The $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff has been a part of the World Championships since the inaugural edition in 1984 at Hollywood Park, and the list of winners is one of the most impressive for any U.S. Thoroughbred race.

The Distaff has been won by Hall of Famers such as Princess Rooney, Lady’s Secret, Personal Ensign, Bayakoa, Dance Smartly, Paseana, Inside Information, Azeri, Ashado, Zenyatta, Royal Delta, and Beholder as well as 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna.

Which racemare will etch her name in the racing history books in 2025 alongside the aforementioned stars? Let’s take a closer look at this year’s field for the 1 1/8-mile dirt race Nov. 1 at Del Mar, which will be televised on NBC and FanDuel TV and streamed on Peacock with an expected post time of 5:01 p.m. ET.

The Breeders’ Cup Distaff Cheat Sheet will be updated Monday, Oct. 27 with post positions and morning-line odds after the post-position draw.

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Alice Verite

Jockey: TBD

Trainer: Kazuya Nakatake

Owner: Makoto Kato

Career record: 25 starts – 4 wins – 7 seconds – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $1,020,668

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 101

Pedigree: Kizuna – Lumiere Verite, by Cozzene

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Alice Verite made her U.S. debut and first start on dirt as a true wild card in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Distaff. She outran her 18.90-1 odds in a fourth-place finish, but how she accomplished that was an even bigger surprise. A dedicated front-runner on the grass throughout her career, Alice Verite got away slowly in last year’s Distaff and appeared to have lost any chance at a top-three finish, but she battled bravely late to end up a half-length behind third-place finisher Candied. It should be noted, however, Alice Verite was well-beaten by winner Thorpedo Anna a year ago at Del Mar in the Breeders’ Cup. The 101 Equibase Speed Figure she earned also lags behind the top speed figures for this year’s leading contenders and she has not won above the Group 3 level in her native Japan. But with a better start, Alice Verite has a chance to improve in her second try on the dirt and could play a major role in how the race develops from a pace standpoint.

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Argine

Jockey: Yuga Kawada

Trainer: Mitsumasa Nakauchida

Owner: Lord Horse Club Co.

Career record: 14 starts – 7 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $1,506,418

Top Equibase Speed Figure: N/A

Pedigree: Lord Kanaloa – Quatre Feuilles, by Deep Impact

Age: 5

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker/closer

Analysis: Japan-based Argine will be making the first start of her career on the main track in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff after 14 races on turf. She is a two-time group stakes winner in her native Japan and showed her class when rallying to finish fourth, beaten by only a neck in a blanket finish, in the Group 1 Victoria Mile Stakes in May. The 5-year-old Lord Kanaloa mare returned from a 2 ½-month layoff with a victory by a head in the about 1 1/8-mile Hokkaido Shimbun Hai Queen Stakes Aug. 3. Both the surface switch and the 13-week layoff are significant concerns for Argine in the Distaff, but fans won’t soon forget Marche Lorraine’s stunning 49.90-1 upset at Del Mar in the 2021 Distaff. Be sure to monitor Argine leading up to the Distaff to see how she handles morning training on the dirt main track. She could be the key to another big Distaff payout. Note: The connections of Argine have listed the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile as the first preference.

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Clicquot

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Trainer: Brendan Walsh

Owners: X-Men Racing IV, Madaket Stables, and SF Racing

Career record: 5 starts – 4 wins – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $840,153

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: Quality Road – Royal Obsession, by Tapit

Age: 3

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Stalker/press the pace

Analysis: This lightly raced filly rides a four-race winning streak into the Distaff, including a trio of excellent starts since stretching out in distance. Clicquot followed a 1 ¾-length victory in a 1 1/16-mile allowance race in May at Churchill Downs with a four-length win in the Grade 3 Daily Racing Form Indiana Oaks. Trainer Brendan Walsh next sent her to Parx Racing for a class test in the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes, and the Quality Road filly proved up to the task, prevailing by a neck over Dry Powder. She earned a career-best 107 Equibase Speed Figure for the Cotillion and is eligible to improve with six weeks rest heading into her sixth career start. She will be trying 1 1/8 miles for the first time in the Distaff, but Clicquot is versatile enough to press or stalk the pace and should benefit from plenty of early speed in the race. Sol Kumin of co-owner Madaket Stables won the Distaff twice as part owner of Monomoy Girl.

