Ways and Means Wins Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland by 6 1/4 Lengths

Ways and Means won the $1 million Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Sprint by 6 1/4 lengths at Keeneland on Saturday, pulling away in the stretch to take the opening championship race of the second day of the Breeders Cup in Lexington, Kentucky, on October 31, 2026. The 5-year-old mare, sent off as the even-money favorite under jockey Flavien Prat, covered seven furlongs on the dirt in 1:21.76, according to Daily Racing Form.

R Disaster and Kerry's Kiss, both trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., alternated on the early lead through opening fractions of 22.14 seconds and 44.75 seconds. Ways and Means stalked the pace from the inside, slipped up the rail as the field neared the stretch, angled outside when the runners straightened for home, and galloped clear. Foie Gras, a 21-1 longshot, finished second, a half length ahead of Explora in third, and Kilwin was fourth. Ways and Means paid $4.14, $3.44 and $2.58.

A career closing win

Ways and Means is a daughter of Practical Joke out of the mare Strong Incentive. She was bred and is owned by Klaravich Stables and trained by Chad Brown. The win was Brown's fourth in this race and his 20th Breeders Cup win overall, the Paulick Report reported. It was also the final start of her career before she heads to the breeding shed, Thoroughbred Daily News reported. She closes her record at 14 starts, with eight wins, three seconds and one third.

Brown praised the mare and the team behind her after the race. "She's been such an incredible talent from the beginning," Brown said, in remarks reported by Daily Racing Form. "She's had a variety of different setbacks, and it took an incredible team to keep her healthy and get her here today."

"She really put on a show today," he added. "I'm so pleased for the filly. I knew she could do it."

The long road back

Ways and Means missed most of her 2025 campaign because of illness. She came back after nearly 11 months on the sidelines to finish second in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff on May 2, 2026. She then won the Bed O Roses for the second straight year in June, and she won the Grade 1 Ballerina at Saratoga on August 29, 2026. She had finished fifth in this same race in 2024, when she was 3 years old.

The Saturday card

Daily Racing Form said the performance is likely to bring Ways and Means an Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter. The Filly and Mare Sprint opened a nine-race championship card on Saturday at Keeneland, capped by the $7 million Breeders Cup Classic later in the day.