Breeders Cup

The Breeders' Cup is an international horse racing meeting held in the United States in November each year. It is also known in America as the World Championships.

It traditionally attracts the best horses from around the world, with the feature being the Breeders' Cup Classic, which is one of the most lucrative races in horse racing.

The meeting lasts over two days and has been running since 1984 when it was held at Hollywood Park. It has taken place across a number of different racecourses in the US but has also been hosted at Woodbine Racecourse in Toronto, Canada.

From 1986 until 2006, the Breeders' Cup was a one-day event, but more races were added in 2007, extending it to an extra day.

Since 2008, it has taken place at Santa Anita racecourse in four of the last six years, while it is also scheduled to take place there in 2014.

In the current format, there can be a maximum of 14 starters in each of the 14 Championship races. There is a qualifying process for certain races, while there is also a selection panel in place to ensure each race is as strong as possible.

Jockey Mike Smith holds the record for the most number of wins at the meeting as he has been successful on 20 different occasions. Jerry Bailey is next best with 15.
D. Wayne Lukas has trained more winners than anyone else with 19, which is a long way clear of anybody else in the sport.

The Breeders' Cup Classic now offers a purse of $5million and is usually the very last race on the final day. It takes place over 1m2f or 2000m on dirt.

Only one horse in the history of the Classic has won it more than once, which was Tiznow, who prevailed in 2000 and then defended his crown successfully in 2001.

Zenyatta was a very popular winner of the $5million contest in 2009. She was the first filly or mare to do so against her opposite sex. A year earlier, she was also successful in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic. She returned for the meeting in 2010 at which stage she put her unbeaten record on the line in the feature once again. However, she could only finish second behind Blame. Despite defeat, she broke the record earnings by any one horse at the Breeders' Cup, overtaking Tiznow's previous best.

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