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Dorth Vader

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: George Weaver

Owner: John Ropes

Career record: 17 starts – 5 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $1,018,218

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 103

Pedigree: Girvin – Hardcore Candy, by Yonaguska

Age: 5

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Consistency has not been Dorth Vader’s calling card, but the 5-year-old Girvin mare with the Star Wars-themed name is absolutely capable of competing against the best. She finished a hard-fought second by a nose to reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (since retired) in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes Aug. 23 at Saratoga Race Course. That came two starts after she earned the first Grade 1 win of her career with a dominant 4 ¾-length  victory in the Ogden Phipps Stakes Presented by Ford on a sloppy track June 6 at Saratoga. Sandwiched in between those two races was a fourth-place finish at 2.20-1 odds in the Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth Park, which is where the inconsistency sometimes becomes a factor as Dorth Vader has finished outside the top three in eight of her 17 starts. Dorth Vader’s Equibase Speed Figures also indicate she would need to take a step forward in the Distaff to be a win candidate.

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Dry Powder

Jockey: TBD

Trainer: Chad Summers

Owner: Gold Square

Career record: 6 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $439,400

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 107

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Tell All, by Broken Vow

Age: 3

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Dry Powder led in deep stretch of the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes Sept. 20 at Parx Racing but could not hold off the late rally of winner Clicquot and came up a neck short in a runner-up finish. That followed a 4 ½-length win at Parx in the Cathryn Sophia Stakes Aug. 19. In fact, Dry Powder has finished first or second in five of her six starts with the lone exception a well-beaten third in a strangely run edition of the Coaching Club American Oaks, in which expected pacesetter La Cara was scratched and Scottish Lassie led every step of the way uncontested in a field of four fillies. Dry Powder was beaten by 21 ½ lengths in the CCA Oaks, but she bounced back with two sharp races since that seem more representative of her true ability level. She earned a career-best 107 Equibase Speed Figure for the Cotillion and could be a key player in the Distaff with another step forward. An appealing option to spice up your Distaff exacta and trifecta tickets.

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Gin Gin

Jockey: Luis Saez

Trainer: Brendan Walsh

Owner: Calumet Farm

Career record: 13 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $942,796

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Hightail – Before You Know It, by Hard Spun

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Gin Gin was a stakes winner at age 3 and competed in the 2024 Kentucky Oaks, but the Hightail filly has taken a step forward this season with a pair of graded stakes wins for trainer Brendan Walsh. The breakthrough win came at 38.88-1 odds April 18 in the Grade 3 Baird Doubledogdare Stakes at Keeneland, where she powered to a 5 ¼-length runaway. Gin Gin followed with a runner-up finish in a Grade 3 stakes at Churchill Downs before an unplaced finish at the Louisville track in June, but she got back on track Oct. 5 at Keeneland. Gin Gin led from start to finish in a game victory by a head over highly regarded Nitrogen in the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes with reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna running fourth. She would need to repeat that performance (113 Equibase Speed Figure) in the Distaff to be a viable win contender in a deep field that lacks a true standout Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

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Gun Song

Jockey: TBD

Trainer: Mark Hennig

Owner: R. Lee Lewis

Career record: 16 starts – 5 wins – 5 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $915,720

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 103

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Nicole H, by Mr. Greeley

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Gun Song showed significant promise as a 3-year-old in 2024 when winning the Grade 2 George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes by 3 ¼ lengths and later finishing second by a neck to eventual Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (since retired) in the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes. She won a pair of stakes and finished second in three others as a sophomore but it took some time for things to come together during her 4-year-old season. Gun Song’s best effort in her first four starts of 2025 was a second in the Obeah Stakes, beaten by three lengths by Malibu Beauty, and she was unplaced in two starts in graded stakes. However, the chestnut Gun Runner filly regained her top form Sept. 26 in the Grade 2 Beldame Stakes, pulling away in the stretch to win by 1 ¼ lengths while halting a six-race winless stretch. Gun Song has tactical speed and enters the Distaff off a much-improved effort, but she would need to boost her top Equibase Speed Figure by about 10 points to have a shot at a victory Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

