Del Mar renewed its emphasis on turf racing for its Bing Crosby Season, announcing a stakes schedule going deep on the seaside track’s Jimmy Durante Turf Course. Aside from the Nov. 5-6 Breeders’ Cup returning to Del Mar for the first time since 2017, the track features 18 stakes races. […]
Tag: Breeders Cup
Saratoga, Breeders’ Cup Opening Gates to 100% of Capacity
Officials from both Saratoga Race Course and the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar announced Wednesday that their facilities will open to 100% capacity this year. The NYRA also announced the full reopening of Belmont Park, beginning June 24. The NYRA’s announcements came on the heels of New York Gov. Andrew […]
Breeders’ Cup Bans Lasix for ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge Races
Following in the footsteps of the Triple Crown races, Breeders’ Cup World Championships officials announced Wednesday their Challenge Series races will run Lasix free. The Challenge Series races are the “Win and You’re In†races spread out over the world. Those events give all-expense-paid spots in the various Breeders’ Cup […]
Powerhouse Owner, Breeder Prince Khalid bin Abdullah Dies at 83
Tributes from all over the racing world poured in Tuesday, remembering Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, who died Tuesday of undisclosed causes. The Saudi prince and nine-time Eclipse Award winner as owner and breeder was 83. A member of the Saudi Royal Family, Prince Khalid owned Juddmonte Farms, which announced the […]
Despite Topsy-Turvy Year, Horseracing’s 2020 Handle Falls Only 1.3%
Tracks closed, spectators were absent, and schedules were changed beyond recognition. Yet, amid a year unlike any other in Thoroughbred racing, the total 2020 US handle dipped only 1.3% from its 2019 totals. What was remarkable about that modest dip — from $10.871 billion in 2019 to $10.727 billion in […]
Despite Breeders’ Cup, Betting Handles Down During November
Despite the betting bonanza that is the Breeders’ Cup, November’s Thoroughbred betting handle dipped more than 6% from its 2019 numbers according to Equibase’s monthly report on Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing. The drop can be attributed to an 8% dip in Breeders’ Cup handle from its record numbers in […]
On Record-Setting Day, Breeders’ Cup Handle Takes Mild Dip
With Kentucky Derby champion Authentic, standout filly Gamine, and Knicks Go all winning Breeders’ Cup races in record time – and without general public tickets available – the Breeders’ Cup World Championships managed its sixth-highest all-sources handle since 2007. That was the year the Breeders’ Cup expanded to two days. […]
Breeders’ Cup Classic: Picking a Winner in this All-Star Field is a Puzzle
If you’re grasping to understand how good the field is for this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic truly is, it’s easiest to picture what an All-Star horse race would look like. The Mid-fall Classic, as it were. If the Mid-fall Classic offered a $6 million purse, two Triple Crown race winners, […]
Improbable Takes Favorite Status, Outer Post in Breeders’ Cup Classic
The last time Bob Baffert turned loose a Breeders’ Cup Classic favorite at Keeneland, that horse – American Pharoah – won him his second of three consecutive Classics. Now, Baffert has more than an outside chance of winning his fourth. He has three outside chances. That’s because his three mainstays, […]
Breeders’ Cup Speed Figures: Solving the Filly & Mare Sprint Puzzle
Even beyond speed figures, the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint offers horseplayers and racing fans one of the best races on the 14-race Breeders’ Cup card. And it offers more balance and deeper speed than you think – even with the likes of Gamine and Serengeti Empress topping the […]
Keeneland Wraps Fall Meet with Modest Handle Decline
With the Breeders’ Cup looming in two weeks as Keeneland’s worldwide close-up, the Lexington, KY, track ended its Fall Meet Saturday with a modest 7.5% drop in all-sources handle from 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Keeneland ran its 17-day Fall Meet without spectators. Yet the track recorded $148,229,708 in […]
Keeneland Gets 2022 Consolation After Breeders’ Cup Goes Fan-Free
The Breeders’ Cup became the latest major racing event going spectator-free, announcing it will go without fans for its upcoming event, Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland in Lexington, KY. At the same time, the Breeders’ Cup announced Keeneland will play host to the 2022 event. This means that all four major […]
Midnight Bisou, Monomoy Girl Headline Fasig-Tipton’s November Sale
Four of the greatest distaff horses of the last five years go on the auction block this November when the owners of Monomoy Girl, Midnight Bisou, Uni, and Rushing Fall put their prize mares up for sale at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Held at Keeneland on Nov. 8, Fasig-Tipton’s November […]
For the First Time, Preakness Joins Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series
For the first time in the Breeders’ Cup’s nearly 40-year history, a Triple Crown race will be part of its “Win and You’re In†Challenge Series of races. The 145th Preakness Stakes became one of 44 Challenge Series races offering spots in the Breeders’ Cup field over the next two […]
Fall Into Belmont Park’s Autumn Meet: 27 Days, 22 Graded Stakes
Even as the New York Racing Association cuts racing days in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, organization officials announced its 27-day Belmont Park fall meet. That schedule features 38 stakes races worth $5.58 million in purse money. NYRA officials announced Wednesday that they are cutting days from both the Belmont […]
Legendary Sire, 1992 Horse of the Year AP Indy Dies at 31
AP Indy, the 1992 Horse of the Year and one of the most decorated stallions of the 1990s, died Friday at the Kentucky farm where he spent most of his life and sired horses responsible for winning hundreds of races. He was 31. The son of 1977 Triple Crown winner […]
Breeders’ Cup Officials Decide Santa Anita is Safe Enough for Now
The 2019 Breeders’ Cup World Championships is remaining at Santa Anita Park. That’s the decision Thursday from Breeders’ Cup officials. But, they are expecting to continue grappling with the extensive fall-out from the Los Angeles-area race track’s outbreak of training and racing mishaps. Thirty horses have succumbed from racing or […]
Breeders’ Cup Returns to Churchill Downs with New Bets, Lower Takeouts, Tough Euro Competition
Two new, low-takeout late Pick 5 wagers and what many are calling the strongest European contingent ever highlight the 2018 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, set for Churchill Downs, Nov. 2-3. Consisting of 14 races over two days with more than $30 million in purses and special awards, the Breeders’ Cup, […]