare in 2016, the year she was represented by graded stakes winners Ami's Flatter and Amis Gizmo, also named Canada's champion 3-year-old colt.

Banishing

Banishing, bought from the Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale in 2024 for $80,000, has become a millionaire in 2025 for owners Larry Roman and David Jacobson, who also trains Banishing.

Kicking off his year with a victory in the Byerley Turk Overnight Stakes at Oaklawn Park, he since has developed into a winning graded stakes performer. In the spring, he captured the Oaklawn Mile (G3) and this summer he added the Aug. 22 Charles Town Classic (G2) - with a win in the July 20 Jeff Hall Memorial Stakes at Ellis Park preceding the former race.

Some of his losses in 2025 were brave efforts - such as when he finished in a dead heat for second with Nysos in the 7-furlong Churchill Downs Stakes (G1). They were beaten just a neck by Mindframe, one of the top older horses in the country and another contender for the Nov. 1 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar.

A versatile horse capable of racing close to the pace or from farther behind the leaders, Banishing rallied from sixth in the Charles Town Classic, notching his first win at 1 1/8 miles under jockey Tyler Gaffalione. He won going away by 2 1/4 lengths.

Banishing signed on for another 1 1/8-mile test at Churchill Downs on Sept. 27 for the Lukas Classic (G2). On this day he did not have the best racing luck as he was steadied in the stretch while in tight quarters and finished third, 4 1/2 lengths behind the victorious Mystik Dan.

Banishing's other victories in 2025 preceding the Charles Town Classic were over distances ranging from 6 furlongs to a mile.

A 5-year-old gelded son of Ghostzapper out of the A.P. Indy mare Dowager, Banishing always had the bloodlines for high achievement. Four of his dam's five starters are winners, including the stakes-placed Nonsensical.

Ghostzapper, who turned 25 this year, won the 2004 Breeders' Cup Classic at Lone Star Park during a Horse of the Year campaign.

Brendan Walsh initially trained Banishing for owner-breeder Godolphin before Banishing joined Jacobson's stable following the Fasig-Tipton sale in the summer of 2024.

Durante

Durante has been with a series of trainers and owner combinations though his career but once David Jacobson took over both roles in mid 2023, his fortunes took a turn for the better.

The Distorted Humor gelding got things going in the summer of 2021 at Del Mar, perhaps fitting for a horse sharing a name with a Hollywood legend. He got his first win in his third start and then-trainer Doug O'Neill gave him a chance to show what he could do in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2). He finished fourth in that and expectations were ratcheted down.

After a string of disappointments, he was claimed for $20,000 at Del Mar on Aug. 19, 2022. He perked up for the new connections with two wins and two seconds over the next 10 months, then changed hands again, to Jacobson, and moved east.

In his first start for the new barn, he won a humble conditioned allowance event at Penn National Aug. 2 and followed with victories at Saratoga and Aqueduct while rapidly scaling the class ladder. That got him to the Bold Ruler Stakes (G3) Oct. 27 and he won that as favorite, then followed with a runner-up effort in the Fall Highweight Handcap (G3).

The 2024 campaign and first half of 2025 showed some regression while Durante chased some quality rivals on turf and dirt in the Midwest and East Coast. He returned to prominence with a victory in the Aristides Stakes (G3) at 6 furlongs on the Churchill Downs dirt on May 31.

Still switching back and forth from dirt to turf, he finished third in the Kelly's Landing Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs, fourth in the Jeff Hall Memorial at Ellis Park, ninth in the Mint Kentucky Turf Sprint (G2) at Kentucky Downs and fifth in the Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes (Listed) back under the Twin Spires.

In the Phoenix Stakes (G2) on the Keeneland dirt Oct. 3, facing some top sprinters, he took the lead in the stretch but yielded to a sustained drive by Nakatomi and settled for second.

The 7-year-old is out of the Pioneerof the Nile mare Seahawk Girl. He was bred in Kentucky by William Humphries and Altair Farms, LLC.

