The 33rd Breeders' Cup World Championships held on Friday and Saturday, November 4 and 5, 2016, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, are now in the record book. The combined total attendance over the two days was 118,484, the highest in Breeders' Cup history, with 72,811 on Saturday and 45,673 on Friday, both new daily records for the two-day event format. Common-pool wagering on Saturday's 12-race Breeders' Cup card was $109,055,897, a 3.2% increase over 2015, while wagering for the two days was $159,991,803 an increase of 6.25% over 2015. Saturday's on-track handle was $13,515,269, an increase of 3.5% over last year's on-track handle at Keeneland. The on-track handle at Santa Anita for the two days was $20,694,235.
Mike Smith celebrates after winning the Classic, his third win of the Breeders' Cup.
Jockey Mike Smith, who won three races and finished second in three others, won the 14th Bill Shoemaker Award for outstanding jockey of the 2016 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park. The Shoemaker Award is based on a 10-5-3-1 scoring system on first through fourth place finishes in each of the 13 Breeders' Cup World Championship races. Smith, the only rider to win more than one race, finished with 48 points with second place finisher Joel Rosario far behind with only 28 points. Smith, who also won the Shoemaker Award in 2012 and 2013, won Friday's Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on Tamarkuz, Saturday's Filly & Mare Sprint on Finest City, and Saturday's Classic on Arrogate.
There were several jockeys and trainers who had their first wins in the Breeders' Cup this year:
Jockeys
Jose Ortiz aboard Oscar Performance in the Juvenile Turf
Persistence pays off as Obviously finally wins in his 5th Breeders' Cup start, giving his trainer and jockey their first Breeders' Cup wins as well.
Several horses also had remarkable achievements at the Breeders' Cup. Beholder won her third Breeders' Cup race this year which was also her second win in the Distaff, the first being in 2013, while her first win was in the Juvenile Fillies in 2012. She was supposed to run in the Classic last year, but had to scratch due to illness. Lady Eli won the Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2014 and nearly died last year from laminitis, but was back this year to finish second in the Filly and Mare Turf. beaten only a nose by Queen's Trust. Tourist made his third start in the Mile a winning one, after finishing 8th in 2015 and 13th in 2014. Obviously was finally a winner in a Breeders' Cup race after five tries, winning the Turf Sprint after finishing third, fifth, fifth, and ninth in the Mile over the last four years. At 8-years-old he is also the second oldest winner of a Breeders' Cup race, with 9-year-old Calidoscopio who won the now discontinued Marathon in 2012 the oldest. No other 8-year-old has ever won.
European horses did not fare as well this year in the turf races, despite trainer Aidan O'Brien bringing a string of 12 horses over for the event. Only Queen's Trust in the Filly and Mare Turf and Highland Reel in the Turf made it to the winner's circle. Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Found was third in the Turf. Lancaster Bomber was second in the Juvenile Turf, and French filly Cavale Doree was third in the Juvenile Fillies Turf.
Corona Del Inca on Thursday morning in her signature hoodie.
Sadly, not every participant went home safely, as Argentinian participant Corona Del Inca was pulled up on the far turn of the Distaff by jockey Pablo Falero and vanned back to the barn. She was later euthanized after X-rays revealed 3 fractures in her right foreleg with no hope of successful treatment.
2016 Breeders' Cup Saturday - There were nine Breeders' Cup races on Saturday at Santa Anita headlined by the Classic (G1) where Arrogate ran down California Chrome to win by a half length. Also on the card, Tourist upset Tepin in the Mile (G1) and Champagne Room was a huge upset in the Juvenile Fillies. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 12 stakes on the card. More photos: Classic - Juvenile Fillies - Turf Sprint - F&M Sprint - F&M Turf - JuvenileSprint - TurfMile
2016 Breeders' Cup Friday - There were four Breeders' Cup races on Friday at Santa Anita headlined by the Distaff (G1) where Beholder edged out favorite Songbird to win her 3rd Breeders' Cup race. Also on the card, New Money Honey won the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), Tamarkuz won the Dirt Mile (G1), and Oscar Performance won the Juvenile Turf (G1). Get the results, charts, and photos for all 8 stakes on the card. More photos: Juvenile Turf -
Juvenile Fillies Turf -
Dirt Mile -
Distaff
2016 Breeders' Cup Thursday Works - Photos and comments for 39 of the Breeders' Cup horses on Thursday November 3 in the morning at Santa Anita, including Found and the rest of the Aidan O'Brien horses out of quarantine.
2016 Breeders' Cup Wednesday Works - Photos and comments for 33 of the Breeders' Cup horses on Wednesday November 2 in the morning at Santa Anita, including Flintshire and Beholder as well as California Chrome.
2016 Breeders' Cup Tuesday Works - Photos and comments for 66 of the Breeders' Cup horses on Tuesday November 1 in the morning at Santa Anita, including California Chrome.
2016 Breeders' Cup Monday Works - Photos and comments for 53 of the Breeders' Cup horses on Monday October 31 in the morning at Santa Anita.
2016 Breeders' Cup Entries - Final entries were taken and post positions drawn on Monday for the 13 Breeders' Cup Championship races on November 4 and 5 at Santa Anita. Check out the post positions, odds, and horses for all the races.
Breeders' Cup program pages to print - these are the short version with number, odds, silks, and basic info from BreedersCup.com for Friday and Saturday.
DRF Quick Sheets for the Breeders' Cup - a very short overview the last 3 Beyer figures for all the horses for Friday and Saturday.
Breeders' Cup Weather - Check out the latest weather forecasts for the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita
Review: Crushing the Cup 2016 - by Jim Mazur and Peter Mallett. An invaluable tool for trying to unlock the mysteries of handicapping the Breeders' Cup races at Santa Anita. Updated for 2016, this is their 25th anniversary edition.
2015 Breeders' Cup Saturday Results - The feature race was the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic won by American Pharoah. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 9 races here.
2015 Breeders' Cup Friday Results - Friday was headlined by the $2 million Ladies Classic won by Stopchargingmaria. Get the results, charts, and photos for all 4 races here.
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.
Free Prep Replays - for major prep races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge. The ones with camera logos have video available.
Breeders' Cup Postcards - Breeders' Cup theme virtual postcards to send your friends including many past winners
Breeders' Cup Supplemental Entries - The old official policy on supplemental entries plus all the supplemental entries and how they fared, mostly it was a losing proposition. There are no more supplements now, only late nominations making it impossible to track now.