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Majestic Oops

Jockey: TBD

Trainer: Dan Ward

Owners: Medallion Racing, Evan Trommer, Agave Racing Stable, and Sheila Regan

Career record: 32 starts – 7 wins – 11 seconds – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $616,559

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 104

Pedigree: Majestic Harbor – Miss Oops, by Olmodavor

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Analysis: Majestic Oops was stakes-placed in 2024, but her breakout season has come in 2025 with a pair of stakes victories for trainer Dan Ward. The 5-year-old Majestic Harbor mare strung together a three-race winning streak from April 6 through June 14 that included victories in the Dig A Diamond Stakes at Oaklawn Park and the Lady’s Secret Stakes (by 4 ¼ lengths) at Monmouth Park. She next was tested against better competition and held her own in her first two tries, running second in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher Stakes at Monmouth and third in the Grade 1 Resorts World Ballerina Stakes Aug. 23 at Saratoga Race Course. She enters the Distaff off an unplaced finish, beaten by 14 ½ lengths, in the Delaware Handicap on Sept. 28 and her speed figures are a cut below the top contenders in this race. Anything more than a minor award would qualify as a surprise.

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Nitrogen

Jockey: Jose Ortiz

Trainer: Mark Casse

Owner: D. J. Stable

Career record: 11 starts – 6 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $1,706,604

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112

Pedigree: Medaglia d'Oro – Tiffany Case, by Uncle Mo

Age: 3

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Nitrogen began her 3-year-old season with four straight stakes wins on the grass before inclement weather washed the Wonder Again Stakes off the turf June 7 at Saratoga Race Course, and the Medaglia d’Oro streaked to a 17-length romp on the sloppy main track. She was back on the turf for her next start, but the Wonder Again was an eye-opener and two starts later Nitrogen defeated several of the best 3-year-old dirt fillies in training in a 1 ½-length victory in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes Presented by Keeneland Sales held at 1 ¼ miles. U.S. and Canadian Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse next tested her against older females in the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes Oct. 5 at Keeneland and she came up a head short to front-running winner Gin Gin while earning a career-top 112 Equibase Speed Figure. It takes a truly elite equine athlete to excel at the graded stakes level on multiple surfaces, so Nitrogen is a special filly with room to improve in the fall of her 3-year-old campaign. A top contender.

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Regaled

Jockey: Joe Ramos

Trainer: Whit Beckman

Owners: Ribble Farms and Front Page Equestrian

Career record: 17 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $498,810

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Pedigree: Mohaymen – Ascot Walk, by Daaher

Age: 4

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Closer

Analysis: Regaled had been knocking on the door of a stakes win for more than a year before kicking it down with a 6 ¼-length romp in the $400,000 Delaware Handicap Sept. 28. The Grade 3 win at the same 1 1/8-mile distance as the Distaff followed four straight top-three finishes in stakes races, including seconds by a head and a neck, respectively in the Groupie Doll Stakes in August at Churchill Downs and the Heavenly Cause Stakes in April at Laurel Park. Regaled appears to be in peak form entering the 2025 Breeders’ Cup; however, she would need to boost her best Equibase Speed Figure by 10-15 points to be a true contender and three of her best races (including the Delaware Handicap) have come on a wet surface, which she very likely will not get in the Distaff. The reward could be worth the risk with Regaled in the Distaff, especially as a closer capable of passing a few tiring runners late to fill out the trifecta or superfecta.

