Breeders’ Cup

The Breeders’ Cup World Championships is an yearly set of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders’ Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it turned out to be a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. All websites are in the USA, except in 1996, when the races were at the Woodbine Racetrack in Canada.
The attendance at the Breeders’ Cup varies, depending mainly on the ability of the host track. Santa Anita Park set the highest two-day attendance figure of 118,484 in 2016. [1] The smallest two-day attendance was 69,584 at 2007 at Monmouth Park. [2] The presence typically only paths the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Oaks (and in certain years, the Belmont Stakes); for more info see American Thoroughbred Racing top Attended Occasions.
With the addition of three races for 2008, a total of $25.5 million has been granted over the two days, up from $23 million in 2007. Together with the following removal of 2 races, the purses for the remaining Seven races totaled $24.5 million in 2014, plus awards for foal and stallion nominators. [3] Prior to this 2016 running, the total purses were increased from $26 million to $28 million. The bag of the Classic was increased from $5 million to $6 million, and the purse of the Longines Turf was raised from $3 million to $4 million. [4] In 2018, total awards and prizes were raised to over $30 million following a different race, the Juvenile Turf Sprint, was inserted and the bag for its Sprint was raised to $2 million. [5]
Each Breeders’ Cup race gifts four Breeders’ Cup trophies to the relations of the winner along with a garland of flowers draped over the withers of the horse that is winning. Many Breeders’ Cup winners will go on to win the Eclipse Award in their respective division. By way of example, of those eleven horizontal racehorse categories, seven of those Eclipse winners in 2015 had also won a Breeders’ Cup race, while three others were at the cash. [6]
From the 2015 list of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), three Breeders’ Cup races are rated among the top Grade 1 races on the planet: the Vintage (4th), the Turf (10th) and the Mile (12th). The Distaff is ranked second among the top Grade 1 races for fillies and mares. [7]During 2006, you will find eight races on the Breeders’ Cup cardall categorized as Grade I races. In 2007, three races — the Dirt Mile, Filly and Mare Sprint, and Juvenile Turf — were added, all of these run the Friday before the remaining eight races. Three new races — a Turf Sprint, Juvenile Filly Turf and Marathon — were inserted for 2008. [33] A Juvenile Sprint was inserted for 2011.
The championship races in 2009 (pictured) were the next year to have a day devoted to female horses. Since 2013, the sex on the two days is mixed between races.
The arrangement of these races on the card has changed many times throughout the event’s history, but the Turf and Classic are traditionally the previous two races. The 2008 event was the first where Day 1 of the event was committed to races for fillies and mares, with Day 2 comprising the rest of the races. For 2009, the Marathon, open to runners of both sexes, was transferred from Day 2 to be the opening race 1, but all other races stayed on the afternoon they had been conducted in 2008. In 2011, the Marathon was transferred from Day 1 to Day 2, together with the Juvenile Sprint getting the first race overall (and also the only one on Day 1 available to males). The Marathon returned to Day 1 at 2012. Since 2013, the first day was no longer primarily devoted to races for fillies and mares, with all the Dirt Mile and Juvenile Turf proceeding to Day 1 and the Filly & Mare Sprint and Filly & Mare Turf moving to Day two.
Two other major changes were made in 2013. To begin with, the Juvenile Sprint (on dirt) was discontinued after just two runnings. That race had been widely perceived as a consolation prize for horses not good enough to operate in the Juvenile. [8] Second, the Ladies’ Classic returned to its initial name of Distaff. When the latter announcement was made, Breeders’ Cup president Craig Fravel stated,
We restored the Ladies’ Vintage to its original name because of comments from our faithful fans who have a strong affinity for the Distaff. In recognition of our 30th year, the Distaff has provided us with some of racing’s most remarkable moments, personified by these outstanding thoroughbreds as Lady’s Secret, Personal Ensign, Azeri, Zenyatta, and our two-time defending champion, Royal Delta. It’s a fitting tribute to deliver back the name Distaff to honor the rich history of the championships. [8]
For 2018, the sprint race for two-year olds was revived, now on turf since the Juvenile Turf Sprint. According to officials, the turf races for two-year old horses have more entries than can fit inside the Breeders’ Cup limit of 12 to 14 horses, therefore that they had to add the third turf race for age-old older horses in 5.5 or six furlongs, Based on the trac