The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is a

Weight for Age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Henry John Rous, Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English ...

stakes race for

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

s three years old and up. As its name implies, it is part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North American thoroughbred racing, and is run on a dirt course (either natural dirt or a synthetic surface such as Polytrack). This contrasts with the similar

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a conditions races, Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a sod, grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup World C ...

, run on grass. All Breeders' Cups to date have been conducted in the United States, with the exception of the 1996 event in Canada. The race was run for the first time in 2007 during the first day of the expanded Breeders' Cup at that year's host track, Monmouth Park Racetrack in

Oceanport, New Jersey Oceanport is a borough situated in the Jersey Shore region, within Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, specifically Central Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 6,150, an increase of 318 (+5.5 ...

. It became a

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

event in 2009. Occasionally, various track configurations require minor changes in the distance of the race. The 2007 race at Monmouth Park was held at a distance of 1 mile 70 yards (1673 m) instead of the normal distance of . The 2015 Breeders' Cup was held at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for ...

, which does not regularly hold 1–mile dirt races. To get the proper distance, the starting gate was set 70 yards (64 m) in front of the one-mile pole, where the timer would start, and the finishing line was set at the track's alternate finish line at the 1⁄16 mile pole. Thus the race was slightly longer than a mile for the horses.

Automatic berths

In 2007, the Breeders' Cup has developed the Breeders' Cup Challenge, a series of races in each division that allotted automatic qualifying bids to winners of defined races. Each of the fourteen divisions has multiple qualifying races. Note though that one horse may win multiple challenge races, while other challenge winners will not be entered in the Breeders' Cup for a variety of reasons such as injury or travel considerations. In the Dirt Mile division, runners are limited to 12 and there are three automatic berths. The 2022 "Win and You're In" races were: # the Metropolitan Handicap, a Grade 1 race run in June at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

in New York # the Pat O'Brien Stakes, a Grade 2 race run in August at

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is an event venue in Del Mar, California. It hosts the annual San Diego County Fair. The venue sits on a property along the Pacific Ocean coastline. It includes the Del Mar Racetrack, built in 1936 by the Del Mar Thoroug ...

in California # the Ack Ack Stakes, a Grade 3 race run in October at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

in Kentucky

Records

Most wins: * 2 – Goldencents (2013, 2014) * 2 – Cody's Wish (2022, 2023) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

: * 2 – Rafael Bejarano (2013, 2014) * 2 –

Javier Castellano Javier Castellano (born October 23, 1977) is a Venezuelan jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Castellano won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey four times in a row from 2013 to 2016. In 2023 he won two legs of the American Tripl ...

(2015, 2018) * 2 – Irad Ortiz Jr. (2019, 2021) * 2 –

Joel Rosario Joel Rosario (born January 14, 1985) is a Dominican jockey who mainly competes in American thoroughbred horse racing, originally from the Dominican Republic. In the space of five weeks in 2013 he rode the winners of the Dubai World Cup and the Ke ...

(2010, 2020) * 2 – Junior Alvarado (2022, 2023) Most wins by a trainer: * 2 – Jerry Hollendorfer (2010, 2017) * 2 – Todd A. Pletcher (2015, 2021) * 2 – William I. Mott (2022, 2023) Most wins by an owner: * 2 – W. C. Racing (2013, 2014) * 2 – WinStar Farm (2017, 2021) * 2 – Godolphin (2022, 2023)

Winners

References

{{BreedersCup Dirt Mile Graded stakes races in the United States Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Open mile category horse races Horse races established in 2007 2007 establishments in New Jersey

Automatic berths

Records

Winners

See also

References