Year in and year out, the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff plays a major role in shaping the championship race for at least one division and often two. A scintillating performance in the marquee U.S. dirt race for females can catapult a racehorse to an Eclipse Award as champion older dirt female of champion 3-year-old filly … and for the 41^st renewal Nov. 2 at Del Mar, there might be even more on the line.

Three-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna has won four Grade 1 races this season and gave champion Fierceness all he could handle when she finished second to him and defeated six other males in the DraftKings Travers Stakes in August. Coming up a head short of Fierceness in the “Mid-Summer Derby” helped elevate Thorpedo Anna into the Horse of the Year discussion. If she wins on Breeders’ Cup weekend while Fierceness and perhaps one or two other highly-rated racehorses do not, the 3-year-old Fast Anna filly might be in line for the top prize at the Eclipse Awards.

Of course, there is significant work to be done for Thorpedo Anna as this edition of the Distaff is far from a ceremonial coronation. Raging Sea beat 2023 Distaff winner Idiomatic, who was retired Oct. 25, head to head two races back and has won three in a row entering the Distaff, while Japanese invader Awesome Result is unbeaten in seven starts. Simply put, this looks like a heck of a horse race.

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The 1 1/8-mile Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff will be televised live nationally on NBC and FanDuel TV with a scheduled post time of 4:21 p.m. ET and also streamed on Peacock.

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Whether you are interested in betting the race or just want to know more about this year’s contenders, we’ve got you covered with our 2024 Breeders’ Cup Distaff Cheat Sheet Presented by 1/ST BET. 

Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO

1. Candied (15-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr. 

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owners: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Bobby Flay

Career record: 8 starts – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $963,925

Earnings per start: $120,491

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 104

Pedigree: Candy Ride – Toni Tools, by Roaring Fever

Color: Bay

Age: 3

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: A Grade 1 winner at age 2, Candied has put together a nice 3-year-old season without getting back to that level of success. She won a stakes race at Monmouth Park in June then finished a distant second to top Distaff contender Thorpedo Anna in the Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks. Candied next led in deep stretch of the Grade 1, 1 ¼-mile Alabama Stakes before coming up a head short to Power Squeeze. In her final prep for the Distaff, the Candy Ride filly faced older females in the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes and finished third, beaten by 7 ¼ lengths by last year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Idiomatic. Candied has finished in the top three in seven of her eight career starts and proved she can handle elite competition, but she would need to take a significant step forward to turn the tables on Thorpedo Anna. Rounding out the exacta or trifecta looks like the ceiling for Candied in the Distaff. Trainer Todd Pletcher has won the Distaff three times among his 15 Breeders’ Cup wins, winning the race with Ashado in 2004, Stopchargingmaria in 2015, and Malathaat in 2022. Co-owner Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, which races Candied with celebrity chef Bobby Flay, was also a part owner of Valiance. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Flay both have won two Breeders’ Cup races. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. picks up the mount on Candied; he has won 20 career Breeders' Cup races but is unplaced in seven starts in the Distaff.

Bet Candied in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Eclipse Sportswire

2. Thorpedo Anna (4-5)

Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.

Trainer: Ken McPeek

Owners: Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks, and Magdalena Racing (Sherri McPeek)

Career record: 9 starts – 7 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $2,803,663

Earnings per start: $311,518

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112

Pedigree: Fast Anna – Sataves, by Uncle Mo

Color: Dark bay or brown

Age: 3

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Thorpedo Anna has placed herself in the running for the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year with a fantastic 2024 campaign. She has won five of her six starts with her lone defeat a runner-up finish to champion Fierceness when facing males in the DraftKings Travers Stakes Aug. 24 at Saratoga Race Course. In the Travers, Thorpedo Anna battled bravely with Fierceness through the stretch and came up a head short in a thrilling edition of the “Mid-Summer Derby.” Against her own division, Thorpedo Anna has dominated 3-year-old fillies, winning the Fantasy Stakes, Longines Kentucky Oaks, DK Horse Acorn Stakes, and Coaching Club American Oaks, all by four lengths or more, prior to the Travers. Thorpedo Anna, who trainer Kenny McPeek calls a “grizzly bear,” made her final prep for the Distaff a winning one and picked up her fourth Grade 1 win of the year in the Cotillion Stakes Sept. 21 at Parx Racing. Thorpedo Anna was challenged in the race, however, and dug in gamely to hold off Gun Song by a neck at 1-10 odds, leading some to speculate that the Travers and a six-race campaign might have taken some of the “grizz” out of this grizzly. She has worked well at Saratoga since that race, however, and has the versatility to stalk, press, or set the pace in her races depending upon what is needed. With six weeks between the Cotillion and the Distaff, expect Thorpedo Anna to be back on her game as a probable heavy Distaff favorite in her first try against older females, a task that became less daunting with the Oct. 25 retirement of Idiomatic. Trainer Kenny McPeek has won many big races throughout his career, including sweeping the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve with Mystik Dan and the Oaks with Thorpedo Anna in May, but he has yet to win a Breeders’ Cup race. Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.’s lone Breeders’ Cup win was a big one – he guided Fort Larned to victory in the 2012 Classic.

