Breeders' Cup Spotlight: Turf Sprint

Date: Saturday, Oct. 31 at Keeneland.

Purse: $1 million.

Division: 3-year-olds & up.

Distance: 5 1/2 furlongs on turf.

TV: NBC Sports Network.

Radio/livestreaming: Horse Racing Radio Network, including 93.9-FM in Louisville and horseracingradio.net.

The favorite: In a less-than-stellar field, Lady Shipman, who wins often but has never run in graded stakes company, emerged as a 5-2 morning line favorite from post No. 5. Can the 3-year-old Midshipman filly top the boys? She shipped in from New York to run the Oct. 9 Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes, finishing runner-up, and has trained up to the Turf Sprint in Kentucky since then.

Major defection: Trainer Arnaud Delacour recently announced his Ageless - the Franklin County Stakes winner - is a no-go for the Turf Sprint after coming out of her last race with a deep cut. The 6-year-old by Successful Appeal could have been the race's top pick after running fourth in last year's event at Santa Anita Park.

Defending champ: Bobby's Kitten hasn't repeated the form that in 2014 carried him to the winners circle at Santa Anita. In two starts this year, the Ken Ramsey-owned and Chad Brown-trained 4-year-old has finished out of the money in major stakes. He's 15-1 on the morning line. Also back from last year is third-place finisher Undrafted. The Wes Welker-owned sprinter looms large here after winning at Royal Ascot.

Worth knowing: Once considered a top 2015 Kentucky Derby prospect after taking Turfway Park's 96Rock Stakes for trainer Wesley Ward, The Great War bled his next time out in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes. The $1 million yearling sat out five months, then returned on the turf to twice hit the board heading into the Breeders' Cup.