Twenty Fun Facts About the Breeders’ Cup

The Breeders’ Cup is just around the corner and the excitement for Keeneland's first Breeders' Cup is palpable. Want some quick facts and numbers to spout when you’re discussing the big event with your friends? Read on.
1. The 2015 Breeders’ Cup is the 32nd running of the event, which was first held in 1984 at Hollywood Park in California.
2. Just one horse has won three Breeders’ Cup races: Goldikova. This year Beholder will try to join her when she contests the Classic, after winning the Juvenile Fillies in 2012 and thet Distaff in 2013. If she wins the Classic, she would also become the first horse to win three different Breeders' Cup races. 
3. Da Hoss, Ouija Board, and Secret Circle are the only three horses to win non-consecutive Breeders’ Cup races. 
DA HOSS WINS 1996 BREEDERS' CUP MILE

Photo by HorsePhotos
4. This year’s Breeders’ Cup features the 2015 Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah going for the first-ever grand slam of racing as he runs in the Classic.
5. Last year $135,677,016 were bet on the Breeders’ Cup, and 98,319 fans attended.
6. The average Classic win payout is $27.83! The Breeders’ Cup is great for making a few bucks off your astute wagering skills.
7. Speaking of handicappers – 159 horses ran in the Breeders' Cup in 2014, an average of 12.2 per race. That ensures one of the best betting opportunities all year.
8. The Turf Sprint averages more horses than any other race, with 13.8. That's nearly a full field every year, and in fact the lowest number of horses to compete in any Turf Sprint was 13, .
MIZDIRECTION WINS 2013 BREEDERS' CUP TURF SPRINT

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
9. Of the 39 horses that have gone off at 100-1 or greater, only 1993 Classic winner Arcangues finished in the money.
10. But be cautious of a heavy favorite, too – of 50 odds-on favorites in the history of the event, less than half (23) won.
11. If you were the lucky winning ticket holder of the 1999 Breeders’ Cup Pick 6, you would have pocketed $3,058,138.60 (minus taxes, of course).
12. Wes Welker of NFL fame will be trying to win his first Breeders' Cup race this fall as his Undrafted runs in the Turf Sprint.
UNDRAFTED

13. Skip Away was the richest horse ever to enter a Breeders’ Cup race, with $9,616,360 in earnings prior to the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic. 
14. Street Sense won the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by a record 10 lengths. He is the only Juvenile winner to win the Kentucky Derby the following spring.
15. In 31 years, 37 championship races have been decided by a margin of a head or less.
16. The 2003 Turf resulted in the only dead-heat win in the event’s history when High Chaparral and Johar hit the wire together, a head in front of Falbrav in a blanket finish.
2003 BREEDERS' CUP TURF

17. Honor Code will try to emulate his dad with a win in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic. In 1992, his sire A.P. Indy won the Classic and a Horse of the Year title. 
18. At 79, D. Wayne Lukas upped his own record as the oldest trainer to win a Breeders’ Cup race when he won the 2014 Juvenile Fillies with Take Charge Brandi. 
19. Eugene Klein and Flaxman Holdings are tied for the most wins by an owner with six after Flaxman Holdings won two races with homebreds (Main Sequence in the Turf and Karakontie in the Mile) last year. Stronach Stables and Allen Paulson are next with five.
20. No more than four horses will try to join the exclusive ‘two-time Breeders’ Cup champion’ club this year, as previous winners Untapable, Judy the Beauty, Karakontie and potentially Bobby's Kitten are back for more.