The $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) usually features an East vs. West showdown.
Yet the Oct. 31 edition of the champion-making race at Del Mar offers a matchup with more pizzazz than normal.
This time it will be widely heralded, unbeaten horses squaring off from the barns of Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher, the Hall of Fame trainers who have dominated the race since 2002.
In the course of the last 23 years, they have a combined 10 wins in the race, with Baffert owning a record six wins in the mile-and-a-sixteenth test.
They have won the last four editions of the race that usually crowns the champion 2-year-old male and they have the two favorites while bidding to extend that streak to five.
In this meeting, it will be Baffert's West Coast-based, 2-for-2 Brant taking on Pletcher's East Coast shipper Ted Noffey, who is 3-for-3 with a pair of grade 1 wins, with both trainers voicing mutual respect.
"It's what you expect when you ship to California. You know Bob is going to have a strong contingent and it looks like Brant is a super nice horse," Pletcher said about the matchup. "He certainly appeared that way at the sale and as usual Bob has done a great job with him. I'm sure he'll have him ready to roll on Breeders' Cup day."
Baffert had an equal amount of praise for Pletcher and his runner.
"Todd is having a great year and he's always tough," Baffert said. "His horse is really impressive."
Zedan Racing Stable's Brant has the home-field advantage but the son of Gun Runner has yet to be tested around two turns. Bought for $3 million at the Ocala Breeders' Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, his two starts, both at Del Mar, feature a 5 1/4-length score in a maiden race followed by a fast, front-running 1-length score in the 7-furlong Del Mar Futurity (G1) Sept. 7.
"I think he's very good. He's by Gun Runner out of a Liam's Map mare (Tynan) and Liam's Map has really taken off," Baffert said. "He has athleticism and is light on his feet. He likes Del Mar and I'm happy with where he's at."
Baffert typically runs his top 2-year-olds in the American Pharoah Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park to give them two-turn experience before the Breeders' Cup. But he decided to give Brant some time off after he posted sizzling fractions of :21.88, :44.53, and 1:09.11 before finishing up in 1:21.92 in the Del Mar Futurity.
"I skipped the American Pharoah to give him extra time because he ran fast. (Jockey Flavien) Prat said he did it easy, but they were going fast," Baffert said about the colt bred by PTK. "He looks good and is progressing. He's the kind of horse who trains. If he was a heavy horse, I would have run in the Pharoah. But he didn't need it like Citizen Bull (the 2024 Juvenile winner) did last year. Prat is pretty straightforward and he said two turns should not be a problem."
Spendthrift Farm's Ted Noffey already has two-turn experience after posting a 2 3/4-length victory over Juvenile entrant Blackout Time in the Oct. 4 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland.
"He handled the two turns great and had a smooth trip. He put himself in a good spot," Pletcher said about a 1 1/16-mile race in which the son of Into Mischief was a close second in the early stages. "When (jockey John Velazquez) asked him to finish up, he cruised away from them. I didn't have any major concerns about him handling two turns."
Named for a misspelling of Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey's name, Ted Noffey opened his career at Saratoga Race Course with a maiden win and a victory in the 7-furlong Hopeful Stakes (G1).
"He had no trouble reproducing his form at Keeneland. The nature of the mile-and-a-sixteenth race at Keeneland with the start and finish at the first wire is similar to Del Mar with a somewhat short stretch. All that indicates to me he's a horse who doesn't need a particular racetrack to be successful," said Pletcher who has won the Juvenile twice at West Coast tracks.
Bred by Aaron and Marie Jones out of the Old Fashioned mare Streak of Luck, Ted Noffey was bought for $650,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Also among the field of 8, Baffert will send out Litmus Test, a son of Nyquist who was third in the Breeders' Futurity and is owned by "The Avengers" group headed by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables.
Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures' Intrepido (Maximus Mischief ) will return in the Juvenile after winning the American Pharoah by three-quarters of a length in his stakes debut for trainer Jeff Mullins.
As part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the top five finishers in the Juvenile will also receive 30-15-9-6-3 qualifying points toward a spot in the Kentucky Derby (G1) field.
Del Mar, Friday, October 31, 2025, Race 9Entries: FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 Intrepido (KY) Hector Isaac Berrios 122 Jeff Mullins 8/1 2 Blackout Time (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 122 Kenneth G. McPeek 5/1 3 Mr. A. P. (KY) Antonio Fresu 122 Vladimir Cerin 30/1 4 Comport (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 122 Eddie Kenneally 30/1 5 Civil Liberty (KY) Lanfranco Dettori 122 Doug F. O'Neill 30/1 6 Litmus Test (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 122 Bob Baffert 15/1 7 Brant (KY) Flavien Prat 122 Bob Baffert 5/2 8 Ted Noffey (KY) John R. Velazquez 122 Todd A. Pletcher 4/5