Bet Thorpedo Anna in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff

Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photo

3. Batucada (SCRATCHED)

Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.

Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

Owners: Morgan Joseph and Carrie Brogden

Career record: 16 starts – 5 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $263,753

Earnings per start: $16,485

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 97

Pedigree: Union Rags – Lady Pamela, by Tapit

Color: Gray or roan

Age: 4

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Named for a type of music and dance related to samba, Batucada will need more than some fancy moves to be a factor in the 2024 Distaff. She most recently finished second by a head to fellow Distaff contender Raging Sea in the Grade 2 Beldame Stakes Oct. 6. Considering Raging Sea looks like the top threat to probable favorite Thorpedo Anna, that qualifies as a quality prep race and a reason for optimism. The problem is what came before that. Batucada has one career stakes win – on the all-weather surface at Gulfstream Park in June – on her résumé and has mostly had an up-and-down career with plenty of distant unplaced finishes in the mix. Perhaps getting back on dirt after shifting back and forth between turf, all-weather, and dirt earlier in her career was the key to the puzzle, and Batucada did post an 8 ¼-length romp in a one-mile dirt race in May. However, the Breeders’ Cup Distaff is a challenging spot for a filly to earn her first career graded stakes win, so Batucada would need to run the best race of her life, improving her career-best Equibase Speed Figure by at least 10 points, just to have a shot to finish in the top three. Batucada’s trainer, Saffie Joseph Jr., and owners are looking for their first victory in the Breeders’ Cup. Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. owns a pair of Breeders' Cup victories but was unplaced with his lone previous starter in the Distaff.

Bet Batucada in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Japan Racing Association photo

4. Alice Verite (30-1)

Jockey: Kyle Frey

Trainer: Kazuya Nakatake

Owner: Makoto Kato

Career record: 20 starts – 4 wins – 7 seconds – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $789,199

Earnings per start: $39,460

Top Equibase Speed Figure: n/a

Pedigree: Kizuna – Lumiere Verite, by Cozzene

Color: Bay

Age: 4

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Alice Verite ships over from Japan having made all 20 of her lifetime starts on the grass, and she was cross-entered in the Maker’s Mark Filly & Mare Turf with first preference for that race. The 4-year-old Kizuna filly is on the also-eligible list for the Filly & Mare Turf, however, and would need a couple of defections to draw into that race, so there stands a strong chance she instead will compete in the Distaff. In each of her last three starts, all at 1 ¼ miles, Alice Verite opened a huge early lead and dared her opponents to reel her in. She won May 25 and June 16 at Kyoto using these tactics, the second of which came in the Group 3 Mermaid Stakes. Most recently, Alice Verite set the pace and led into the stretch of the Group 3 Niigata Kinen but had no stamina in reserve when challenged, fading to finish 10^th. With 15 top-three finishes in 20 career starts in Japan, Alice Verite has legitimate talent. Prior to her last start, she had been in career best form with three wins and four seconds in her previous seven races, but surface is clearly a huge question. Whether or not she handles the switch from turf to dirt, Alice Verite almost certainly will have a major impact on the pace shape for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Her connections probably will want to avoid dirt kicking back in her face for the first time and send her to the front. We saw Japan’s Marche Lorraine pull off a stunning 49.90-1 upset in this race in 2021 at Del Mar, but I would feel much better about Alice Verite’s chances if she had some experience racing on dirt like countrymate and fellow Distaff contender Awesome Result. This will be the Breeders’ Cup debut for Alice Verite’s connections.

