| |
|
Breeders Cup History
History - Important Facts - Race Types
The Breeders' Cup Championship is non-stop action from the moment the horses step onto the track for the first race, the Distaff, until the garland is draped across the shoulders of the Classic winner at dusk.
Breeder’s Cup founders envisioned the concept in 1982. Racing's leaders wanted a vehicle to promote the sport, a showcase for its finest elements, and a grand finale to the racing season. The Championship races became the cornerstone of a year-round program which has allocated more than $380 million to owners and breeders since the inaugural 1984 event.
Since then, the Breeders' Cup Championship has redefined the racing calendar - becoming the season-ending goal for the best horses - and given the sport a championship event much like the World Series or the Super Bowl.
The Breeders' Cup Championship has provided racing with some of its finest moments. Images like these are indelibly etched in its rich chronicles: the great Cigar ending his perfect 1995 season with a thrilling victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic; Personal Ensign courageously inching past Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors to retire undefeated in 1988; Arazi swooping in from France and stunning all who saw him in the 1991 Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
Dozens of European horses board cargo planes each fall and cross the Atlantic in search of the Breeders' Cup's rich spoils. Their success in many of these races has ensured that foreign horses keep coming back. Who can forget the gallant French filly Miesque winning back-to-back editions of the Breeders' Cup Mile? Or an obscure French-based runner named Arcangues pulling the biggest upset in Breeders' Cup history, winning the 1993 Classic and paying $269.20 to win?
Horses have journeyed from as far away as Japan to compete in the Breeders' Cup Championship. It truly has become the foremost international racing event.
The Breeders' Cup Championship continues to grow in popularity because of its prestige and keen level of competition.
Breeders' Cup Championship is known beyond the borders of the particular host track. NBC has televised the event since its inception, providing a degree of air time unprecedented in Thoroughbred racing. The network's coverage has won Eclipse Awards for National Television Achievement and the Outstanding Live Sports Special of 1992 at the 14th Emmy Awards for Sports annual ceremony.
Major corporate sponsors also have helped boost recognition of the Breeders' Cup Championship. Sponsors have included Buick, Alberto-Culver, Budweiser, Delta Air Lines, Emirates Airline, Mobil, National Car Rental, Visa and Sears.
While sponsors have brought added name recognition to the Breeders' Cup, Thoroughbred owners and breeders have been its backbone since the beginning. They not only supply the horses which compete in Breeders' Cup events, they pay the nominations from which the organization derives its major source of funding.
Stallion owners annually pay a nomination fee that is the equivalent of a stallion's advertised stud fee, or a minimum of $1,000. Breeders pay a nomination fee of $500 for each foal. Nominated horses are eligible to compete for millions in both the National Stakes program and the Breeders' Cup Championship events.
In a short time, the Breeders' Cup has been firmly established as Thoroughbred racing's most prestigious event. Nothing can rival its millions in prize money or its international cast of talent. No other day of racing can match the Breeders' Cup Championship for non-stop excitement.
The Breeders' Cup has accomplished what its founders set out to do - and more. It remains the definitive test of champions and has become racing's most recognizable and successful showpiece. It only promises to improve in the years to come.
◄ Previous
|
|
Triple Crown:
Race Tracks:
Other Sections:
|
|