Mullikin

Mullikin returns to the Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) after finishing third as the favorite last year. As he did last season, Mullikin tuned up for the Sprint in the Forego Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. But instead of taking home the trophy again in 2025, Mullikin checked in a distant seventh as the second choice. Prior to that he was second best behind highly regarded speedster Book'em Danno at Saratoga in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes (G2) and True North Stakes (G3).

The 5-year-old Mullikin has been remarkably consistent throughout his 15-race career in which he has a 5-6-1 record and more than $1.1 million in earnings. He first arrived in trainer Rodolphe Brisset's care as an unraced 2-year-old late in the season. Brisset recognized that he was something of a late bloomer.

"Sometimes a horse just needs time and that is how Mullikin was," Brisset said in a 2024 interview with Thoroughbred Daily News. "He was healthy, continued to have a beautiful physical, but the maturity needed time and we gave it to him when he needed it."

Early in the winter of his sophomore season, Mullikin was runner-up in his first two starts. He then sailed to his initial triumph by 10 ¼ lengths on May 27, 2023 at Churchill Downs. He became a stakes winner the following year in the John A. Nerud Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct seven weeks before the Forego score.

Mullikin was purchased for $500,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale by Maverick Racing, the buying arm of current owner WinStar Farm.

Mad House

From early summer to late summer, Mad House rose from a non-winner to a graded stakes winner and Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) contender. He earned that new status via a front-running triumph as a 23-1 longshot in the Gallant Bob Stakes (G2) on Sept. 20 at Parx.

Three months earlier, Mad House entered the starting gate at Canterbury Park near Minneapolis as the overwhelming favorite against six others seeking their initial victories. After five attempts at earning a trip to the winner's circle, Mad House made amends by cruising home by 11 ½ lengths after leading throughout. He used the same strategy to capture allowance races at Canterbury on July 23 and Aug. 23. With the Canterbury season coming to a close and Mad House in top form, trainer David VanWinkle capitalized on the 3-year-old gelding's improvement by shipping him 1,200 miles east to the Gallant Bob.

"Even if we got a piece of it, I would have been happy," VanWinkle said shortly after the race.

Mad House gave VanWinkle his first graded victory. Since starting his training career in 1989, VanWinkle has won more than 1,100 races while competing primarily at Canterbury Park, Turf Paradise and Tampa Bay Downs.

From the first crop of Vekoma, Mad House was a $47,000 purchase by current owner Jim Thares at the 2024 Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s April 2-year-olds in training sale. He debuted in January with a second-place finish and then was third in another Tampa Bay maiden race. After three more losses, he gained his first win in the aforementioned Canterbury race.

Smoken Wicked

After winning at Louisiana's Evangeline Downs in his career debut, Smoken Wicked went straight to the big time. Just a month later, his next start was his second-place finish in the Bashford Manor (Listed) at Churchill Downs on June 30, 2024. Except for his allowance victory at Churchill in November, he has raced exclusively in stakes events. The 3-year-old colt now steps up to racing's grandest stage in the Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).

Smoken Wicked has been effective against elite company in races that include his victory in the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga in July and third-place finish in the 2024 Saratoga Special Stakes (G2). He gained his fourth stakes victory on Sept. 20 when he captured Churchill's Harrods Creek Stakes. His other two added-money scores were against fellow Louisiana-breds at Fair Grounds.

A $38,000 purchase by current owner Valene Farms at the 2023 Breeders Sales of Louisiana Yearling and Mixed Sale, Smoken Wicked's sire is graded stakes winner Bobby's Wicked One, a son of 2004 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner and Eclipse Award champion Speightstown.

Smoken Wicked is trained by Dallas Stewart who is known for productive results with longshots in high-profile events including second-place Kentucky Derby (G1) finishes by Commanding Curve (at 37.80 in 2014) and Golden Soul (34.50-to-1 in 2013). Stewart's two Breeders' Cup triumphs came in the Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) in 2017 with Forever Unbridled and 2001 with Unbridled Elaine.

