Bobby Flay cooked up a big win in the Breeders' Cup.
The celebrity chef jumped up and down and yelled Friday as More Than Real won the $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf race by two lengths at Churchill Downs. The chestnut filly paid $29.20 to win.
''This is obviously the biggest win I've ever had in horse racing by a magnitude of a thousand,'' said Flay, who bought his first racehorse six years ago. ''It was just an amazing feeling. I don't remember the last sixteenth of a mile because I couldn't see. Everybody was jumping all over each other.''
Also celebrating was Flay's actress-wife, Stephanie March, best known for her role on ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.''
''For Bobby, it was the ultimate throwdown,'' she said. ''He's on cloud nine.''
The Flays had to sweat out an inquiry filed by another jockey after the race.
''Talk about a killjoy,'' said the 45-year-old chef, who hosts ''Throwdown! With Bobby Flay'' on the Food Network and owns several restaurants.
After a few minutes, the stewards ruled there were no infractions and Flays went back to celebrating.
American horses won all of six Breeders' Cup races on the first day of the two-day racing event. No jockey or trainer won more than one Breeders' Cup race Friday.
Unrivaled Belle capped the opening day with an upset victory in the $2 million Ladies' Classic under the lights. Unrivaled Belle ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.04, winning by 1 3/4 lengths over 3-2 favorite Blind Luck in front of 41,614.
Shared Account scored the second-biggest upset in the event's 27-year history, winning the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf at 46-1 odds on a gray and chilly day.
The races went off without Zenyatta, who was back in her barn waiting to defend her title Saturday in the $5 million Classic against the boys. She will put her 19-0 winning streak on the line in the 1 1/4-mile race, the richest in North America.
The two-day world championships were back at Churchill Downs for a record seventh time, and the first in three years to be run on dirt. The event was on the synthetic track at Santa Anita the last two years.
The lights dotting the home of the Kentucky Derby were turned on before daylight faded. The dirt oval was brightly lit for the Ladies' Classic that went off at 7:35 p.m. ET.
''I don't think the horses know its nighttime out there,'' winning jockey Kent Desormeaux said. ''It is so bright. Everyone can see where they're going. It's safe.''
Under Desormeaux, Unrivaled Belle was fifth much of the way before making a four-wide move on the final turn and taking charge at the top of the stretch. She paid $17 to win. The gray filly is owned by Gary Seidler and Peter Vegso, publishers of the ''Chicken Soup for the Soul'' series of motivational books.
''She left them for dead leaving the three-eighths pole. I mean, it was over,'' Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said.
In the other races:
Eldaafer won the 1 3/4-mile Marathon by 1 3/4 lengths for Velazquez and trainer Diane Alvarado. He paid $23.20 to win.
Dubai Majestry won the $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint by 2 1/4 lengths, giving jockey Jamie Theriot his first BC title. She paid $19.20.
Awesome Feather won the $2 million Juvenile Fillies by 2 1/4 lengths, making jockey Jeffrey Sanchez and trainer Stanley Gold winners in their BC debuts. She paid $10.40.
