Breeders’ Cup Distaff 2026
A field of eight fillies and mares will hit the starting gate for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, as Nitrogen looks to improve by one spot as the favorite. In her quest to move up from second to first, she looks to have some pretty stiff competition from Fully Subscribed and perhaps one or two surprise contenders from the group of longshots. Race 10 with a scheduled post time of 4:58 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 1 is part of the Late Pick 3 and also the Daily Double Special with the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
We’ve got all kinds of horse racing coverage this week from myself, Ed Sehon, and Dave Tuley, plus more handicaps from our friends at Daily Racing Form. See it all here.
Here are the Breeders’ Cup Distaff post positions, horses, jockeys, trainers, and odds.
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Immersive | J. Alvarado | B. Cox | 30-1 |
| 2 | Nitrogen | J. Ortiz | M. Casse | 6/5 |
| 3 | Regaled | J. Ramos | D. Beckman | 20-1 |
| 4 | Fully Subscribed | F. Prat | C. Brown | 8/5 |
| 5 | Scottish Lassie | L. Saez | J. Abreu | 15-1 |
| 6 | Measure | M. Franco | M. Casse | 20-1 |
| 7 | Super Corredora | J. Rosario | J. Sadler | 15-1 |
| 8 | Splendora | T. Gaffalione | B. Baffert | SCR |
| 9 | Eunomia | M. Husbands | S. Joseph Jr. | 30-1 |
This is a top-heavy board to say the least, with horses at 6/5 and 8/5. If chalk holds up, the payouts are going to be pretty small, but a winning ticket is still a winning ticket. Perhaps a bigger price will sweeten exotics or maybe even sneak into an exacta. On the surface, though, this legitimately looks like a three-horse race.
Here are some thoughts on the horses in the BC Distaff field:
1. Immersive (30-1; Alvarado/Cox): The daughter of Nyquist and Gap Year had a monster 2024 with over $1.6 million in earnings, including the win in the BC Juvenile Fillies. She was 4-for-4 in her 2-year-old season, but didn’t return to racing until June, so she missed the Filly Triple Crown events, though she still had a win and two seconds before wintering again. This season, she’s run five times, finishing in the top three every time, but only at the front of the pack once. She won the Fleur de Lis Stakes back in June and was third behind Splendora and Yes It Tix and third behind Fully Subscribed and Counting Stars in the Locust Grove and Spinster, respectively. She has been a strong, consistent horse, but some rain in Saturday’s forecast would have helped her. She won the Fleur de Lis in the mud, but she can’t keep pace on a fast track with the rest of this field.
2. Nitrogen (6/5; J. Ortiz/Casse): Nitrogen has never missed the board in 18 starts, winning nine times. She has over $3 million in earnings and the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro and Tiffany Case is favored to score some extra hay from her trainer in this one. After starting on turf, her win in the G2 Wonder Again at Saratoga opened up all kinds of doors. The 4-year-old Bay has run only once on the Keeneland dirt, a runner-up to Gin Gin in last year’s Spinster Stakes. She shipped out to Del Mar and was second to Scylla in the BC Distaff last year before wintering at Oaklawn Park. She’s had three monster dirt runs this year, winning the Ogden Phipps and Beldame to go with a second against the boys in the Whitney. She did run almost five lengths behind winner Sovereignty, but she had a rough start from the gate for John Velazquez there. Jose Ortiz gets the mount here. He’s been aboard for all five of her dirt wins.
3. Regaled (20-1; Ramos/Beckman): This 5-year-old vet of 24 races is another one who could’ve used some mud. She’s hit the board in 13 of 24 races with five wins, but she’s seemed to enjoy the slop more than her opponents. She ran third in the Distaff at Del Mar last year and just won the Delaware Handicap on Oct. 3 on a sloppy surface. She was second in the Fleur de Lis to Immersive. As one of the few deep closers in this fast-paced race, she’s got a chance to move up the board late, even with no threat of rain as of Thursday afternoon.
