Youth Movement for Breeders' Cup Friday

Sports Illustrated put LeBron James on its cover while he was in high school. Football fans across the country watch the NFL Draft to try to guess the sport's next Pro Bowl players. College basketball fans spend hours reading recruiting stories.

Sports fans love seeing the next big thing, and the first day of this year's Breeders' Cup will provide that opportunity. All five of its races for 2-year-olds will be contested on "Future Stars Friday," the opening day of the two-day event.

"I think fans will buy into it as a day, to see what young horses move into the spotlight—see what stars emerge," said Breeders' Cup president and CEO Craig Fravel.

Breeders' Cup considered such a move in 2011 and 2012, when the Juvenile Sprint was added. That six-furlong dirt race drew a total of 14 starters combined in the two years it was offered and was discontinued. Fravel noted there was also a concern at the time that the Juvenile Sprint was pulling potential starters away from the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile (G1).

This year Breeders' Cup added the Juvenile Turf Sprint, and when officials considered its addition, they also considered moving the juvenile races to Friday. With that fifth race for 2-year-olds in place, they opted to package the races for youngsters together. Fittingly enough, it will debut Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs, which for 14 years has offered cards exclusive to 2-year-olds on both opening day and the final Saturday of the fall meet. Fravel acknowledged Churchill's success with those days in moving forward with the Breeders' Cup Future Stars Friday approach.

Churchill Downs senior director of communications Darren Rogers said fans have embraced the 2-year-old cards in Louisville and understand these are days to see emerging stars. Just some of the runners on these days—in maiden, allowance, and stakes races—have included Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Super Saver , classic winners Rachel Alexandra and Creator, Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Monomoy Girl, and Travers Stakes (G1) winner Will Take Charge .

Rogers credited former senior vice president of racing operations Donnie Richardson with the idea, which continues to deliver.

"It's a fabulous concept that's always been popular with our horsemen and fans," Rogers said. "You can circle the calendar as a day you might see an emerging star. We've tried to promote the horses who have come out of those cards, because it's a pretty impressive roster. You never know what star is going to emerge."

Fravel likes that the first Future Stars Friday will be contested at Churchill Downs, with the Juvenile stepping into the featured role.

"It's a natural to start the Future Stars Friday in Kentucky at Churchill Downs, as these races are a natural springboard to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks," Fravel said. The Juvenile's star-making ability—think Arazi's stretch run in the 1991 Juvenile at Churchill—could make for some nice buzz to round up the first day and get people thinking about Saturday and beyond.

That "beyond" is the Derby and the spring classics.

"There's five Breeders' Cup races that day, but let's face it: The marquee race that day is going to be the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. At the home of the Derby, that winner will shine," Rogers said. "The winner of that race is almost undoubtedly one of the early top contenders for next year's Kentucky Derby."