Breeders’ Cup Friday Master List

First, I owe my readers a long overdue apology. In my defense, I really thought things were going well before hunger, friendship, the nation of Mongolia, unexpectedly compelling persuasion, and a fair bit of alcohol intervened.

At this time last year, my analysis for the Friday card of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup was ready and available to readers. My guests were all accounted for and the rest of my picks were essentially figured out for Saturday. All I had to do was write.

I was feeling extraordinarily confident as I stood on the precipice of something great. Sure, it would cost me a Friday night of galavanting, but what was one night? This was the Breeders’ Cup, the sporting event I loved most in this world, and I was projecting it to be one of the most successful weekends in this website’s history.

And then a small break on Friday turned into lunch with a friend. Afterwards, I remembered that I had an assignment due, an analysis of Mongolia’s degrading environmental policies, and I decided to complete it at that friend’s apartment. It took me longer than I expected, and as I worked, a small gathering began to form in the living room around me.

At 9 o’clock in the evening, I was ready to head home and begin my real work when my dear friends and their roommate asked me to stick around just a little while longer. Their state of sobriety is none of your business, but I was told that I had some catching up to do.

I was surprised at my own curiosity and hesitated for a moment, half-expecting to look out the window and see Bill Mott and Steve Asmussen shaking their heads as I contemplated. Andy Beyer would have been ashamed. Maybe Bill Barich would have understood. But the racing world suddenly seemed far away and the open chair was right in front of me.

The remainder of that Friday should be of little note to my readers, serious handicappers in search of serious profit. My performance the following day is what matters, as it proved to be a rushed, inconsistent analysis of a regal day of racing.

Working on little sleep with next to nothing prepared ahead of time, I wrote as quickly as possible but immediately fell behind. If one were to refresh the page with two minutes to post before the Filly & Mare Turf, they may have had enough time to join me in betting heavily on 17-1 shot Audarya. But on the whole, it was a miserable experience on a day I should have thoroughly enjoyed.

Looking back, I don’t wholly regret my decision. As Friday nights go, that one wasn’t a throwaway. I also received a stellar grade on my Mongolian study. But my shortcomings in covering my first Breeders’ Cup have nagged me ever since, and I vowed to dedicate myself even further in 2021 to develop a suitable product for readers. Now is the time for that effort to take form.

This is the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Master List, a tree linking every single piece I’m publishing for this year’s world championship weekend. As soon as the article is released, it will be available here.

Full analysis from me will be available for all 14 races, and I will also be featuring guests in separate articles for nearly every event. Nothing rushed, nothing put off. I’m providing solid analysis and occasionally even know what I’m talking about, and I’ve collected a wide variety of guest opinions, some more knowledgeable than me and some who are enthusiastically willing to embrace the chaos of the game.

As I enjoy this small redemption, I would like to thank everyone contributing and reading. May the horse be with all of you.