4. Fully Subscribed (8/5; Prat/Brown): Flavien Prat has arguably the most important ride here. He’ll look to sit in the pocket with the daughter of Tiz the Law and Sweetbaby and will have to flip the switch at just the right time. We have seen plenty of flashes and we’ve seen three of them in a row from Fully Subscribed, as she won the Shuvee, Personal Ensign, and the Spinster right here at Keeneland, a big 1 ⅛-mile prep for this race. She also finished second in the Ogden Phipps to Nitrogen at similar odds…except she was second by nearly 13 lengths. She’ll be hard to leave out of exactas and trifectas, but closing that big of a gap about four months later is a huge ask. Prat has been her longtime rider, though, so he should be ready.
5. Scottish Lassie (15-1; Saez/Abreu): Is Scottish Lassie the most overlooked horse in this field? The daughter of McKinzie and Bodebabe didn’t get started for this season until June, coming off the shelf to win an allowance race. She was then second at Saratoga in the Shuvee and Personal Ensign. We are talking about a horse who was third in the Acorn and won the Coaching Club American Oaks running away as a 3-year-old. We just don’t know what we’re going to get, but she’s one of the more interesting big prices in my eyes.
6. Measure (20-1; Franco/Casse): Mark Casse’s other entry in the field is far less heralded. A lot of times, a trainer will enter two horses in the same field because they have a complimentary running style, like setting the right type of pace or being physical enough to open up the field. Measure, though, is a deep closer who doesn’t have the top-end speed of the others in this event. She is one of just two 3-year-olds in the field, and she is stepping up in class against older horses. She hasn’t won a graded stakes, but has finished third, second, and third in three G1 races this year. I think Casse might have a late bloomer on his hands and a filly to watch as a 4-year-old. Just probably not one to watch here.
7. Super Corredora (15-1; Rosario/Sadler): The other 3-year-old in the field comes from California for John Sadler. The winner of the Zenyatta Stakes came off the shelf following nearly seven months off to win that race before shipping east. She won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar last Halloween. But, those two wins are her only monster showings lifetime. Sadler and the connections felt strongly enough to take the costly trip to Lexington. I won’t be surprised if she’s in the mix. I won’t be surprised if she’s not. I will be very surprised if she doesn’t cash in on some nice purses in California as a 4-year-old.
8. Splendora (SCR; Gaffalione/Baffert): The lone Maryland-bred, and only non-Kentucky-bred, in the field has an interesting post draw. There are a lot of pacesetters and pace-pushers here. If she can avoid getting boxed out by Super Corredora, she may be able to get out front without the bumping and grinding on the interior. If Prat doesn’t have the most important ride here, then it is Tyler Gaffalione. Splendora has never won at 1 ⅛ miles. The daughter of Audible and Miss Freeze was in last year’s Breeders’ Cup, but she won the Filly & Mare Sprint. Since then, though, she’s had no issues with 1 1/16, winning three straight races this year at that distance. She was second in the Santa Maria Stakes at Santa Anita in April 2025 in her lone start at 1 ⅛. Gaffalione has an excellent horse. He needs an excellent ride to pair with her talent.
Update: Unfortunately, Splendora was scratched on Thursday afternoon.
9. Eunomia (30-1; Husbands/Joseph): The far outside post belongs to an interesting filly. The daughter of Tiz the Law and maternal granddaughter of American Pharoah ran her first stakes race this year as a 4-year-old. She’s won two of them, including a G1 score in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes back in August at Del Mar. She’s run everywhere, including several starts at Keeneland. This is her first dirt try at 1 ⅛ miles. On the surface, she looks overmatched, and the odds suggest as much. Sometimes, it just takes a horse a while to settle in, as evidenced by her history of sprints, dirt, turf, and coming up short of the board in a lot of allowance races.
The other thing that intrigues me is that she’s run a lot in her career. She ran four times in 3.5 months as a 2-year-old and seven times in eight months as a 3-year-old. When she won the Hirsch, it was her first race in 11 weeks. That kind of layoff had been unheard of for her previously. She’s on a pretty similar schedule here.
Breeders’ Cup Distaff Picks
Full disclosure, I’m going to have a super long ticket on Eunomia to win, wondering if maybe this very well-bred horse has finally found her way and the right schedule.
But, this is absolutely Nitrogen’s race to lose. Her impressive effort against the boys followed by yet another win against the girls cemented it for me, especially with Jose Ortiz back in the irons.
I’m debating if I want to throw Eunomia in some exactas and trifectas to increase the price, as I’m not convinced about Fully Subscribed.
2 Nitrogen
4 Fully Subscribed
9 Eunomia
8 Splendora
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