Cracking the Cup Part Two: The Road to the Breeders’ Cup
Image:
Description:
Fort Larned won the 2012 Whitney Handicap, a "Win and You're In" race on his way to a victory in that year's Breeders' Cup Classic.
To read part one of this Cracking the Cup blog, click here.
In my first piece, “Cracking the Cup - A Beginner’s Guide to the Breeders’ Cup,” I explained the 14 different races featured in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, which will be held at Santa Anita Park near Los Angeles on November 1-2. We looked at how sex, age, surface and distance play factors in the 14 different Breeders’ Cup divisions. Now we are going to take a look at just how horses get to the Breeders’ Cup.
The Breeders’ Cup is all about attracting the best of the best. There are a few ways a horse can qualify for a Breeders’ Cup race. The first is by winning a Breeders’ Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" race. There are 67 Breeders’ Cup Challenge races throughout the year, spanning 10 different countries. So long as the winners of these races are Breeders’ Cup nominated by October 21, their connections receive money to cover travel fees.
The Breeders’ Cup Challenge Races (US & Canada):
Date:
Race:
Track:
Sex:
Age:
Surf:
Dist:
Division:
6/15
Stephen Foster H. (G1)
CD
Open
3yo+
Dirt
9F
Classic
6/29
Triple Bend H. (G1)
BHP
Open
3yo+
Syn
7F
Dirt Mile
6/29
Shoemaker Mile (G1)
BHP
Open
3yo+
Turf
8F
Mile
7/6
Smile Sprint H. (G2)
Crc
Open
3yo+
Dirt
6F
Sprint
United Nations (G1)
Mth
Open
3yo+
Turf
11F
Turf
7/13
A Gleam H. (G2)
BHP
Female
3yo+
Syn
7F
F/M Sprint
7/28
Bing Crosby H. (G1)
Dmr
Open
3yo+
Turf
6F
Turf Sprint
8/3
Whitney H. (G1)
Sar
Open
3yo+
Dirt
9F
Classic
Clemente L. Hirsch (G1)
Dmr
Female
3yo+
Syn
8.5F
Ladies' Classic
8/17
Arlington Million (G1)
AP
Open
3yo+
Turf
10F
Turf
Beverly D. (G1)
AP
Female
3yo+
Turf
9.5F
F/M Turf
8/23
Ballerina S. (G1)
Sar
Female
3yo+
Dirt
7F
F/M Sprint
8/24
Del Mar H. (G2)
Dmr
Open
3yo+
Turf
11F
Turf
8/25
Personal Ensign H. (G1)
Sar
Female
3yo+
Dirt
9F
Ladies' Classic
Pat O'Brien (G2)
Dmr
Open
3yo+
Syn
7F
Dirt Mile
Pacific Classic (G1)
Dmr
Open
3yo+
Syn
9F
Classic
9/7
Iroquois (G3)
CD
Open
2yo
Dirt
8F
Juvenile
Pochahontas (G2)
CD
Female
2yo
Dirt
8F
Juvenile Fillies
9/14
Natalma (G2)
WO
Female
2yo
Turf
8F
Juv. Fillies Turf
Summer (G2)
WO
Open
2yo
Syn
8F
Juvenile Turf
9/15
Woodbine Mile (G1)
WO
Open
3yo+
Turf
8F
Mile
Canadian (G2)
WO
Female
3yo+
Turf
9F
Turf
9/28
Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1)
Bel
Open
3yo+
Dirt
10F
Classic
Beldame Inv. (G1)
Bel
Female
3yo+
Dirt
9F
Ladies' Classic
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1)
Bel
Open
3yo+
Turf
12F
Turf
Flower Bowl Inv. (G1)
Bel
Female
3yo+
Turf
10F
Filly/Mare Turf
Vosburgh Inv. (G1)
Bel
Open
3yo+
Dirt
6F
Sprint
Kelso H. (G2)
Bel
Open
3yo+
Dirt
8F
Dirt Mile
Awesome Again (G1)
SA
Open
3yo+
Dirt
9F
Classic
Zenyatta (G1)
SA
Female
3yo+
Dirt
8.5F
Ladies' Classic
Rodeo Drive (G1)
SA
Female
3yo+
Turf
10F
Filly/Mare Turf
Frontrunner (G1)
SA
Open
2yo
Dirt
8.5F
Juvenile
Chandelier (G1)
SA
Female
2yo
Dirt
8.5F
Juvenile Fillies
