BC Dirt Mile will go two turns despite track configuration

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland in late October will be just that – a dirt mile.

Breeders’ Cup officials met with a number of jockeys and trainers on the main track here Thursday morning before announcing that the BC Dirt Mile, which has undergone numerous variations since its inaugural running in 2007 – will indeed be run as a two-turn mile despite Keeneland never having run such a race because of the relatively short run into the first turn on its 1 1/16-mile main track.

The alternatives were to run the BC Dirt Mile at 1 1/16 miles or the Beard Course distance of seven furlongs and 184 feet, but after a physical demonstration as to the feasibility of this one-time-only setup, all were in agreement. The race will start at the regular finish line and end at the alternate wire, which is otherwise the sixteenth pole.

“We’re very much comfortable with it, and so are the horsemen,” said Terry Meyocks, national manager for the Jockeys’ Guild.

Bob Elliston, the chief operating officer of the Breeders’ Cup, said the starting-gate location for the Dirt Mile will provide sufficient run-up to the first turn. In fact, Elliston said that according to measurements taken, the run-up to the turn for a Keeneland flat mile from the starting-gate position is longer than the run-up to the turn for a flat mile at Santa Anita, where the BC Dirt Mile was run the last three years.

“We were happy to show everyone how it would work,” said Elliston.

In actuality, the distance from starting gate to finish line will be a mile and 40 yards, but the 40 yards will be treated as a run-up to the official start of the timer.

As at Santa Anita, the field for the BC Dirt Mile will be limited to 12 starters. Last year, only nine started, and Goldencents won for the second straight running.

Since it was run at a mile and 70 yards in its first year at Monmouth Park in 2007, the BC Dirt Mile also has been run over a synthetic surface (Santa Anita, 2008-09) and around one turn (Churchill Downs, 2010-11).

One other Breeders’ Cup event will have its distance adjusted because of the configuration of the Keeneland turf course. The BC Filly and Mare Turf will be run at 1 3/16 miles instead of the preferred distance of 1 1/4 miles, with its field also limited to 12.

The two-day Breeders’ Cup championships are set for Oct. 30-31 and mark the first time Keeneland has played host to the event.

– additional reporting by Matt Hegarty