Exotic Wood’s Status Angers Ellis

Ron Ellis, who trains Exotic Wood, said the Breeders’ Cup “should be embarrassed” that its selection committee didn’t pick his 5-year-old mare to run in the $1-million Sprint at Hollywood Park a week from today.

The maximum for a Breeders’ Cup race is 14 horses, and when a race is oversubscribed, the first eight spots go to horses with the most points for high finishes in graded stakes. The remaining six are determined by an international panel of racing directors.

On Oct. 8, Exotic Wood ran a six-furlong race at Santa Anita in 1:08, which would have broken the record for the Sprint, but that’s been her only win this year. Overall, Exotic Wood has won four stakes and earned $474,615. She is first on the also-eligible list in the event there’s a scratch.

“They’ve made a mistake,” Ellis said. “I thought the goal of the panel was to make sure the right horses were running. The [Daily Racing Form] had us at 5-1 to win the race, and if you’re 5-1, you deserve to run.”

Martin Panza, racing secretary at Hollywood Park, was a panelist on the 10- member committee.

“It was a difficult deal,” Panza said. “We spent three hours trying to sort out the Sprint. Mostly, we went by records of horses this year. We also had the European contingent to consider.”