Breeders Cup Races
The Breeders’ Cup Weekend is run in November and is considered the World Championships of thoroughbred racing. The 2023 Breeders Cup will be held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California on November 3rd and 4th. The program was modeled on the racing festivals held at The Curragh (Ireland) in June and the Epsom Derby (United Kingdom) Festival held in early July.
While there are many unique and distinguished races in the United States such as the Kentucky Derby, The Pegasus Stakes, The Travers, and The Santa Anita Handicap; the Breeders Cup races are fourteen graded stakes worth 1 million or more.
Breeders Cup Races
Day 1 celebrates 2 year old horses & there are 5 races:
1) Juvenile Filly
2) Juvenile Filly Turf
3) Juvenile
4) Juvenile Turf
5) Juvenile Turf Sprint
Day 2 focuses on older horses with 10 events:
1) Filly & Mare Sprint
2) Turf Sprint
3) Dirt Mile
5) Sprint
6) Filly & Mare Turf
7) Distaff
8) Turf
9) Classic
10) Mile
To be Eligible for The Breeders Cup, horses must be nominated and pay entry fees. A horse can be nominated for no more than two races.
A maximum of 14 starters are allowed in each of the fourteen Breeders’ Cup Championships races. The Breeders’ Cup has adopted a field selection system to select runners in the event more than 14 have entered the race. This system ranks horses in order of preference based upon wins in Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, a point system, and a panel of racing experts.
The Breeders Cup Challenge System is made up of races across three regions of the US (East, West, and Midwest) along with selected races in Europe and South America. Winners of these races are guaranteed a spot in the field if they are nominated to the race. Here is a list of the 2022-2023 Breeders Cup Win and you’re in.
The point system awards points for horses, points based on win (1st), place (2nd), and show (3rd) finishes in Graded stakes races Grade 1 races award ten, six and four points. The top three finishers in Grade II stakes earn six, four and two points, and in Grade III races the points earned are four, two and one. Graded Stakes Points for dirt races will be the only points considered for horses pre-entered in dirt Races and only points earned on turf will be considered for horses in Turf races. All Graded Stakes Points will be considered for the five two-year old Championship Races.
Successfully betting on the Breeders Cup is a product of a year worth of analysis watching the horses train and then race with the Breeders Cup in mind. Many barns will focus the whole season with November as a target while other barns will only head to the Breeders Cup if they have a high quality horse. The Europeans often send mainly two year olds and older female horses since the purse structure is significantly higher than European races. The South American horse will make the journey if the ownership group plans to continue racing in the US so this becomes the start of a new career path rather than an end. Last year Flightline wrapped up an incredible 6 race career with an 8 1/4 length victory in the Classic
Learning more about the Breeders’ Cup races can actually help you make the right decision on race day for placing bets on winning horses. Horse Racing Tote gives you the latest updates for the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Win and you’re in and the Breeders Cup qualifying races. Stay tuned for the 2023 Breeders Cup Odds and Free Horse Betting Picks!
