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Breeders’ Cup World Championships/Melbourne Cup

By The Javelina from The Suburbs of Angels, USA – Breeders Cup 2009 001, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35175632.

The Breeders’ Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders’ Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. 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. In 2019, the Breeders’ Cup will be held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2, and for a record-breaking 10th time following Breeders’ Cup’s most recent appearance at the track in 2016. An exclusive pre-sale will take place prior to the public ticket sale launch on March 4.

Concurrently on another hemisphere, you have the 2019 VRC Melbourne Cup group I handicap race in Australia – its most famous annual Thoroughbred horse race. It is a 1.988 mile race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival. It is the richest “two-mile” handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races. The event starts at 3pm on the first Tuesday in November and is known locally as “the race that stops a nation.”

Melbourne Cup 2019 promises to yet again be an unrivaled racing spectacle! Year after year the event continues to grow in popularity and attracts new fans worldwide. If you want to join in on the hype for the race that stops a nation, learn about Melbourne Cup favorites and get the latest Melbourne Cup tips all you need to do is read through our comprehensive guide.

The Melbourne Cup field typically comprises a star-studded array of both local and international horse racing champions. The horses that compete in the Melbourne Cup are chosen according to a range of parameters. Inferior racehorses are balloted out based on a range of metrics, such as handicap weight and performance in certain races.

Balloting conditions are that the race directors retain the absolute discretion to exclude any horse from the race, or exempt any horse from the ballot on the race, but in order to reduce the field to the safety limit of 24, horses are balloted out based on a number of factors which include 1000 in prize money earned in the previous two years, 9 wins or placings in certain lead-up races and 3 allocated handicap weight.  Betting on the Melbourne Cup is one of the most Australian things you can do and millions of people have a flutter every year in an attempt to snare the win.

Back to United States, there are a maximum of 14 starters are allowed in each of the Breeders’ Cup Championships races (depending on track dimensions, some races such as the Turf Sprint or Dirt Mile may be limited to 12 starters). Breeders’ Cup Limited has adopted a field selection system to select runners in the event fields are oversubscribed. Winners of the “Win and You’re In” Breeders’ Cup Challenge races automatically qualify. Other pre-entries are ranked by (1) a point system for graded stakes performance during the year, and (2) the judgment of a panel of racing experts. After pre-entries are taken approximately two weeks before the Breeders’ Cup, the ranking determines eligibility in oversubscribed races. After pre-entry, any vacancies in the fields are filled by horses in order of panel preference.

In 2018, there were 14 races in total, all but one of which were Grade 1. The Breeders’ Cup typically marks the end of the North American horse racing season, even though a few grades I events take place in late November and in December. The Breeders’ Cup is two full days of events that you can place bets on. There is a lot to cover but follow this guide for breeders cup entries to give you some highlights of horses that Breeders’ Cup betting participants staked their money on. It’s always important to thoroughly research your bets, especially during Breeders’ Cup betting season. Use our guide as a good starting point. In addition, you will find out the best Breeders’ Cup live stream places to watch.

From 2008 to 2014, the Breeders’ Cup was held at either Churchill Downs or Santa Anita Park, both major tracks with a demonstrated record of success in hosting the event. In 2015, however, Keeneland was selected as the host track for the first time, in large part because of Lexington’s position as the center of the North American thoroughbred breeding industry. Although concerns were raised over Keeneland’s limited amount of permanent seating, the 2015 event was considered a success, with record Friday attendance and a sell-out on Saturday.

2015 marked the first time a Triple Crown had been won since the inception of the Breeders’ Cup, and thus the first opportunity to win the so-called Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing, consisting of the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup Classic. American Pharoah completed the feat in a decisive wire to wire victory. In 2016, Santa Anita had the record upon hosting the Breeders’ Cup for a record ninth time. The 2017 event was held at Del Mar for the first time.

The 2018 event was held at Churchill Downs. For the 2018 event, the Friday card was known as “Future Stars Friday” and featured five races for two-year-olds, including the new Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. The Distaff moved back to the Saturday card. Additional Breeders’ Cup changes arrived with the Breeders’ Cup Future Wager, similar to the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, and the first time the Equestrian event which was intermingled with Breeders’ Cup and Churchill Downs activities.