Jockey Gary Stevens, top, rides Mucho Macho Man to victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic horse race ahead of Will Take Charge, bottom, and Declaration of War at Santa Anita Park Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, in Arcadia, Calif.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Mucho Macho Man won the $5 million Classic by a nose Saturday, making Kathy Ritvo the first female trainer to win North America's richest race at a Breeders' Cup that began tragically with the death of a horse in the first race.

Gary Stevens capped his comeback at 50 in stellar fashion, surviving a photo finish in the Classic after winning the $2 million Distaff with Beholder on Friday for a sweep of the biggest races at the two-day world championships at Santa Anita.

Ritvo became the fifth female trainer to win a Breeders' Cup race and got to celebrate a year after seeing Mucho Macho Man finish second by a half-length to winner Fort Larned.

This time, she had to sweat out the results.

Mucho Macho Man stretched his neck at the finish to narrowly edge Will Take Charge, trained by 78-year-old Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas.

Game On Dude, the 8-5 favorite, finished ninth on his home track for trainer Bob Baffert and co-owner Joe Torre, the retired Dodgers and Yankees manager.

The 30th Breeders' Cup got off to a troublesome start, with a rare disqualification in the opening race and Secret Compass euthanized because of a broken leg.

The $2 million Juvenile Fillies went from strange to tragic over several minutes. The DQ was announced after a green screen went up in a spot approaching the final turn to shield injured Secret Compass from the crowd.

"When you lose a horse like that, it just took all the wind out of our sails," Baffert said. "I've never had something like that happen on a big day. We're all still in shock."

John Velazquez, who rode Secret Compass, had emergency surgery to remove his spleen after internal bleeding was discovered shortly before he was to be released from a Pasadena hospital.

Ria Antonia finished second but was declared the winner of the 1 1/16-mile race after She's a Tiger was disqualified by the stewards.

They ruled that She's a Tiger and Stevens drifted out late, bumped Ria Antonia and Javier Castellano, slowing her momentum.

"I had gotten by Gary but when he came in to me, he bumped me off-stride," Castellano said.

Stevens said the stewards had a tough call.

"The stewards made their call and I wouldn't disagree with that," he said.

It was the first DQ of a winner since the inaugural 1984 Juvenile Fillies race in which Fran's Valentine won and later was placed 10th.

"This is heartbreaking," said Jeff Bonde, who trains She's a Tiger.

Sent off at 32-1 odds, Ria Antonia paid $66.60, $29.80 and $17.40. The winning time was 1:43.02 and the margin was a nose.

"If that horse changes course and doesn't make contact, you say, 'OK, leave it up,'" said Jeremiah Englehart, who trains Ria Antonia. "But once you make contact it has to come down."

She's a Tiger returned $6.40 and $4.80. Rosalind paid $6.80 to show.

Running third at the time, Secret Compass' front legs collapsed, slamming Velazquez hard into the dirt. Baffert's 2-year-old filly was euthanized after sustaining a lateral condylar fracture, according to on-call veterinarian Dr. Wayne McIlwraith.

"It is the worst type of injury we get, unfortunately," he said.

Velazquez was to ride in all nine Breeders' Cup races, but he was replaced by other jockeys.

Baffert was smiling later when 10-1 shot New Year's Day rallied on the rail to win the $2 million Juvenile by 1 ¼ lengths. The colt paid $23 to win, with jockey Martin Garcia earning his first Cup victory.

But the trainer's emotions were raw.

"Just the win is exciting, but in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about that filly," he said.

Baffert and Garcia also teamed to win the $1.5 million Sprint by a neck with Secret Circle.

Baffert earned his third win in the Juvenile, whose winner is typically tagged as the early Kentucky Derby favorite. His other entry, Tap It Rich, finished fifth.

Havana, the 5-2 favorite trained by Todd Pletcher, was second. Strong Mandate, trained by Lukas, was third.

Current Horse of the Year Wise Dan repeated in the $2 million Mile, winning by three-quarters of a length under Jose Lezcano, a late replacement for Velazquez. He paid $3.60 to win as the 4-5 favorite.

After the early drama, 3-2 favorite Dank restored order by winning the $2 million Filly & Mare Turf by a half-length over Romantica.

Ridden by Ryan Moore, Dank ran 1 ¼ miles in 1:58.73 and paid $5, $3.40 and $2.80. The Britain-bred filly is trained by Michael Stoute.

Another favorite, 3-1 Groupie Doll, won the $1 million Filly & Mare Sprint for the second straight year by a half-length.

Ridden by Rajiv Maragh, the 5-year-old mare covered seven furlongs in 1:20.75 and paid $8, $4.60 and $3.40. She's trained by Buff Bradley, who said Groupie Doll will be sold to support her ownership's other horses.

Mizdirection defended her title in the $1 million Turf Sprint for co-owner Jim Rome, the sports talk host.

She ran 6 ½ furlongs in 1:12.25, improving to 7-0 on Santa Anita's downhill turf course and paying $7.40 to win as the 5-2 favorite.

Rome said Mizdirection is headed to the sales ring in Kentucky on Monday. Before the mare's success, he said, "We got our brains beaten in and we lost a lot of money."

"It's tearing me up, but from a business standpoint, and this is a business, it's something we need to do," Rome said.

Mike Smith guided Mizdirection to a half-length victory, extending his record for most Cup wins by a jockey to 20. He won two races on opening day Friday.

Reneesgotzip and Tightend Touchdown dead-heated for second.