2015 Breeders' Cup

Thoroughbred horse racing event Championship Event Series 2015 Breeders' Cup Keeneland Race Course.jpg Keeneland racecourse Lexington, Kentucky Thoroughbred http://www.breederscup.com See individual races Turf, Dirt Varies by Race; Between $1,000,000 – $5 million The 2015 Breeders' Cup World Championships was the 32nd edition of the thoroughbred horse racing season-ending premier event held on October 30 and 31 at Keeneland in Lexington, Kentucky.http://www.breederscup.com Breeders' Cup Homepage Breeders' Cup 2015 The race series, held for the first time at Keeneland, required a significant amount of preparation to transform the small, historic track into a venue capable of handling large crowds, comprising 13 championship races held over a two-day period. The highlight of the series was the victory of American Pharoah in the Breeders' Cup Classic, becoming the first horse in history to complete the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing, the three Triple Crown races plus the Classic. In the process he set a track record before a record crowd for the Keeneland facility. Breeders' Cup Challenge series 2015 Breeders' Cup Challenge series The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of races that provide the winners of designated races with automatic "Win and You're In" berths in a specified division of the Breeders' Cup. For qualifying horses, the Breeders' Cup organization covers the entry fee and provides a travel allowance of up to $40,000 for the connections of horses from overseas. Thirty-nine horses entered in the Breeders' Cup races qualified via the challenge series, including six of the winners. These were:2016 Breeders' Cup Challenge Features 59 Grade/Group 1 Races in 12 Countries http://www.breederscup.com/article/2016-breeders-cup-challenge-features-59-gradegroup-1-races-12-countries breederscup.com 3 September 2016 American Pharoah, who qualified for the Classic by winning the Haskell Invitational Stephanie's Kitten, who won the Flower Bowl Invitational to qualify for the Filly & Mare Turf Nyquist, won the FrontRunner to qualify for the Juvenile Songbird, who earned her berth for the Juvenile Fillies in the Chandelier Runhappy, who qualified for the Sprint by winning the Phoenix Stakes Catch a Glimpse, who won the Natalma Stakes to qualify for the Juvenile Fillies Turf Event preparation In 2014, the management of Keeneland began to replace the synthetic Polytrack racing surface of its main race track with dirt. While the synthetic surface, installed in 2006, was considered safer for horses, it also was not popular with horse owners because it was too different from the dirt tracks where many major races were held. Returning the track to a dirt surface was a significant factor in Keeneland's bid to host the Breeders' Cup in 2015.Hall Gregory A Keeneland to replace Polytrack with dirt http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/horses/horse-racing/2014/04/02/keeneland-replace-polytrack-dirt/7206025/ The Courier-Journal 1 November 2015 April 3, 2014 The Keeneland bid was successful and was officially announced on June 24, 2014. thumb|left|The Keeneland paddock area 2015 was the first year that the Breeders' Cup had ever been held at Keeneland. A track built in 1935 as "a model race track, to perpetuate racing in the proper manner", it had never handled crowds of the size anticipated for the Breeders' Cup and thousands of temporary seats had to be added without removing trees or otherwise changing the classic appearance of the facility.Hall Gregory A Breeders' Cup confirms Keeneland as 2015 site http://www.courier-journal.com/story/money/2014/06/24/breeders-cup-confirms-keeneland-site/11304493/ The Courier-Journal 1 November 2015 June 24, 2014 But with a 1100 acre facility, there was room to be flexibile. Track management decided to only offer 28,000 reserved seats and further required that all tickets for both reserved and general admission be purchased in advance. They created seating in buildings adjacent to the existing grandstands and set up large tents and other temporary facilities, plus two tailgate areas with big-screen televisions for additional