Bentornato

Bentornato returns to the Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) after a gallant runner-up performance in last year's edition in which he battled the front-runner and grabbed command in midstretch as a 28-to-1 longshot. He was overtaken in the closing yards by Straight No Chaser, a Sprint contender again this year. Bentornato then went to the sidelines and re-emerged with a score in the listed Louisville Thoroughbred Society Stakes at Churchill Downs on Sept. 13 in his first start of the year.

"Our goal is to get back to the Sprint and this was a great spot to get him back to the races," trainer Jose D'Angelo said after the victory. "We'll see how he comes out of this race to see if he needs another start before the Breeders' Cup, but he seems to be a horse that may not need to have another start."

Bentornato never has finished worse than third in a 10-race career that includes six victories. As a 2-year-old in 2023 at Gulfstream Park, he captured his first two career starts and then competed in a series of races for offspring of Florida-based stallions.

He launched his 3-year-old campaign in the Saudi Derby (G3) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh where he was a gallant third behind the victorious Forever Young (JPN) who went on to finish third in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Bentornato then finished second in the listed Robert Hilton Memorial Stakes at Charles Town in West Virginia and stepped up to the U.S. graded ranks with a game win in the Gallant Bob Stakes (G2) at Parx Racing near Philadelphia as a prep for last year's Sprint.

After selling for $170,000 at the 2023 Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. March sale of 2-year-olds in training, Bentornato has campaigned for Leon King Stable Corp. He is a son of Valiant Minister, who has sired a steady stream of winners from limited offspring. Valiant Minister easily won his only start after being a highly regarded prospect who sold for $680,000 as an unraced 2-year-old.

Watchatalkingabout

** coming soon **

Dragon Welds

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American Stage

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Puro Magic (JPN)

** coming soon **

What is the Breeders Cup' Sprint?

The Breeders' Cup Sprint (Grade 1) has been a popular racing event since the inauguration of Breeders' Cup in 1984. At present, this horse racing event carries a purse of $1.5 million and has proven a nightmare for handicappers among the Breeders' Cup races. As a champion event, the Breeders' Cup Sprint has become a platform where none can predict which horse is going to perform best on that very day. In fact, in seven of the Breeders' Cup Sprint races, the winner was decided by a distance of neck or less than that. So, from the result itself we can measure the level of competition in this race.

Browsing the history of Breeders' Cup Sprint, we find the 1990 session. The 1989 champion, Safely Kept, fought brilliantly head-to-head battle with English invader Dayjur - favorite of that race; inside the furlong pole, Dayjur suddenly took the command over but only forty yards away from the finishing line, he jumped the shadow of Belmont Park's grandstand and lost his action for a few moment. Those missteps were enough for the favorite, Safety Kept, to regain the lead and hold on for a neck victory.

In seven of the Breeders' Cup Sprint races, the winner was decided by a distance of neck or less than that.

On October 27, 2007, Midnight Lute, trained by multiple Kentucky Derby winner, Bob Baffert, scored the most important victory of his career when he won the six-furlong Breeders' Cup Sprint at Monmouth Park, ridden by Garrett Gomez. Coming from last to first, he won by 4 3/4 lengths over a sloppy track in a time of 1:09.18. In his next visit to Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita Park on October 25th, 2008, he finished the six-furlong dash in a final time of 1:07:08 on a fast track making Midnight Lute the first horse to ever repeat in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

In the 2000, Kona Gold snatched the winning title while the Java Gold gelding placed third in 1998, second in 1999 and finally won the race at six. In fact the favorite takes it all in this race! We all are expecting the same trend of results in this year too. The 2009 winner of the Breeders' Cup Sprint, Dancing in Silks, shared 2009 California Horse of the Year honors with California Flag.

2025 BREEDERS' CUP RACE SCHEDULE