Bet Alice Verite in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

BENOIT photo

5. Sugar Fish (20-1)

Jockey: Tyler Baze

Trainer: Jeff Mullins

Owners: Sweetwater Stable and Talla Racing

Career record: 8 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $310,040

Earnings per start: $38,755

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112

Pedigree: Accelerate – Madeira Park, by Langfuhr

Color: Chestnut

Age: 3

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: The Southern California dirt female division took a significant hit with the retirement of Adare Manor in September, but Sugar Fish stepped up in a big way to fill the void in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes Sept. 29 at Santa Anita Park. She closed from off the pace to win by 1 ½ lengths while posting a new career-top 112 Equibase Speed Figure, tied with Thorpedo Anna for the best among the Distaff contenders. The lightly raced 3-year-old filly has won four of her last five starts since earning her first career victory in her fourth start in March at Santa Anita. Her lone defeat since was a sixth-place finish behind Adare Manor on this track in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Presented by Oak Tree Racing Association Aug. 3. Two concerns with Sugar Fish are that she is unplaced in two races on the main track at Del Mar – the first in her career debut in September 2023 and the second in the Clement Hirsch – and that the Distaff will mark her first try stretching out to 1 1/8 miles. She has two decisive victories at 1 1/16 miles to her credit, so I’m less concerned about the distance but worried she might not care for the dirt surface at Del Mar. Sugar Fish is fast enough to be a factor in the Distaff and there still is some room for growth in the fall of her 3-year-old season. The price might also be right as she very likely will be overshadowed in the betting by Thorpedo Anna, Raging Sea, and unbeaten Japanese invader Awesome Result, so Sugar Fish looks like an intriguing value bet in the Distaff. Sugar Fish’s connections are seeking their first win in the Breeders’ Cup.

Bet Sugar Fish in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Walter Wlodarczyk/NYRA

6. Raging Sea (7-2)

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Chad Brown

Owner: Alpha Delta Stables

Career record: 12 starts – 7 wins – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $1,198,478

Earnings per start: $99,873

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 106

Pedigree: Curlin - Stormy Welcome, by Storm Cat

Color: Chestnut

Age: 4

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Raging Sea finished third in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in 2022. Two years later, she rides a three-race winning streak into the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Distaff and is one of only three horses to finish ahead of Idiomatic in the recently retired champion’s prior 14 races over the last two seasons. Raging Sea rallied past Idiomatic in the closing strides of the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes two starts back in August at Saratoga Race Course, and she prepped for the Breeders’ Cup with a head victory over Batucada in the Grade 2 Beldame Stakes. With six wins in her last seven starts dating back to October 2023, Raging Sea is in terrific form. In terms of speed figures, she took a not insignificant step back in her most recent race, perhaps a negative reaction to that hard-fought win over Idiomatic, but still managed to win. Raging Sea's task got a bit easier with the Oct. 25 retirement of the aforementioned Idiomatic, but she will need to be at the peak of her powers on four weeks of rest to defeat Thorpedo Anna in the Distaff. If she can run an “A” race, Raging Sea is a legitimate win threat in a strong edition of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Trainer Chad Brown has 18 career Breeders’ Cup wins but is seeking his first in the Distaff after three previous runner-up finishes. Jockey Flavien Prat, a five-time Breeders’ Cup winner, also is looking for his first win in the Distaff. Owner Alpha Delta Stables lone previous start in the Breeders’ Cup was Raging Sea’s third in the 2022 Juvenile Fillies.

Bet Raging Sea in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Eclipse Sportswire

7. Honor D Lady (30-1)

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Trainer: Saffie Joseph Jr.

Owners: Final Furlong Farm and Madaket Stables

Career record: 14 starts – 5 wins – 3 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $725,942

Earnings per start: $51,853

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Pedigree: Honor Code – Complicated, by Blame

Color: Dark bay or brown

Age: 4

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Honor D Lady kicked off her 4-year-old season in style with a two-length win in the Grade 3 Royal Delta Stakes in February at Gulfstream Park. Three starts later she won the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap by 5 ½ lengths in July at Delaware Park. Honor D Lady’s problem this year has been inconsistency as she was beaten by 18 ¾ lengths when fading to last of nine in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap in April and most recently was 18 ¼ lengths behind 2023 Distaff winner Idiomatic when fifth of six in the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes. Based upon those two previous starts in Grade 1 races, Honor D Lady faces a difficult challenge against the best competition she has faced in her career in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Rounding out the exacta or trifecta at a nice price looks like the best-case scenario for Honor D Lady provided she brings her “A” game to Del Mar. Co-owner Sol Kumin of Madaket Stables was part-owner of two-time Distaff winner Monomoy Girl under his Monomoy Stables banner. Kumin also has won Breeders’ Cup races under his Madaket, Sheep Pond Partners, and Head of Plains Partners banners. Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and Honor D Lady’s co-owner Final Furlong Farm have not yet won a Breeders’ Cup race. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione picked up his first two World Championship wins in 2022 with Wonder Wheel in the Juvenile Fillies and Caravel in the Turf Sprint; he has only made one prior appearance in the Distaff.

