Antiquarian in a final work. (Eclipse Sportswire)
Breeders’ Cup Closer Look
Breeders’ Cup veteran Centennial Farms returns to the World Championships after a 10-year absence with Antiquarian in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
Antiquarian will be the eighth Breeders’ Cup starter for Centennial, whose first was Silent Account in 1985. Centennial’s Corinthian won the Dirt Mile (Listed) in 2007 for trainer Jimmy Jerkens.
Through the years, Centennial, founded in 1982 and one of the pioneers in racing partnerships, has campaigned many top horses. The most notable Centennial’s runners are Colonial Affair, winner of the 1993 Belmont Stakes (G1), and Eclipse Award sprint champion Rubiano. Antiquarian, a 4-year-old son of recent Centennial star Preservationist, joined the list of stable standouts on Aug. 31 when he won the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga. The Gold Cup is a “Win and You’re In” race for the Classic. He drew the outside post in the field of nine.
Antiquarian serving face pic.twitter.com/UH7im20kfK
— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) October 29, 2025
“It’s always exciting to go to the Breeders’ Cup, Win and ‘You’re In’ or not,” said Don Little Jr. Centennial’s president and co-owner, “especially this year, having a colt that is by a sire, we campaigned, as well. It’s a unique and rare opportunity in this business. To campaign a Grade 1 winner and then campaign a son of the Grade 1 winner is very rare.”
Little’s late father, Don Little Sr., started Centennial and it quickly found success at the top levels of racing. Along the way, Little Jr. said that 14 of its best horses have gone on to be sires. Preservationist followed that route after he won the Woodward (G1) and the Suburban (G2) in 2019. Centennial purchased Antiquarian from Preservationist’s second crop for $250,000 at Keeneland September 2022.
“We tend to try to buy one or two offspring of the stallions that have gone to stud that we’ve campaigned,” Little said. “We bought a few Unifieds. We bought a few Corinthians. Like a lot of things in racing, they don’t quite pan out as you’d hoped, but this one did. We had the intention of trying to buy the best one that we thought was at the sale. And we were able to.
"This year every race has been getting better and better and better."
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) October 29, 2025
Don Little, Owner with @Centennial_Farm & VP of the Belmont Childcare Association, chatted with @CBredar about their @BreedersCup Classic entrant ANTIQUARIAN. pic.twitter.com/tO3E5NIYOp
“Dr. Stephen Carr and Paula Parsons (farm manager and yearling trainer) have been with us from the beginning of time when dad put the company together. They were instrumental. They selected him out, he was our choice, and we bought him.”
Antiquarian proved he was a stakes-caliber runner as 3-year-old, winning the Peter Pan. After finishing fifth in the Belmont Stakes (G1) he was given the rest of the year off to recover from bone bruising. This year he has been a horse on the rise.
“He’s progressed very similarly to his dad,” Little Jr. said. “His dad didn’t win a Grade 1 till he was 6, so we’re ahead of the game, if you put it that way. Paula (Parsons), who broke him at the farm, always said that he was an athlete. He was large, a fairly medium-sized to large yearling, was a little bit goofy but we saw the potential in him. We always take our time and let the horse tell us what to do. He is still lightly raced. Look at this Classic. There are a lot of horses that are lightly raced: eight, nine races. The neatest thing about watching him grow and advance is it’s been consistent, especially this year. Every performance, not specifically based on numbers, but the way he’s done it and the way he’s trained, it’s a consistent move forward all the time right now.”
Gallop. Gate. School. Stroll. All in a day's work for a @BreedersCup Classic hopeful. #goBabyPgo pic.twitter.com/gN8gqaMxOR
— Centennial Farms (@Centennial_Farm) October 30, 2025
Antiquarian rallied late to finish second by 1¼ lengths to 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mystik Dan in the Blame (G3) at Churchill Downs. Again, showing a bit more resolve approaching the wire, he was second by a head in the Suburban (G2) on July 4. Antiquarian was not involved in the early bumping incident in the Gold Cup during which his Todd Pletcher stablemate Mindframe lost jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. He relaxed on the backstretch for jockey John Velazquez and was strong in the stretch.
While the incident just after the start ended Mindframe’s race and affected 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone, who ended up second, Little said Antiquarian showed that he was up to the challenge at the top level.
“The way he ran it, I think he would have been tough to beat, no matter what the situation that day,” Little said. “The numbers prove it, and we belong. We’ll probably be one of the longest shots in the field, but I’ll take it. We just deserve to be there, and Todd wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t feel confident that we have a shot.”
100. Centennial. That's all. pic.twitter.com/DF31xhHMyB
— Centennial Farms (@Centennial_Farm) October 30, 2025