spectators. Keeneland's organizers estimated they would be able to host about 45,000 people.Hegarty Matt Breeders' Cup tickets at Keeneland will be limited to 28,000 http://www.drf.com/news/breeders-cup-tickets-keeneland-will-be-limited-28000 Daily Racing Form 1 November 2015 October 17, 2014 The configuration of the Keeneland racetrack is unique compared to previous Breeders' Cup venues, requiring some races to be held at different distances than previous Breeders' Cups.https://www.sacbee.com/sports/article41870091.html How will Breeders' Cup play in the bluegrass? sacbee Arlington Debbie 29 October 2015 30 October 2015 The dirt track is a 1+1/16 mi m oval with two possible finish lines, and the turf course is 7 1 2 furlongs (0.875 mi m 0)Keeneland Track Configuration http://www.keeneland.com/racing/track-configuration keeneland.com Keeneland Racing 2015-10-31 2015-02-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20150224020610/http://www.keeneland.com/racing/track-configuration dead with a 1190 ft homestretch that is one of the longest in the United States. The use of the alternate finish line on the dirt course for the Dirt Mile, Juvenile, and Juvenile Fillies raised the possibility of confusing the jockeys, and the long turf stretch was viewed as giving a heavy advantage to closers. The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile had an unorthodox setup because Keeneland does not regularly hold 1–mile dirt races. To get the proper distance while maximizing the run-up to the first turn, the starting gate was set 70 yards in front of the one-mile pole, where the timer would start, and the finishing line was set at the track's alternate finish line at the 1 16 mile pole, thus the race was slightly longer than a mile for the horses. Keeneland held four races at that distance in the 2015 Fall meet to test the configuration.http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/95022/jockeys-find-keeneland-mile-race-challenging Jockeys Find Keeneland Mile Race Challenging Angst Frank 9 October 2015 26 October 2015 The Blood-Horse The Filly & Mare Turf was conducted at 1 3 16 miles because the track's turf course configuration does not allow for the usual distance of 1 1 4 mile.http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/85827/keeneland-a-breeders-cup-homecoming Keeneland a Breeders' Cup Homecoming Angst Frank 24 June 2014 26 October 2015 The Blood-Horse Also due to the configuration of the turf course, the Turf Sprint was held at 5 1 2 furlongshttp://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/95083/undrafted-at-home-for-turf-sprint-attempt Undrafted at Home for Turf Sprint Attempt Ron Mitchell 16 October 2015 BloodHorse.com for the first time the history of the race, which had been run since 2008. Previously, the race was about 6 1 2 furlongs when held on the "downhill turf course" at Santa Anita Racetrack and 5 furlongs when held at Churchill Downs. Results 2015 Breeders' Cup Classic The attendance at the 2015 Breeders' Cup set a record for the Keeneland race course. Over two days, total attendance was 95,102.Lintner Jonathan Largest-ever Keeneland crowds for Breeders' Cup http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/horses/breeders/2015/10/31/breeders-cup-2015--record-keeneland-crowds-attend-friday-saturday/74973446/ The Courier-Journal 1 November 2015 October 31, 2015 Attendance on Friday, October 30, at 44,947, was the highest for a Friday since the Breeders' Cup became a two-day event in 2007.http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/95619/bc-day-1-record-crowd-slight-handle-drop BC Day 1: Record Crowd, Slight Handle Drop 30 October 2015 31 October 2015 LaMarra Tom It also broke Keeneland's previous one-day record of 40,617, set in 2012. The attendance on Saturday was 50,155.http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/95650/american-pharoah-romps-in-bc-classic American Pharoah Romps in BC Classic Blood-Horse 31 October 2015 31 October 2015 Novak Claire While the total attendance figure over two days was not a Breeders' Cup record,The record was 80,452, at the 1998 Breeders' Cup at Churchill Downs set in 1998. the Keeneland