Bet Honor D Lady in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO

8. Miss New York (SCRATCHED)

Jockey: Umberto Rispoli

Trainer: Jorge Delgado

Owner: Amo Racing USA

Career record: 17 starts – 5 wins – 1 second – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $253,842

Earnings per start: $14,932

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 96

Pedigree: Good Magic – Luna Vega, by Malibu Moon

Color: Chestnut

Age: 4

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Miss New York has taken a nice step forward as a 4-year-old. She was unplaced in her return from more than nine months off in July, but improved significantly to win her next two races by open lengths. Miss New York won a 1 1/16-mile allowance race by 3 ½ lengths Aug. 17 and followed with a 1 ¼-length win in the one-mile Twixt Stakes, both at Laurel Park. A stakes winner as a 3-year-old in 2023, Miss New York earned a new career-top Equibase Speed Figure for the Twixt Stakes win and should have something left in the fuel tank in only her fourth start of the year in the Distaff. She finished eighth, beaten by 17 ½ lengths, in her lone previous start in a graded stakes race in the 2023 Monmouth Oaks, and the quality of opposition she will face in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff is multiple rungs higher than what she faced that day. You can never fault connections for swinging for the fences when their horse is doing better than ever, but this will be Miss New York’s first try in a race longer than 1 1/16 miles and looms a monumental test for a filly with only a pair of minor stakes victories to her credit. She has the tactical speed to work out a nice trip just behind the pace, but Miss New York has yet to prove she can be competitive at this level. Miss New York’s trainer, Jorge Delgado, jockey, Umberto Rispoli, and owner are seeking their first win in the Breeders’ Cup; owner Amo Racing USA finished second in the 2023 Juvenile Turf Sprint with Valiant Force and Rispoli finished second in the 2021 Mile aboard Smooth Like Strait.

Bet Miss New York in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

National Association of Racing photo

9. Awesome Result (SCRATCHED)

Jockey: Yutaka Take

Trainer: Yasutoshi Ikee

Owner: Insel Racing Co. Ltd.

Career record: 7 starts – 7 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $911,296

Earnings per start: $130,185

Top Equibase Speed Figure: n/a

Pedigree: Justify – Blossomed, by Deputy Minister

Color: Dark bay or brown

Age: 4

Running style: Stalker/press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Awesome Result is a true wild card in this race having won all seven of her starts in Japan on dirt, the last two coming in stakes races on the NAR circuit, which is where the primary dirt stakes races are in that country but a step down in terms of class from Japan Racing Association races. Nonetheless, Japan has made incredible strides over the last two decades to become a major force on the international stage. Marche Lorraine, winner of the 2021 Distaff at Del Mar, won the Breeders’ Gold Cup at Mombetsu on the NAR circuit, the same race Awesome Result scored a five-length runaway win in her final prep for this year’s Distaff. Awesome Result dueled for the lead in her race before that, the 1 5/16-mile Empress Hai in May at Kawasaki, but settled into a stalking position in the 1 ¼-mile Breeders’ Gold Cup and made her winning move entering the stretch to take command. Distance should be no issue for this 4-year-old filly by 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify as she has won at distances ranging from 1 1/8 miles to 1 5/16 miles, so Awesome Result should have plenty left in deep stretch at Del Mar if others are running out of fuel. Pace, however, could present a problem as I would expect the Distaff to be significantly faster early than what Awesome Result has encountered in Japan, meaning she’ll either have to run faster early to keep up or drop back and make a sustained rally. Winning a Distaff featuring elite 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna among a strong group of U.S.-based females is a tall task, but don’t underestimate Awesome Result’s chances. At the very least, she should be finding her best stride late. Awesome Result’s Japanese connections all are seeking a first Breeders’ Cup win.

Bet Awesome Result in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Hipodromo de Palermo photo

10. Che Evasora (30-1)

Jockey: Tiago Pereira

Trainer: Philip D’Amato

Owner: R Unicorn Stable

Career record: 24 starts – 6 wins – 4 seconds – 6 thirds

Career earnings: $56,785

Earnings per start: $2,366

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 67

Pedigree: Greenspring – Thundery Malice, by Thunder Gulch

Color: Chestnut

Age: 6

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Che Evasora earned a spot in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Distaff by way of a Group 1 win in her native Argentina that was part of the “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series. She shipped north to the U.S. and joined the barn of Phil D’Amato and made her first start for her new trainer in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes Sept. 29 at Santa Anita Park. Che Evasora appeared to be completely outclassed by her four opponents in that race while beaten by 28 ½ lengths by winner Sugar Fish, a fellow Breeders’ Cup Distaff contender. Expect this 6-year-old mare to be among the longest shots in the race and she would need a significant reversal in form in her second U.S. start to be competitive against a very strong field for this race. Jockey Tiago Pereira, trainer Phil D’Amato, and owner R Unicorn Stable are seeking their first win in the Distaff. D’Amato won the Turf Sprint with Obviously in 2016.

Bet Che Evasora in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.