Every sport has a definitive year-ending event to crown its champions. In Thoroughbred racing, the Breeders' Cup World Championships is the culmination of the horse racing season worldwide and the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic is the defining event of the international racing season.
| Purse: | $6,000,000 | Grade: | 1 |
| Distance: | 1 1/4 Miles | Age: | 3+ |
The Breeders' Cup Classic, run at 1 1/4 miles, draws the top international Thoroughbreds year after year. It is open to horses 3-years-old and older and is limited to 14 starters. Seven of this year's starters will gain automatic entries into the race by qualifying through Breeders' Cup Challenge series.
California Chrome and Nyquist are both pointed at the $6 million Grade I Breeders' Cup Classic; California Chrome won the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, while Nyquist is the reigning Kentucky Derby champion. They'll race 1 ¼ miles over Santa Anita's dirt oval on November 5, with a post time of 8:35 PM ET.
This year's Breeders' Cup will take place November 4-5 at Santa Anita Park, and many well known horses are expected to duke it out in the main event. California Chrome has a pair of Triple Crown race victories and nine graded stakes wins on his impressive resume. He'll next set his sights on a win in the Breeders' Cup Classic as the betting favorite to win the lucrative race.
California Chrome is the favorite to win the Breeders' Cup Classic in his second attempt at the race. Back in 2014 California Chrome had to settle for a third-place finish at the event as a three-year-old, failing to cap off a season that had featured victories for the horse at both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
In 2015 California Chrome bypassed the Breeders' Cup in a season plagued by injuries, but he has bounced back in 2016 with graded stakes wins at the San Pasqual Stakes, Dubai World Cup, San Diego Handicap, Pacific Classic, and Awesome Again Stakes. That has set him up as the strong favorite to pull out the victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic next month.
Arrogate is seen as the top challenger for California Chrome in the race, set as the second favorite. Arrogate has not raced since the Aug. 27 Travers, but that does not necessarily faze Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. For those with short memories, a year ago Baffert trained American Pharoah up to the BC Classic following the Triple Crown winner's runner-up finish in the Travers. The results were a 6 ½-length victory procession in one of American Pharoah's most impressive wins.
Frosted then sits third on the Breeders' Cup Classic odds, with wins at the Al Maktoum Challenge, Metropolitan Handicap, and Whitney Handicap so far this season. Frosted finished fourth at the 2015 Kentucky Derby and second at the 2015 Belmont Stakes.
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | American Pharoah | Victor Espinoza | Bob Baffert | 2:00.07 |
| 2014 | Bayern | Martin Garcia | Bob Baffert | 1:59.88 |
| 2013 | Mucho Macho Man | Gary L. Stevens | Katherine Ritvo | 2:00.72 |
| 2012 | Fort Larned | Brian Hernandez | Ian Wilkes | 2:00.11 |
| 2011 | Drosselmeyer | Mike E. Smith | William I. Mott | 2:04.27 |
| 2010 | Blame | Garrett Gomez | Albert M. Stall, Jr. | 2:02.28 |
| 2009 | Zenyatta | Mike E. Smith | John Shirreffs | 2:00.32 |
| 2008 | Raven's Pass | Frankie Dettori | John Gosden | 1:59.27 |
| Breeders' Cup Race | Grade | Purse | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf | I | $1,000,000 | November 4 |
| Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile | I | $1,000,000 | November 4 |
| Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf | I | $1,000,000 | November 4 |
| Breeders' Cup Distaff | I | $2,000,000 | November 4 |
| Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies | I | $2,000,000 | November 5 |
| Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf | I | $2,000,000 | November 5 |
| Breeders' Cup Sprint | I | $1,500,000 | November 5 |
| Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint | I | $1,000,000 | November 5 |
| Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint | I | $1,000,000 | November 5 |
| Breeders' Cup Juvenile | I | $2,000,000 | November 5 |
| Breeders' Cup Mile | I | $2,000,000 | November 5 |
| Breeders' Cup Turf | I | $4,000,000 | November 5 |
| Breeders' Cup Classic | I | $6,000,000 | November 5 |
| Race Tracks | Time (EST) |
| Ascot (UK) | 9:39 AM |
| Australia A | 10:15 PM |
| Australia B | 10:28 PM |
| Australia C | 10:38 PM |
| Belmont Park | 1:31 PM |
| Belterra Park | 1:24 PM |
| Charles Town | 7:06 PM |
| Charlottetown | 5:32 PM |
| Chelmsford City (UK) | 8:54 AM |
| Curraheen (IG) | 2:50 PM |
| Daytona Beach Eve | 7:27 PM |
| Delaware Park | 1:16 PM |
| Delta Downs | 7:17 PM |
| Enniscorthy (IG) | 3:11 PM |
| Evangeline Downs | 6:27 PM |
| Ffos Las (UK) | 1:10 PM |
| Finger Lakes | 1:11 PM |
| Flagler Eve | 7:02 PM |
| Gulfstream Tropical | 1:24 PM |
| Harrahs Philly (Chester) | 12:43 PM |
| Hawthorne (H) | 8:17 PM |
| Laurel Park | 5:32 PM |
| Leopardstown (IRE) | 1:09 PM |
| Lingfield (UK) | 12:54 PM |
| Mohawk | 7:35 PM |
| Monticello Raceway | 12:55 PM |
| New Zealand | 8:26 PM |
| Orange Park Eve | 7:48 PM |
| Palm Beach Mat | 1:02 PM |
| Penn National | 6:02 PM |
| Plainridge | 4:05 PM |
| Prairie Meadows (TB) | 7:01 PM |
| Presque Isle | 5:26 PM |
| Rideau Carleton | 6:32 PM |
| Ripon (UK) | 9:12 AM |
| Sanford Mat | 1:35 PM |
| Saratoga Harness | 12:25 PM |
| Scarborough Downs | 4:32 PM |
| Scioto Downs | 6:38 PM |
| Shelbourne Park (IG) | 2:58 PM |
| Southland Twilight | 5:01 PM |
| Tri-State Eve | 7:00 PM |
| Vaal (SAF) | 6:55 AM |
| Wheeling Downs Mat | 1:02 PM |
