Purses Increased for 2016 BC Classic, Turf

Breeders' Cup has announced that purses for this year's World Championships will increase to $28 million from $26 million.

The organization made the announcement via NBC during the network's coverage of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) June 11 and through Twitter. Based on the announced winner's share of the purses, the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) will go from $5 million to $6 million and the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT) from $3 million to $4 million.

At 55% of the total purse, the winner of the Classic will earn $3.3 million and the winner of the Turf $2.2 million. Breeders' Cup officials said the purse increases were approved by its board of directors in February.

The organization said the purse increases are the first for any Breeders' Cup races since 2006, the year before the World Championships became a two-day event and the number of races almost doubled.

“In our efforts  to provide our horsemen and fans with the best product in international racing, we are pleased to announce purse increases for both the Classic and the Longines Turf beginning with this year’s event at Santa Anita,” Breeders' Cup president and chief executive officer Craig Fravel said. “Since our inception, one of the founding principles of the Breeders’ Cup has been to offer unprecedented purses on our races as incentive to keep the stars of our sport on the track and extend their racing careers.

"While the Classic and the Turf mark our first purse increases to individual races since 2006, our goal is to continue to find ways to raise purse levels on our races in the future.”

Breeders' Cup also said it will offer a $40,000 shipping stipend to any international participants this year, and $10,000 for domestic shippers from outside of California. The event will be held Nov. 4-5 at Santa Anita Park.