In The Money Telegraph
Sunday, October 4, 2026 · By ITM Staff
The Playoffs Are Set — and They Begin Friday
The In the Money HorsePlayers Tour regular season is in the books. Over 18 Friday feeders from June to October, the Tour handed out 72 playoff berths — claimed by 60 different players, with eleven qualifying more than once. Only one did it three times: Dave Nichols, who booked his third trip in the Oct. 2 finale. Ten others doubled up along the way, among them Togo Travalia, who parlayed a feeder into a Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge seat of his own in September.
Now the real thing begins. The Playoffs run over three straight Fridays: the First Round on October 9 trims the 72-entry field to the top 36, the Second Round on October 16 cuts that to 10, and the Final Table on October 23 crowns a Playoff Winner — who takes home a $10,000 seat in the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge. The First Round lineup is still being finalized but is expected to feature races from Belmont and Keeneland. It’s all at HorsePlayers.com. And if you didn’t make it don’t fret – we are running direct qualifiers the next three weeks alongside where the house cut will go to Breeders’ Cup Charities.
U.S.S. Valor Skips the Juvenile — and PTF Has Thoughts
The weekend’s most talked-about two-year-old won’t be at the Breeders’ Cup. A day after U.S.S. Valor overwhelmed the Grade 1 Champagne by 6½ lengths — earning an automatic berth in the Juvenile — Team Valor’s Barry Irwin announced Sunday that he and Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey will skip the Oct. 30 race and point the colt instead toward the 2027 Kentucky Derby. He won’t run again this year.
Count PTF among those who don’t love the call. He’ll make the full case on a show dropping later today — but the short version is he’s very much against passing up a Breeders’ Cup opportunity with a colt who just announced himself as one of the best juveniles in the country. Watch for his take on the ITM YouTube channel and at inthemoneypodcast.com.
The Weekend in Breeders’ Cup Clues
Fall Stars Weekend delivered a run of “Win and You’re In’’ results. At Keeneland, Rhetorical ran down a strong field to take the Coolmore Turf Mile for the second year running under Irad Ortiz Jr.; trainer Will Walden says he’ll prep at Churchill before the Breeders’ Cup Mile. The Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity went to an upset — American History rallied past favored Coach Pope for Todd Pletcher, and all three of the first finishers are pointed to the Juvenile. On Sunday, Fully Subscribed took the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster.
Classic Q took the Grade 1 First Lady. Up at Woodbine, Godolphin’s Arabian Crown powered clear in the 86th Canadian International under Jamie Spencer for Charlie Appleby — the stable’s record fifth win in the race — with Miguel Clement’s Tawny Port closing for second and the ITM-followed Purview third after a troubled trip. And back at Belmont, the Frizette produced a shocker: 11-1 Dotsy drew off for John Grabowski and Kendrick Carmouche while heavy favorite Libby Lloyd faded to fourth.
One more to file away: on Sunday at Keeneland, the European invader Adonius unleashed a wicked turn of foot to get up by a head in a four-way photo in the Grade 3 Indian Summer, a “Win and You’re In’’ to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint — and he looks like one to watch for that race on October 30. There’s an ITM angle, too: he’s owned by Riverdee Stable — the operation of our friend and frequent guest Sean Clancy — along with West Paces Racing and Michael Hughes.
Plenty more where that came from — the full slate of results and Breeders’ Cup implications is covered across inthemoneypodcast.com.
Mark Your Calendar: Breeders’ Cup Handicapping Event
The perfect kickoff to racing’s biggest weekend: the 2026 Breeders’ Cup Handicapping Event, presented by Medallion Racing, takes place Thursday, October 29 at Malone’s Banquet Center in Lexington — the eve of the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland. The evening features PTF and JK of the In The Money Players’ Podcast, plus a premium open bar and buffet. Tickets are live now. Get your tickets here →
ITM Plus
The Best Time All Year to Join ITM Plus
There’s no better month to sign up. For a single month, you get all of ITM’s Keeneland Fall Meet coverage and the full Breeders’ Cup package — which includes proprietary trip notes and speed figures for the foreign horses, in-depth coverage of every race, and grid picks from the entire team. If you’ve been waiting to try Plus, this is the window.
More all week at inthemoneypodcast.com and on the ITM YouTube channel, with premium coverage on ITM Plus.