facility received high marks for its facilities. While the total parimutuel wagering handle was comparable to other years, at $150,574,656, the figures for bets at the Keeneland track itself were higher than the handle in the previous year when the Breeders' Cup was at Santa Anita Racetrack.LaMarra Tom Handle Even, But Keeneland BC Gets High Marks http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/95657/handle-even-but-keeneland-bc-gets-high-marks The Blood-Horse 1 November 2015 Wagering on all races Friday, including the six non-Breeders' Cup races held earlier in the day was $44,949,165 total, 1.9% lower than in 2014, but with $7,550,279 of that bet at Keeneland, which was an 8% increase for betting on-site. Each day's program included several undercard stakes races. Friday had 10 races total, four of which were Breeders' Cup championships. The most-anticipated race on Friday was the Breeders' Cup Distaff for fillies and mares, won by the four-year-old campaigner, Stopchargingmaria. Saturday hosted 12 races, nine of which were part of the Breeders' Cup program, including the Breeders' Cup Turf, which drew the British-bred Epsom Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Golden Horn and the much-anticipated Breeders' Cup Classic, where American Pharoah would challenge older horses for the first time in his career. For both horses, their contests would be the last time each would race before being retired to stud. Golden Horn struggled with the sand-based turf course and was second to the Irish filly Found.Breeders' Cup Turf: Golden Horn beaten by Found in Kentucky https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/horse-racing/34690751 BBC Sport 1 November 2015 October 31, 2015 American Pharoah, coming off of a defeat in his previous race and a two-month layoff, led wire-to-wire in the Classic and won by 6 1 2 lengths, becoming the first horse to win the Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing, consisting of the Triple Crown plus the Classic.http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/blog/_/name/ehalt_bob/id/13033587/american-pharoah-ushers-grand-slam-era https://web.archive.org/web/20150608071256/http://espn.go.com/horse-racing/blog/_/name/ehalt_bob/id/13033587/american-pharoah-ushers-grand-slam-era dead June 8, 2015 Pharoah ushers in Grand Slam era October 31, 2015 October 31, 2015 Bob Ehalt ESPN With his win, he also broke the Keeneland track record for the 1+1/4 mi distance.https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/sports/american-pharoah-ends-career-with-win-at-breeders-cup.html The New York Times American Pharoah Ends Career With Win at Breeders' Cup October 31, 2015 October 31, 2015 Joe Drape Friday, October 30 Race name Post time (EDT) Sponsor Distance/Surface Restrictions Purse Winner (Bred)Juvenile Turf3:30p1 mile (Turf)2-year-old colts and geldings$1 millionHit It A BombDirt Mile4:10pCity of Las Vegas1 mile 3 yrs+$1 millionLiam's MapJuvenile Fillies Turf4:50p1 mile (Turf)2-year-old fillies$1 millionCatch A GlimpseDistaff5:35pLongines1 1 8 miles3 yrs+ fillies & mares$2 millionStopchargingmaria Keeneland October 30, 2015 http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/KEE103015USA.pdf Equibase 31 October 2015 Saturday, October 31 Race Name Post time (EDT) Sponsor Distance/Surface Restrictions Purse Winner (Bred)Juvenile Fillies12:05p14 Hands Winery1 1 16 miles2-year-old fillies$2 millionSongbirdTurf Sprint12:45p5 1 2 furlongs (Turf)3 yrs+$1 millionMongolian SaturdayFilly & Mare Sprint1:25p7 furlongs3 yrs+ fillies & mares$1 millionWavell AvenueFilly & Mare Turf2:10p1 3 16 miles (Turf)Fillies and mares$2 millionStephanie's KittenSprint2:50pTwin Spires6 furlongs 3 yrs+$1.5 millionRunhappyMile3:30p1 mile (Turf)3 yrs+$2 millionTepinJuvenile4:10pSentient Jet1 1 16 miles 2-year-old colts and geldings$2 millionNyquistTurf4:50pLongines1 1 2 miles (Turf)3 yrs+$3 millionFoundClassic5:35p1 1 4 miles3 yrs+$5 millionAmerican Pharoah Keeneland October 31, 2015 http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pdf/KEE103115USA.pdf Equibase 31 October 2015 Notes References 2 Breeders' Cup Category:Breeders' Cup Breeders' Cup Breeders' Cup 2015