Breeders' Cup World Championships

Breeders' Cup Charities, the official outreach program of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, will make more than $650,000 in charitable donations. A Thursday afternoon release by the organization said the funds were a result of a revitalized philanthropic effort launched in the second half of 2025. Breeders' Cup Limited makes a direct contribution of all royalties from merchandise sales, while 2025 Breeders' Cup Charities programs included an Annual Day of Giving, a "Champions Give Back" fundraising initiative, and a post-Breeders' Cup online auction of memorabilia and experiences. The initiative is...

A variety of seating and hospitality options for the 2026 Breeders' Cup are available as the World Championships are set to return to Keeneland Race Course Oct. 30-31, the Breeders' Cup said via a Tuesday release. While tickets for the general public go on sale on Tuesday, Apr. 21 at Noon ET, fans may browse ticket options and specific pricing for general admission, box seating, reserved seating, dining options and corporate & group sales. A $100+ million capital construction project, the largest in the track's 89-year history, will be on...

The last opportunity to nominate foals born in 2025 to the Breeders' Cup program for a one-time late nomination fee of $1,500 is Saturday, Feb. 28 at 11:59 p.m. ET. This $1,500 nomination entitles each foal with lifetime eligibility to the Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup racing programs. All foals sired by a fully nominated North American Breeders' Cup stallion are eligible for nomination to the Breeders' Cup program in their year of birth and up to Feb. 28 of their yearling year. Nomination fees for 2025...

All race day test samples (post-race and TCO2) collected from contenders in the 2025 Breeders' Cup held Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club have been cleared by the Horseracing Integrity & Welfare Unit (HIWU) and purse distribution has begun accordingly, the organizer said in a press release on Friday. In 2025, the Breeders' Cup was run for a third year under the full jurisdiction of the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority (HISA), including the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, which took effect in May of 2023 and...

Total all-sources handle for the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar, held Oct. 31-Nov. 1, reached $180,036,799, the third-highest amount in the event's 42-year history. It marked an increase over the 2024 amount of $179,218,631, but ranked behind the $189,060,373 at Keeneland in 2022 and $182,908,409 at Del Mar in 2021. On-track attendance at Del Mar Saturday was 35,173, with the two days combining for 65,232. On-track handle for the two days was $18,079,169. Total common-pool handle on Saturday's full card was $118,028,444 and Friday's card was $62,008,354....

On 'Future Stars Friday' at the Del Mar Breeders' Cup World Championships, there was a special twinkling in the eye of Reagan Swinbank, the co-owner of 2-year-old Cy Fair (Not This Time--Remarqued, by Arch). The Texan had just watched his filly take the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and become only the second female to accomplish that feat in this race. An OBS April grad, Cy Fair was named a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard', after being unveiled a winner by 3 1/4 lengths while sprinting over the...

DEL MAR, CA - Like clockwork, the call over the radio went out promptly at 2:45 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday afternoon. "Breeders' Cup Investigators this is the 48-hour warning for the Juvenile Turf Sprint, please be aware," said the voice. "Again, that is 48 hours until the Juvenile Turf Sprint." Repeated by the day shift control room manager Tyler Durand for each of the four subsequent races on the Friday card and the next afternoon for the nine races carded for Saturday's slate, the announcements are a way to...

Khaadem (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) is nine, but clearly hasn't lost a step. The same can be said for his 54-year-old jockey Frankie Dettori. He, too, is still getting it done. But can the geriatric duo pull off a win in the GI Prevagen Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint? As well as Khaadem has been running this year, it's entirely possible. "That's two old boys together," trainer Charlie Hills said of the horse-jockey combination. Dettori will be the second oldest jockey in this year's Breeders' Cup behind only 60-year-old Mike Smith...

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher sent out a quartet of workers over the Oklahoma dirt at Saratoga on Friday who are all intended for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. The group of workers included Antiquarian (Preservationist) and 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard, Fierceness (City of Light), Mindframe (Constitution) and Locked (Gun Runner). Mindframe breezed to the inside of Locked shortly after the first renovation break and the pair covered five furlongs in 1:01.49, according to NYRA clockers. Mindframe edged clear of the Sept. 27 GII Woodward-winner Locked...

The fourth annual Horse Racing Women's Association (HRWA) Conference, presented by Del Mar and FanDuel TV, made its debut in Lexington, Kentucky this year. Held Oct. 8-9 at Limestone Hall, the expansive event, consisting of panel discussions and networking activities, hosted nearly 200 women representing a variety of careers and experience levels throughout the Thoroughbred racing industry. Following Wednesday's welcome reception, attendees gathered Thursday in downtown Lexington as the day's program kicked off with featured speaker Lindsay Czarniak, an accomplished media personality with more than two decades of experience in...

The 35th running of the GII Jessamine Stakes--a 'Win and You're In' race for the GI John Deere Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar--was the graded coming out party for Imaginationthelady (Not This Time--Romanticism, by War Front) who punched her ticket to the seaside oval at the end of the month and the filly also led a Not This Time Trifecta for her sire at Keeneland on Friday. A $300,000 Keeneland September buy, the juvenile broke her maiden by 1 1/2 lengths at first asking over the Kentucky...

Breeders' Cup Limited is once again rolling out its schedule for the 'Dirt Dozen,' an incentive-driven program offering participation bonuses to horsemen preparing runners for dirt races at the World Championships, the organizer said via a press release on Friday. The 12-race slate--launched in 2022--features existing graded stakes races held from May through October at six racetracks across the United States. "We are pleased to continue our valued Dirt Dozen program," said Dora Delgado, Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Officer of Breeders' Cup Limited. "Offering $525,000 in awards toward...