Like last year, the Breeders' Cup will be held at Santa Anita and will have a total of 14 races spread over two days of racing with $25.5 million in purse money on the line. Friday November 6th will have six races with the Marathon first then all the distaff divisions, headlined by the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic (formerly the Breeders' Cup Distaff) worth $2 million. Saturday November 7th will have eight races headlined by the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at 1 1/4 miles. The Marathon, which was lengthened this year to 1 3/4 miles, was moved from Saturday to Friday to allow for an all Breeders' Cup Pick Six on both days.
Drawing the posts for the 2009 Breeders' Cup
Final entries were taken and post positions drawn on Tuesday afternoon for the 26th renewal of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The draw took place during a lunchtime ceremony at the FrontRuner Restaurant at Santa Anita and was hosted by ESPN's Joe Tessitore.
With the expansion of the program to 14 races starting last year, there was concern among some that this would spread the product thin, and those fears may have materialized this year. The Breeders' Cup historically has had full fields for most races, but this year only 3 races, the Turf Sprint, Juvenile Turf, and Juvenile Fillies Turf, drew the maximum field size. The Mile and the Sprint, which usually drew 14 horses in the past, only drew 11 and 9 horses espectively. As expected, Zenyatta will face males and go 10 furlongs for the first time in the Classic and was made the 5-2 morning line favorite. The highlight on Friday, the Ladies Classic, only drew 8 entrants with Canadian hope Careless Jewel the 2-1 favorite.
This year the Breeders' Cup will be televised on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 with the schedule shown below:
Friday, November 6, 3:30-7:00 ET on ESPN2
Saturday, November 7, 1:00-3:30 ET on ABC
Saturday, November 7, 3:30-7:00 ET on ESPN
Check here for the latest TV schedule including preps and preview shows.
Below is the list of races with conditions, purses, and post times for both days. Click the race names to get links for info specific to that race plus a list of the horses entered for it with post positions and morning line odds. Each horse's name will link to a full profile with a photo and lots of info about that horse.
Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - There were 8 races Saturday highlighted by the Classic where Zenyatta wrapped up her career with an impressive win over the boys to retire undefeated. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 8 races here. New!
Breeders' Cup Friday Results - There were 6 races Friday highlighted by the Ladies' Classic where Life Is Sweet rallied from last to win by 2 1/2 lengths. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 6 races here. New!
Breeders' Cup Miscellaneous photos - More photos of Zenyatta plus scenery, celebrities, and other interesting things from Breeders' Cup week. New!
Free past performances for the 2009 Breeders' Cup races can be found on the pages below. I can't link to them directly, you have to click off that page so just look for the name of the race there then you will find the link for the PPs. Sorry about that, but it is beyond my control. New!
Thursday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - No timed works this close to race day, but lots of horses on the track including Zenyatta who arrived Wednesday afternoon. Get the details and photos for 20 of the Breeders' Cup horses here, all new today or favorites. New!
Wednesday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Only 3 timed works, but lots of new horses with Aidan O'Brien's group out of quarantine and Todd Pletcher's horses arriving the previous afternoon. Get the details and photos for 45 of the Breeders' Cup horses, mostly different from Monday and Tuesday, here! New!
Tuesday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - Today there were even more horses out plus six timed works, including Desert Code and Mushka. Get the details and photos for 33 of the Breeders' Cup horses, most different from Monday, here! New!
Monday Breeders' Cup Workout Photos - There were several timed works plus lots of horses out to gallop today at Santa Anita, including Summer Bird and Mine That Bird. Get the details and photos for 47 of the Breeders' Cup horses here! New!
2008 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - Saturday was bigger than ever with 9 championship races. The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic where European invader Raven's Pass upset heavy favorite Curlin, who was 4th. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2008 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - This year Friday featured 5 races for fillies and mares only, headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic (formerly the Distaff) won by heavy favorite Zenyatta. Also on the card, Stardom Bound won the Juvenile Fillies and Forever Together won the Filly and Mare Turf. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 5 races here.
Review: Betting Synthetic Surfaces - Conquering Racing's Newest Frontier By Bill Finley. Using research and statistics, this book helps educate horseplayers on angles and strategies for synthetic races. An excellent way to prepare for this year's Breeders' Cup.
Review: Crushing the Cup 2009 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita. New!
Breeders' Cup 360 - "The Bettor's Inside Source" for all things Breeders' Cup handicapping.
Breeders' Cup History - Historical info, past results, and photos from previous runnings
The Breeders' Cup Championship Day - The official page for the Breeders' Cup championship races. Just about anything you need to know about it: results, video clips, and race calls for past years, and eventually nominations, entries, and results.
