Sports
Dirt newcomer City of Troy favored at Breeders' Cup Classic
Oct 31, 2024; Del Mar, CA, USA; City of Troy trains ahead of the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Championship at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images The top thoroughbred horses in 14 divisions will be crowned when the racing world convenes for the 41st annual Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Friday and Saturday at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club outside San Diego.
The highlight will be the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday afternoon, deciding the best horse in the world at the classic distance of 1 1/4 miles on the dirt surface.
Though there has not been a true standout horse this season among the 3-year-old and older roster, the Classic will feature an impressive list of 14 entries, several of whom will be racing out of their normal comfort zone.
The morning-line favorite in the Classic at 5-2 is City of Troy, the world’s best turf horse with three Group 1 wins in Europe this season. Trained by Aidan O’Brien and set to be ridden by Ryan Moore, City of Troy will race on the dirt for the first time as O’Brien looks to win the Classic after 17 misses.
“(City of Troy) has been trained very hard through the summer and then he’s come here on a different continent, different ground, different surface, race and pace, there’s so many different things,” O’Brien said. “Everything is done. We think we have looked under every stone we can.”
Looming large as the second choice at 3-1 is the enigmatic Fierceness, who was last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner. The champion 2-year-old male horse of the year in 2023 has captured his past two races, including the Travers Stakes (G1) in his most recent start.
Fierceness has never raced against older horses and has been a feast-or-famine-type runner, finishing 15th as the favorite at this year’s Kentucky Derby. His trainer, Todd Pletcher, likes the way the strapping colt has been training and maturing.
“I think physically, Fierceness has done really well,” Pletcher said. “He’s gotten bigger, stronger, and put on weight. You can see him maturing into a fall 3-year-old. I’m very pleased with his overall condition.”
The Classic field will feature three horses from Japan, two who ran in last year’s Classic (Derma Sotogake and Ushba Tesoro) as well as the uber-talented Forever Young, who finished third by a nose in the Kentucky Derby.
Forever Young has raced once since the Run for the Roses, posting an easy win in the Japan Cup Dirt Classic that has his connections enthused about his chances in the Classic. He is listed as the third choice at 6-1.
Perhaps the most intriguing horse in the Classic is Next. He is currently on a seven-race winning streak, all in dirt marathon races of 1 3/8 miles or longer, with a combined margin of victory of over 90 lengths. He was given morning-line odds of 8-1.
Besides the Classic, the nine-race Breeders’ Cup card on Saturday will feature the $5 million Turf, with Rebel’s Romance the 5-2 morning-line favorite; the $2 million Distaff in which the popular filly Thorpedo Anna is the 4-5 pick to win; the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf, with War Like Goddess the top choice at 5-2; the $2 million Sprint that will send Federal Judge to the post as a 3-1 favorite; the $2 million Mile, with the Irish-bred Porta Fortuna the lukewarm 4-1 favorite; and three $1 million races: the Filly & Mare Sprint, the Turf Sprint and the Dirt Mile.
The Breeders’ Cup begins with Future Stars Friday, with all five races contested by horses in their 2-year-old racing year. The card includes a pair of $2 million races: the Juvenile Fillies and the Juvenile (both on dirt); and three $1 million events — the Juvenile Turf Sprint, the Juvenile Fillies Turf and the Juvenile Turf.
This is the second consecutive year that the Breeders’ Cup has been conducted in California — it was contested at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia last year — and the third time it’s been held at Del Mar. The iconic beachside track will also host the Breeders’ Cup in 2025.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wolves, Nuggets each bring an edge into finale of season series
Jan 31, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) reacts during the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images The Minnesota Timberwolves wrap up a three-game road trip at the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon with a chance to improve their seeding in the Western Conference playoff picture.
Minnesota has won the first two games of its trip and now faces a tough task against its Northwest Division rival.
Denver already secured the tiebreaker in the season series by winning the first three matchups. With both teams holding identical 37-23 records, the winner of Sunday’s game will have sole possession of fourth in the Western Conference standings.
The Nuggets have lost three of their first five games out of the All-Star break, including a 127-121 overtime setback at Oklahoma City on Friday night. Sunday’s game gives them a chance to get back some momentum.
The Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic appears to already have a postseason mindset after mixing it up with the Thunder during the loss.
Jokic was knocked down when Luguentz Dort hit him with his hip in the fourth quarter and then confronted the Oklahoma City forward. There was pushing and shoving before Dort was assessed a flagrant-2 foul and ejected.
Jokic, who leads Denver in points (28.7), rebounds (12.6) and assists (10.5), has a casual and deliberate demeanor on the court that belies his competitive nature.
“I think he was reacting to what was being done to him,” Denver head coach David Adelman said. “And his reaction’s not going to be to cower away. He’s competitive.”
Playing Minnesota again should keep that fiery spirit alive for Jokic and the rest of the Nuggets. The teams have forged a rivalry over the last four seasons, including two playoff series.
There is no question about the fiery nature and competitive spirit of Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
Edwards missed the first game against the Nuggets this season but is averaging 35.0 points in the two games between the teams. That includes a 44-point performance on Christmas night before he was ejected in overtime for arguing foul calls.
Edwards, who leads the Timberwolves in scoring at 29.6 points a game, doesn’t confine his arguments to opponents and officials. He got into a verbal exchange with head coach Chris Finch after hitting a 3-pointer to seal a 94-88 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
It is a feature of their relationship, according to teammates.
“They go at it. Honestly, they do,” Timberwolves guard Mike Conley said. “They go at it… They have days where they’re getting ready to fight, and then after the game they hug each other.”
Finch confirmed that in an interview on Fox Sports Radio.
“We’re both fiery competitors. It’s been part of our relationship since Day 1. … We say these things to each other and we move on,” Finch said. “We don’t take it personally.”
The task of stopping Jokic will fall mainly on Rudy Gobert, who leads Minnesota in rebounds (11.4) and blocks (1.7). Nobody could stop Jokic when the teams met on Christmas, with the three-time MVP recording a 56-point triple-double, including 18 points in overtime.
Jokic has averaged 36.0 points 15.7 rebounds and 12.0 assists in the three games against the Timberwolves.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cincinnati cruises past Oklahoma State with 3-point barrage
Cincinnati Bearcats forward Baba Miller (18) makes a basket from the two point line in the first half of a NCAA men’s basketball game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Oklahoma State Cowboys, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. Day Day Thomas heated up from long range, draining seven 3-pointers en route to a 26-point performance, Moustapha Thiam added 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and host Cincinnati rolled to a 91-68 home victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon.
The Bearcats (16-13, 8-8 Big 12), which entered No. 54 in the NET rankings, have won five of their last six. Jizzle James and Baba Miller each finished with 11 points for Cincinnati.
Oklahoma State (17-12, 5-11), playing its first game since losing big man Parsa Fallah to a torn ACL, was overwhelmed throughout. Vyctorius Miller led the team with 15 points, while Jaylen Curry and Kanye Clary both added 11 points. The Cowboys have lost six of their last seven games.
The Bearcats seized control early, going on an 11-2 run highlighted by 3-pointers from Thomas and Thiam to lead 12-4 less than four minutes into the game.
Those early minutes foreshadowed the rest of the game.
Cincinnati dominated from the start, leading 51-33 at halftime. The Bearcats shot 53.1% from the floor, made seven three-pointers and won the rebounding battle 20-15 in the first half. They finished with a two-handed dunk by Thiam. Miller was credited with an assist on the play as he found Thiam open underneath.
In the second half, the Bearcats pulled away. They went on an 11-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Thomas to lead 65-37 with just under 15 minutes remaining. Cincinnati continued to extend the lead, reaching as many as 32 points, with an 81-49 advantage after another 3 from Thomas at the 8:22 mark.
Cincinnati finished with 14 made 3s, dished out 24 assists, and had a 24-7 edge in second-chance points. The Bearcats also led for 39:24 of the 40 minutes and improved to 14-3 at home.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday. Cincinnati hosts No. 19 BYU, while Oklahoma State travels to UCF.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Bobby Durkin has career night as Minnesota tops UCLA
Feb 24, 2026; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Bobby Durkin (3) dribbles against Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) in the second half at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images Bobby Durkin scored a season-high 23 points with seven made 3-pointers and Langston Reynolds added 21 points with six assists as Minnesota claimed another victim at home with a 78-73 victory over UCLA at Minneapolis.
Cade Tyson also scored 21 points for the Golden Gophers (14-15, 7-11 Big Ten), who shot 62.3% from the floor and 52.2% from 3-point range. Durkin, who reached 1,000 points for his college career in the first half, went 7 of 11 from long range.
Minnesota improved to 12-4 at home this season with victories in its own building over a trio of ranked teams in Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State.
Tyler Bilodeau scored 32 points with eight rebounds and Eric Dailey Jr. added 18 points for the Bruins (19-10, 11-7), who failed to build off huge victories over No. 10 Illinois and rival Southern California over the past week.
Skyy Clark scored 17 points, while Donovan Dent had 15 assists but just three points, as UCLA now prepares for a key home game upcoming against No. 12 Nebraska.
With the game tied 61-61 with 7:59 remaining, Cade scored four points in a 6-0 run for Minnesota to give the Gophers a 67-61 lead with 6:15 left. The Bruins got within 76-73 on a three-point play from Bilodeau with 1:50 remaining.
The Bruins then missed four consecutive 3-pointers over the final 1:08, including two by Bilodeau, as the Gophers held on for the victory.
In a first half of swings, Minnesota led by as many as nine points early before UCLA went on a 17-3 run to lead by as many as seven points before taking a 41-40 lead into the break. Bilodeau had 16 points in the first half, while Dent had nine assists for UCLA.
Durkin scored 15 points in the first half for Minnesota and reached 1,000 points on one of his five 3-pointers before halftime. UCLA’s Clark reached 1,000 career points on a basket in the second half.
–Field Level Media
Wolves, Nuggets each bring an edge into finale of season series
Cincinnati cruises past Oklahoma State with 3-point barrage
