The Breeders' Cup Mile is a
Grade 1 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, run on a
grass
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...
course. It has been conducted annually as part of the
Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's inception in 1984. All Breeders' Cups to date have been held in the United States except for the 1996 event in Canada.
The purse was raised from $1.5 million
US to $2 million in 2007.
Freddy Head
Frédéric Head (born 19 June 1947) is a retired horse trainer and champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. His grandfather, William Head, and father, Alec Head, who also competed as prominent jockeys and trainers, raised “Freddy,” at th ...
has won this race twice as a jockey and three times as a trainer.
There is no official stakes record for the Breeders' Cup Mile as it is run on different racecourses each year, some of which are significantly faster than others. In 2012,
Wise Dan
Wise Dan (foaled February 20, 2007) is a champion American Hall of Fame and Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the first horse to win the same three Eclipse Awards in consecutive years, having been named American Horse of the ...
set a then-course record at Santa Anita with his time of 1:31.78. Although
Tourist
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...
ran faster than this with a time of 1:31.71 in 2016, he just missed the current Santa Anita course record of 1:31.69.
Automatic berths
Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup 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 Mile division, runners are limited to 14 and there are up to eleven automatic berths. The 2022 "Win and You're In" races were:
# the
L'Ormarins Queen's Plate, a Group 1 race run in January
Kenilworth Race Course in South Africa
# the Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella, a Grade 1 race run in May at Club Hipico in Chile
# the
Shoemaker Mile, a Grade 1 race run in May 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 ...
in California
# the
Yasuda Kinen
The Yasuda Kinen (English: Yasuda Memorial, Japanese and Chinese language: 安田記念) is a Japanese Graded stakes race, International Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at the Tokyo Racecourse in Tokyo. Raced annually each June, the Yasuda Ki ...
, a Grade 1 race run in June at
Tokyo Racecourse in Japan
# the
Queen Anne Stakes, a Group 1 race run in June at
Royal Ascot
Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Gra ...
in England
# the
Sussex Stakes
The Sussex Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), a ...
, a Group 1 race run in July at
Goodwood Racecourse
Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting in l ...
in England
# the
Fourstardave Handicap
The Fourstardave Handicap is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses that are three years old or older over a distance of one mile on the turf course scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New Yor ...
, a Grade 1 race run in August at
Saratoga in upstate New York
# the
Prix Jacques Le Marois, a Group I race run in August at
Deauville Racecourse in France
# the
Woodbine Mile, a Grade 1 race run in September at
Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...
in Canada
# the
Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes, a Grade 1 race 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 ...
in Kentucky
# the
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is ...
, a Group 1 race at
Ascot in England
Records
Most wins:
* 3 –
Goldikova (2008, 2009, 2010)
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 ...
:
* 3 –
Olivier Peslier
Olivier Peslier (born 12 January 1973 in Château-Gontier) is a French thoroughbred horse racing jockey.
Peslier competes in flat racing mainly in France but travels often around the world for the big international races. From 2003 to 2014, he wa ...
(2008, 2009, 2010)
* 3 –
John R. Velazquez (1998, 2012, 2017)
* 3 –
William Buick (2021, 2022, 2023)
Most wins by a
trainer:
* 3 –
Freddy Head
Frédéric Head (born 19 June 1947) is a retired horse trainer and champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. His grandfather, William Head, and father, Alec Head, who also competed as prominent jockeys and trainers, raised “Freddy,” at th ...
(2008, 2009, 2010)
* 3 –
Charlie Appleby (2021, 2022, 2023)
Most wins by an owner:
* 6 –
Flaxman Holdings /
Niarchos family (1987, 1988, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2014)
* 3 –
Wertheimer et Frère Wertheimer et Frère is a Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding business partnership between brothers Alain and Gérard Wertheimer of France.
The Wertheimer brothers are the owners of the House of Chanel in Paris. They inherited that company an ...
(2008, 2009, 2010)
* 3 –
Godolphin (2021, 2022, 2023)
Winners
† Indicates filly/mare
See also
*
Breeders' Cup Mile "top three finishers" and starters
*
Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships
*
American thoroughbred racing top attended events
References
*
Racing Post
''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing, and sports betting publisher published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 60,629 ...
:
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External links
Ten Things You Should Know about the Breeders' Cup Mile at Hello Race Fans!Three Great Moments: Breeders' Cup Mile at Hello Race Fans!
{{BreedersCup
Mile
The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...
Open mile category horse races
Grade 1 turf stakes races in the United States
1984 establishments in California
Horse races established in 1984