The Breeders' Cup World Championships

The inaugural Breeders’ Cup was held at the historical Hollywood Park, now defunct, in 1984. Although the first race meet was in 1984, the Breeders’ Cup Limited organization was formed in 1982. In 2007 the race expanded from a single day to two days of racing. 

Leading Thorougbred owner and breeder John Gaines, in addition to other industry members like trainer John Nerud, came up with the during the 1982 Kentucky Derby Festival. The plan was to have a North American championship to close the racing year. 

A maximum of 14 contenders are allowed in each of the races, except for the Dirt Mile which has 12 horses. The Breeders’ Cup selects contenders based upon a series of criteria such as, Breeders’ Cup Challenge Races (Win and You’re In), a point system and the judgement from a panel of racing experts. This helps ensure quality competition and gives clear guidance if races are oversubscribed. 

The host track for the two-day event typically rotates to varying tracks each year. Most recent notable tracks are Santa Anita, Del Mar, Keeneland, and Churchill Downs.

$1 million Juvenile Turf Sprint
$1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf
$2 million Juvenile Fillies
$1 million Juvenile Turf
$2 million Sentient Jet Juvenile

$1 million Filly & Mare Sprint
$1 million Turf Sprint
$1 million Dirt Mile
$2 million Filly & Mare Turf
$2 million TwinSpires Sprint
$2 million Mile
$2 million Longines Distaff
$4 million Longines Turf
$6 million Classic