10/4
Alcibades (G1)
Kee
Open
2yo
Syn
8.5F
Juvenile Fillies
Phoenix (G3)
Kee
Open
3yo+
Syn
6F
Sprint
10/5
Turf Mile (G1)
Kee
Open
3yo+
Turf
8F
Mile
Breeders' Futurity (G1)
Kee
Open
2yo
Syn
8.5F
Juvenile
T'bred Club of America (G2)
Kee
Open
3yo+
Syn
6F
Filly/Mare Sprint
Champagne (G1)
Bel
Open
2yo
Dirt
8F
Juvenile
Frizette (G1)
Bel
Female
2yo
Dirt
8F
Juvenile Fillies
SA Sprint Champ. (G1)
SA
Open
3yo+
Dirt
6F
Sprint
10/6
Spinster (G1)
Kee
Female
3yo+
Syn
9F
Ladies' Classic
Bourbon (G3)
Kee
Open
2yo
Turf
8.5F
Juvenile Turf
Pilgrim (G3)
Bel
Open
2yo
Turf
8.5F
Juvenile Turf
Miss Grillo (G3)
Bel
Female
2yo
Turf
8.5F
Juv. Fillies Turf
10/10
Jessamine (G3)
Kee
Female
2yo
Turf
8.5F
Juv. Fillies Turf
10/13
Nearctic (G1)
WO
Open
3yo+
Turf
6F
Turf Sprint
ABBREVIATIONS:
Surf: Surface
Crc: Calder Race Course
WO: Woodbine
Dist: Distance
Mth: Monmouth Park
Bel: Belmont Park
Syn: Synthetic (Artificial) Surface
Dmr: Del Mar
SA: Santa Anita Park
CD: Churchill Downs
Sar: Saratoga
Kee: Keeneland
BHP: Betfair Hollywood Park
AP: Arlington Park
F: Furlong(s), 1 furlong = 1/8 mile
As you will see, there are plenty of Breeders’ Cup Challenge races going on in North America throughout the second half of the year. There are a total of 47 Challenge Races in the US and Canada at 11 tracks in six states and one Canadian province. Here are the winners of the first five North American races:
Date:
Race:
Track:
Division:
Winner:
15-Jun
Stephen Foster H. (G1)
Churchill
Classic
Fort Larned
29-Jun
Triple Bend H. (G1)
Hollywood
Dirt Mile
Centralintelligence
29-Jun
Shoemaker Mile (G1)
Hollywood
Mile
Obviously (IRE)
6-Jul
Smile Sprint H. (G2)
Calder
Sprint
Bahamian Squall
United Nations (G1)
Monmouth
Turf
Big Blue Kitten
13-Jul
A Gleam H. (G2)
Hollywood
Filly/Mare Sprint
Book Review
28-Aug
Bing Crosby H. (G1)
Del Mar
Turf Sprint
Points Offthebench
DEFENDING BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC WINNER FORT LARNED ALREADY HAS A FREE RIDE TO THIS YEAR’S CLASSIC
Photo courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire
The Breeders’ Cup Points System:
The second way to gain entry into a Breeders’ Cup race is through a points system, where horses earn points based on their performances in graded stakes races throughout the year. The chart below outlines how horses are awarded points:
Race Quality:
WIN:
PLACE:
SHOW:
Grade 1:
10 pts.
6 pts.
4 pts.
Grade 2:
6 pts.
4 pts.
2 pts.
Grade 3:
4 pts.
2 pts.
1 pt.
The Breeders’ Cup Panel Selection:
The third way to gain entry is to be selected by a panel of experts. For each race, there are a maximum of 14 horses selected for each Breeders’ Cup Championship race. Seven come from the Challenge races and points system and seven are selected by the experts. This ensures the highest quality of competition.
Now that you know how horses get to the Breeders’ Cup, you can get excited about the big racing events throughout the next three months. You have also learned that the contenders are all working towards a greater goal: the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, Nov. 1-2 at Santa Anita. Giddy up!