The 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 33rd running of the

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Champion ...

, part of the 2016 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 5, 2016 at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of t ...

with a purse of $6,000,000.

California Chrome California Chrome (foaled February 18, 2011) is a National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, US Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who won the 2014 Kentucky Derby, 2014 Preakness Stakes, Preakness Stakes, and 2016 Dubai World ...

, who was the top-ranked Thoroughbred racehorse in the world, was the favorite for the race after an undefeated season. He led for most of the race but was caught near the finish line by

Arrogate Arrogate (April 11, 2013June 2, 2020) was a Thoroughbred racehorse, and was the richest horse in equine history (by earnings). He won the 2016 Travers Stakes in a record time in his first stakes appearance. He won the Breeders' Cup Classic a ...

, a late developing three-year-old. The Classic is run on dirt at one mile and one-quarter (approximately 2000 m). It is run under weight-for-age conditions, with entrants carrying the following weights: *Northern Hemisphere three-year-olds: 122 lb *Southern Hemisphere three-year-olds: 117 lb *Four-year-olds and up: 126 lb *Any fillies or mares receive a 3 lb allowance

Contenders

(program #4) was the even money favorite on the morning line for the Classic after a perfect season of six wins from six starts, including the

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operate ...

Pacific Classic The Pacific Classic Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually August or September at the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. This Grade I race is open to horses, age three and up, which race one and one-quarter miles on the ...

and

Awesome Again Stakes The Goodwood Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old or older over the distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt, scheduled annually in September at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. His ...

. He was ranked number one on the Longines

World's Best Racehorse Rankings The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (LWBRR), known as World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings (WTRR) before 2012, are horseracing's equivalent to World Rankings by other major sporting organizations such as ATP Tennis Rankings, World Golf R ...

and held the North American earnings record. California Chrome was also the 2014 Horse of the Year after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. His trainer Art Sherman said, "He's more mature, bigger, stronger, and you can see it in the way he's running. He's pretty well focused. He's kind of awesome to watch, to be honest with you." Arrogate-BCC2016-1

(p #10) was the second choice at 5-2 on the morning line, based on his record-setting win in the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Midsummer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds accor ...

in late August. The lightly raced three-year-old was trained by

Bob Baffert Robert A. Baffert (born January 13, 1953) is an American racehorse trainer. He has trained two Triple Crown winners: American Pharoah in 2015 and Justify in 2018. Baffert's horses have won the Kentucky Derby six times, tying the record with ...

, who won the Classic in 2014 with

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and in 2015 with

American Pharoah American Pharoah (foaled February 2, 2012) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first ...

. The Classic was only his second stakes race appearance.

Frosted Frosting or Frosted may refer to: * Frost, a thin layer of ice on a solid surface * Icing (food), the sweet glaze used in confectionery * FROSTING, a surveillance programme * Frosting (crime), a form of vehicle theft * Frosting (decorative arts) ...

(p #2) was the third choice at 3-1 on the morning line. Beaten by California Chrome in the Dubai World Cup, Frosted rebounded with noteworthy wins in the

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...

and Whitney before being upset in the Woodward. The 9-horse field also included: * Effinex, runner-up in the 2015 Classic to American Pharoah * Keen Ice, winner of the 2015 Travers * Win the Space, finished 3rd in the 2016 Awesome Again *

Melatonin Melatonin, an indoleamine, is a natural compound produced by various organisms, including bacteria and eukaryotes. Its discovery in 1958 by Aaron B. Lerner and colleagues stemmed from the isolation of a substance from the pineal gland of cow ...

, winner of the 2016

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for old ...

and Gold Cup at Santa Anita but unraced since June 25 * War Story, 2nd in the Pennsylvania Derby Champion Stakes * Hoppertunity, winner of the

Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race, held at the Saratoga Race Course in the United States, that is open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fal ...

Shaman Ghost, winner of the

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and Woodward, scratched the day before the race.

Race Description

BCC2016-race-1.jpg, Shortly after the break, California Chrome takes command BCC2016-race-3.jpg, In the stretch, California Chrome leads by lengths BCC2016-race-4.jpg, Arrogate starts cutting into the lead Arrogate-AfterBCC2016.jpg, Arrogate being led back to the stable California Chrome broke well and was urged by jockey Victor Espinoza to the early lead. Arrogate broke poorly from the outside post position but quickly moved to the middle of the pack, then up to third. With a quarter of a mile remaining, Arrogate moved into second, trailing California Chrome by a length and a half. Espinoza looked back at the field then set California Chrome down for the stretch drive. Arrogate was also urged on by his jockey Mike Smith and started to draw clear of the remaining horses, but did not initially make up any ground on the leader. Entering the last sixteenth of a mile, California Chrome still led by about a length but Arrogate had hit his best stride and was gaining. Arrogate finally assumed the lead in the final strides and won by half a length. The time of 2:00.11 was very good on a fast track that was playing slower than normal, earning Arrogate a Beyer Speed Figure of 120. It was trainer Bob Baffert's third consecutive victory in the Classic, one he doubted Arrogate could pull off turning into the stretch. "I thought there was no way. California Chrome is a great horse. I didn't think we could run him down", he said. "I thought he'd get second. I'm thinking, 'At least he showed up.' But then I saw Mike getting down on him, and that big stride of his. That was an incredible race by two incredible horses." "That winner is the real McCoy", said Art Sherman, trainer of California Chrome. "I knew he was the one we had to beat, but I didn't know how good he was."

Results

Source: Equibase Times: – 0:23.28; – 0:47.15; – 1:10.96; mile – 1:35.72; final – 2:00.11.
Fractional Splits: (:23.28) (:23.87) (:23.81) (:24.76) (:24.39)

Payout

Payout Schedule: * $2

Exacta Parimutuel betting, or pool betting, is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the ''house-take'', or ''vigorish'', are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among a ...

(10-4) Paid $10.00 * $2

Trifecta Trifecta A trifecta is a parimutuel bet placed on a horse race in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third, in the exact order. Known as a trifecta in the US and Australia, this is known as a tricast in ...

(10-4-3) Paid $149.20 * $2

Superfecta {{Wiktionary The superfecta is a type of wager in the United States and Canada parimutuel betting in which the bettor, in order to win, must pick the first four finishers of a race in the correct sequence. This is even more unlikely than a success ...

(10-4-3-9) Paid $592.60

References

{{BreedersCup Breeders' Cup

Breeders' Cup Classic, 2016