Breeders Cup 2010 – Breeders Cup World Championships

Announced in April of 1982 by leading thoroughbred owner and breeder John R. Gaines, the Breeders’ Cup has served as a positive step toward not only promoting racing, but uniting the industry itself. Breeders’ Cup Limited enjoyed immediate and widespread support from the industry through annual nomination payments for stallions and one-time nomination payments for those stallions’ offspring.

Since the inaugural running at Hollywood Park 26 years ago, the Breeders’ Cup has established itself as the season-ending championship of thoroughbred racing. It is now firmly entrenched in American racing lore with a history and tradition all its own. The Breeders’ Cup World Championships has also served as a deciding factor in Eclipse Award voting. The Eclipse Awards, which honor Horse of the Year and other champions in the sport, are voted on annually by representatives of Daily Racing Form, the National Turf Writers Association and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

The multimillion-dollar event has been a magnet for the most outstanding equine competitors in the world. American champions such as Azeri, A.P. Indy, Alysheba, Cigar, Curlin, Personal Ensign, Ferdinand, Sunday Silence, Zenyatta and countless others have demonstrated greatness at Breeders’ Cup. Last year’s Championships at Santa Anita Park was another clear example of the international excellence of the event, as the 5-year-old mare Zenyatta completed another undefeated season by beating the world’s best horses in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic, the first female ever to win the Classic. In addition, the magnificent French filly Goldikova (IRE) won the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile for the second consecutive year, and the 4-year-old Irish bred Conduit was a repeat winner of the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf.

That European tradition of success at the Breeders’ Cup began in the event’s very first year. In 1984, Alain de Royer-Dupre saddled the Aga Khan’s Lashkari to win the first Breeders’ Cup Turf. The late Francois Boutin brought over the great mare Miesque in 1987; she was the heroine of the Mile that year and she returned the next year to win again, making her the first multiple Breeders’ Cup race winner. France-based trainer Andre Fabre has had a talented contingent over the years with four winners from 39 starters but Arcangues will be remembered as his most notable performer. In 1993, at Santa Anita, Arcangues stunned the world with his win in the Classic, paying $269.20, which still stands as the highest payoff in Breeders’ Cup history. More recently, Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien has brought his top runners from Ireland and England. Since his first appearance in 1998, O’Brien has saddled 44 starters, coming away with three victories. Both Fabre and O’Brien are in the top 10 trainers by earnings in Breeders’ Cup races. Another standout European performer has been Ouija Board, the brilliant winner of the 2004 and 2006 runnings of the Filly & Mare Turf.

The 2009 Breeders’ Cup, held during the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting at Santa Anita Park, was another ground-breaking event. It was the third year that the Championships were conducted over two days. The event was expanded from 11 races in 2007 to 14 in 2008. Last year’s $25.5 million in total purses earned the Breeders’ Cup the title of richest prize money event in the world. Championship Friday featured five Breeders’ Cup races exclusively for female horses. There were more than 96,000 fans who attended the two days of the Championships. The Breeders’ Cup was televised domestically with an unprecedented nine hours on ABC/ESPN and to more than 130 countries worldwide. In addition, more than $100 million in winning wagers were returned to fans at betting locations around the globe. This year, Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., will host the 27th running of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Friday Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6.