Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: Violence widens ahead of Greek austerity vote

Breeders' Cup expands 3 races to 14

Two-day extravaganza now will be worth $25.5 million in prize money

Curlin wins BC ClassicAP
Jockey Robby Albarado rides Curlin to the finish line to win the Breeders' Cup Classic on Oct. 27.

LEXINGTON, Kentucky - The Breeders’ Cup got bigger for the second straight year.

Three races were added to thoroughbred racing’s world championships in 2008, increasing the two-day event to 14 races worth $25.5 million in prize money. The next Breeders’ Cup will be at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., on Oct. 24-25.

The new races — added to three others run for the first time at the Breeders’ Cup at Monmouth Park two months ago — boosts the opening day to six races worth more than $5 million. The second day features eight races, including the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Two of the new races carry $1 million purses: the 6½-furlong Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint for 3-year-olds and up and the mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf for 2-year-old fillies. The other race is the $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Marathon at a mile for 3-year-olds and up.

At Monmouth Park, the new races were the Filly and Mare Sprint, the Dirt Mile and the Juvenile Turf.

“The establishment of the three new races continues our aggressive expansion of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships as a pre-eminent international sports and entertainment property for our fans, sponsors and television viewers around the globe.” Breeders’ Cup president Greg Avioli said in a statement Monday.

All races on dirt will be run over Santa Anita’s synthetic surface Cushion Track.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement
More news
Image: John Velazquez rides Animal Kingdom to victory during the 137th Kentucky Derby
AP
'All Others' a strong favorite?

The first of three pools of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager begins its three-day run on Friday and the bet's opening scenario is very similar to each of its opening pools since the wager was created in 1999.

Image: 2011 Breeders' Cup World Championships - Day 2
Getty Images
Breeders' Cup returns to NBC

It's first time that Classic will be broadcast in primetime on Nov. 3.

Slideshow
Image: Snee, 8, son of New York Giants player Chris Snee and head coach Coughlin's grandson plays in the confetti after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis
  The Week in Sports Pictures
The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more.

more photos

INTERACTIVE
AFFIRMED ALYDAR CAUTHEN VALASQUEZ
Timeline: The Kentucky Derby
The defining moments in more than a century of the Run for the Roses.
Slideshow
Image: Allison Baver
  Derby celebs
Plenty of stars from the entertainment and sports world attend the 136th Kentucky Derby.

more photos

INTERACTIVE
SECRETARIAT TURCOTTE
Triple Crown winners
The horses that have won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in the same year.