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Sarawak Rim

Jockey: TBD

Trainer: Ignacio Correas

Owner: De Santi Hector Luis

Career record: 5 starts – 4 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $45,242

Top Equibase Speed Figure: N/A

Pedigree: Remote – Sarawak Top, by Giant's Causeway

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Sarawak Rim is a true wild card for the Distaff as a filly who has never raced in North America and has not competed in a race since winning the Group 1 Gran Premio Criadores May 1 in her native Argentina. She earned an expenses-paid Distaff berth in the Gran Premio Criadores via the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series, and prior to that victory had posted three open-length victories before a runner-up finish in her stakes debut. She will be making her first start Nov. 1 for new trainer Ignacio Correas IV, who sprung a mild upset when winning the 2019 Distaff with Argentine mare Blue Prize ($19.80). Sarawak Rim probably will be one of the longest shots in the field because it’s so difficult to gauge the quality of competition she has been facing in Argentina. She hails from a family that has produced U.S. Grade 1 winner Salutos Amigos and Grade 2 winner Sarah’s Secret.

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Scottish Lassie

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Trainer: Jorge Abreu

Owners: Sportsmen Stable, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Photos Finish, Corms Racing Stable, and Jorge R. Abreu

Career record: 7 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $735,760

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 103

Pedigree: McKinzie – Bodebabe, by Bodemeister

Age: 3

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Scottish Lassie was a Grade 1 winner at age 2 but had struggled to regain that elite-level form as a 3-year-old in 2025 until the Coaching Club American Oaks July 19 at Saratoga Race Course. The McKinzie filly dictated the pace in the Grade 1 CCA Oaks, opened a commanding lead in early stretch, and powered away to win by 15 ½ lengths over runner-up Immersive with Distaff hopeful Dry Powder third. Coming out of that dominant victory, Scottish Lassie was the 8-5 favorite in the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes Sept. 20 at Parx Racing but never seriously threatened in the stretch while finishing fourth. She’s unlikely to get an unchallenged front-running trip in the Distaff like the one she benefitted from in the CCA Oaks, and Scottish Lassie probably would need to boost her Equibase Speed Figure by about 10 points to have a chance at a victory Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Scottish Lassie has a shot to spice up the trifecta or superfecta at appealing odds, but that’s probably her ceiling in the Distaff.

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Scylla

Jockey: Junior Alvarado

Trainer: Bill Mott

Owner: Juddmonte

Career record: 15 starts – 5 wins – 5 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $1,247,795

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 110

Pedigree: Tapit – Close Hatches, by First Defence

Age: 5

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Scylla finished fourth, beaten by one length, in the 2024 PNC Bank Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint and the Juddmonte homebred has been a consistent performer against graded stakes competition for the last two years. She was a two-time graded stakes winner in 2024 and has placed in seven other graded stakes over the last 19 months, including three seconds and one third in Grade 1 races. Scylla ran second in August at Saratoga Race Course in the Grade 1 Resorts World Ballerina Stakes sprinting and then stretched out in distance to 1 1/8 miles for the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes Oct. 5 at Keeneland and finished 1 ¼ lengths behind winner Gin Gin when third. Scylla is by leading sire Tapit out of 2014 champion older female Close Hatches, and it seems as though her connections have never really found her ideal distance. That said, she’s an exceptionally well-bred 5-year-old mare and plenty fast to be a serious factor. Scylla looks like a very live longshot in a race that’s wide open with the defection of Cavalieri and the retirement of Thorpedo Anna. Juddmonte won the 2023 Distaff with Idiomatic; Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott has won five editions with Ajina (1997), Escena (1998), Unrivaled Belle (2010), and Royal Delta (2011, 2012).

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Seismic Beauty

Jockey: Juan Hernandez

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owners: MyRacehorse and Peter Leidel

Career record: 7 starts – 4 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $476,840

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Uncle Mo – Knarsdale, by Medaglia d'Oro

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter

Analysis: Seismic Beauty looks like the controlling speed in the race for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert – always a potent combination. She’s excelled since stretching out in distance with three wins in as many starts at one mile or longer, all while leading from start to finish. Seismic Beauty followed a five-length Grade 2 runaway win in the Santa Margarita Stakes in May at Santa Anita with a 1 ½-length score in the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Presented by Oak Tree Racing Aug. 2 at Del Mar. She earned a career-best 113 Equibase Speed Figure in that race on the same surface that will host the Distaff, but she should be challenged up front and the 13-week layoff since the Hirsch victory is a bit of a concern. Seismic Beauty should vie for favoritism for Baffert, who is seeking his first win in the Distaff.

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