2014: Bayern\u2019s bumpy win<\/p>\n
The most-debated Breeders\u2019 Cup race<\/a> sees Bob Baffert-trained Bayern and Martin Garcia win the Classic at 6-1 odds at Santa Anita. The 3-year-old and runnerup Toast of New York both come in at the start, favorite Shared Belief and Bayern\u2019s would-be early-pace rival Moreno getting the worst of the bumping. Stewards make no change after an incident that would have brought a DQ in an everyday race. The only worse controversy: Modern Games and William Buick being prematurely scratched after trouble in the starting gate in the 2021 Juvenile Turf at Del Mar, then allowed to run for purse money but without wagering, and rallying to win to the frustration of those who\u2019d bet on him.<\/p>\n 2016: Arrogate vs. California Chrome<\/p>\n In only his sixth start, Arrogate, with Smith aboard, gives Baffert a third straight Classic victory (following Bayern and American Pharoah), getting past Cal-bred crowd favorite California Chrome by a half length\u00a0in a thriller at Santa Anita<\/a>. Arrogate is voted 3-year-old champion but California Chrome is Horse of the Year.<\/p>\n It took the Arrogate-California Chrome duel to upstage\u00a0the previous day\u2019s nose win by Beholder<\/a>\u00a0and Gary Stevens over Songbird and Smith in the Distaff battle of future Hall of Famers. It\u2019s the Mandella-trained 6-year-old Beholder\u2019s third Breeders\u2019 Cup race win and clinches her fourth Eclipse Award, for outstanding older female. It\u2019s Jerry Hollendorfer-trained favorite 3-year-old Songbird\u2019s first loss in 12 races.<\/p>\n 2023: Cody\u2019s Wish fulfilled<\/p>\n Five-year-old Cody\u2019s Wish\u2019s repeat win with Junior Alvarado in the Dirt Mile at Santa Anita clinches\u00a0Horse of the Year and\u00a0makes him synonymous with \u201cfeel-good story.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Cody\u2019s Wish\u00a0is\u00a0named for Cody Dorman, a Kentucky boy born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Dorman, who\u2019s\u00a0in the winner\u2019s circle, dies\u00a0at age 17 while traveling home from California with his family.<\/p>\n California\u2019s Breeders\u2019 Cup highlights extend beyond the state\u2019s borders to what California-based horses have done elsewhere. They include Sunday Silence beating Easy Goer in the 1989 Classic in Florida, Tiznow\u2019s repeat Classic win over Europe\u2019s Sakhee in 2001 in New York (\u201cTiznow wins it for America!\u201d, Durkin said the month after 9\/11), and Flightline\u2019s Classic-record 8-1\/4-length win in 2022 in Kentucky.<\/p>\n Now, California can add more to the Breeders\u2019 Cup, and vice versa. The event Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar will mark the third in a row in the state and the 18th overall here, but the last here for at least three years.<\/p>\n![\"Beholder](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/img_1104_spo_ldn-l-breed_4_1_gmjsfth_22742615_142676.jpg\")
Beholder and jockey Gary Stevens, left, win the Longines Breeders\u2019 Cup Distaff in a photo finish with Songbird and jockey Mike Smith in 2016 at Santa Anita. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News\/SCNG)
\n2016: Beholder vs. Songbird<\/p>\n