1991 Breeders' Cup Day

Horse racing's day of $10 million championships turned into a day of upsets at Churchill Downs this afternoon when five favorites failed to win in the seven races of the Breeders' Cup series. And the revolt of the outsiders was led by Black Tie Affair, who outran some of the superstars of the sport to win the $3 million Classic, the richest race in the world. The upsets confounded the electoral races for the year's honors, especially the one for the Horse of the Year title. The favorite in that race, the colt In Excess, switched out of the Classic this week and ran instead in the shorter Mile, on the grass. But the strategy backfired when he ran ninth in a dead heat with the star turf horse Tight Spot. So, nobody's candidacy was enhanced, except maybe that of Black Tie Affair, who has won six stakes in a row in a late surge. But Dance Smartly, the Canadian filly champion, scored in the Distaff today, ran her earnings past $3 million and became the richest female thoroughbred in history. And a new international star shot into view when Arazi, from France, made his United States debut and raced from 13th place to first in a commanding performance that won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and created an instant favorite for the Kentucky Derby here next May. The Breeders' Cup races did not create shock like that caused last year when three horses fell during the races, and did not survive. But there was a reminder of 1990 when the sprinting champion Housebuster tore the suspensory ligament in his left foreleg and ran ninth in today's Sprint, in what had already been billed as the final race of his career. The first winner, Sheikh Albadou of Britain, not only defeated Housebuster but also paid $54.60 for any $2 bet on him to win. In the Mile race, Opening Verse outran In Excess and Tight Spot, and paid $55.40. And in the Turf, a filly named Miss Alleged, who hadn't won anywhere this year, defeated 13 rivals and returned $86.20 for $2. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/03/sports/horse-racing-black-tie-affair-crashes-breeders-cup-party.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm