Breeders' Cup 2023 Results: Tracking Winners, Prize Money Payouts on Friday

The 2023 Breeders' Cup kicked off Friday at Santa Anita Park with some of the best young horses in the sport taking over the spotlight in one of the biggest events of the year.

Considered the most prominent set of races outside of the Triple Crown, the Breeders' Cup draws thousands of horse racing fans every year, featuring 14 races spanning several different age ranges.

Friday's events included some of the best two-year-old horses around the world at the moment.

Here are how things played out on the first day of the Breeders' Cup

Juvenile Turf Sprint ($1 Million Purse)

Win: Big Evs

Place: Valiant Force

Show: Starlust

In a blistering pace, Big Evs—a horse from across the pond in Ireland—came out on top with a terrific run. He started out of the gate quick and managed to keep up a ridiculous pace before separating himself just enough down the stretch to take home the win.

Also a pair of foreign horse, Valiant Force (Ireland) and Starlust (UK) completed a 1-2-3 sweep over the majority American field.

Juvenile Fillies ($2 Million)

Win: Just F Y I

Place: Jody's Pride

Show: Candied

Just F Y I was locked in a heated battle with favorite Tamara from the start of the race and kept the pressure on the latter as Tamara led for three-fourths of the race. Ultimately, Just F Y I managed to take the lead coming out of the final turn and held off both Jody's Pride and Candied in a frantic finish to seal an electrifying win.

Juvenile Fillies Turf ($1 Million)

Win: Hard to Justify

Place: She Feels Pretty

Show: Porta Fortuna

In arguably the most tightly contested race of the day so far, Hard to Justify managed to just edge out a really talented field. Trailing in second for much of the race, the eventual champ got lost in the mix as She Feels Pretty and Porta Fortuna—along with several other competitors—made a real push for the lead down the stretch.

However, Hard to Justify eked out in front of the pack with just a few meters left in an incredible finish.

Breeders' Cup Juvenile ($2 Million)

Win: Fierceness

Place: Muth

Show: Locked

In North America's richest race for two-year-olds, it was a dominant performance on the part of Fierceness, who took the lead from General Partner as the pack entered the far turn and only increased his advantage. It wasn't even close in the end despite a valiant effort by Muth.

As for third-place, Locked had an incredible finish, making a blazing move over the final few meters to overtake three other horses out of nowhere.

Juvenile Turf ($1 Million)

Win: Unquestionable

Place: Mountain Bear

Show: My Boy Prince

In the final race of the afternoon, Unquestionable turned out to be one of the few favorites to come away with a victory. But he certainly has a flair for the dramatics as he was towards the back of the pack over the first half mile before finally making his move towards the leaders.

It was a fierce finish down the stretch with Mountain Bear "bearing" down on Unquestionable, but he managed to hold every one off and secure the win, putting an end to an incredible day of action at Santa Anita Park.