RICKELLE NELSON
ANNE M. EBERHARDT
KNICKS GO
Knicks Go won the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Classic after taking the Breeders’ Cup Mile the year before. The Horse of the Year retired to stud at Taylor Made Stallions.
PHOTO ALBUM
Classic Connections
Many Breeders’ Cup Classic winners have retired to prestigious Central Kentucky farms, where they perpetuate the breed and welcome fans
F
ew accomplishments in racing equal winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Te late-season contest brings together the world’s best middle-distance dirt runners, many of whom already have won a Kentucky Derby, Breeders’ Cup, or other prestigious grade 1 race. Some of the sport’s most indelible moments have played out during the mile-and-a-quarter Classic. Tiznow,
52
SUMMER 2022
K KEENELAND.COM
for example, not only defeated a stubborn European rival in Giant’s Causeway in 2000 but he did it again in 2001 when he turned back Sahkee. Now retired as a stallion, Tiznow is the only horse to win two runnings of the Classic. Te great mare Zenyatta nearly won the race twice, but an unyielding Blame denied her the repeat in 2010. In 2015, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah thrilled fans at Keeneland when he toured the stretch in isolated glory. And in 2021, Knicks Go ran away with the Classic, having won the Breeders’ Cup Mile the year before.
