BC increases purses for Classic, Turf, and Dirt Mile

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Breeders’ Cup Classic will have a purse of $7 million this year, up from $6 million, and the Breeders’ Cup Turf will offer a purse of $6 million, up from $4 million, the organization announced on Tuesday.

The purse increases, which were approved by the Breeders’ Cup board during a meeting on Feb. 25, are part of a steady run-up in top-level purses around the horse racing world. Last week, the inaugural Saudi Cup was held, offering a purse of $20 million, the richest in the world, and later this month, the Dubai World Cup will offer a $12 million total prize.

In addition to the Classic and Turf, the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile was targeted for a $1 million increase, doubling the purse to $2 million.

In total, Breeders’ Cup will now award $35 million in purses over its two-day event, which will be held this year on Nov. 6-7 at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky. As part of the increases, payouts will be made down to the 10th finish position, rather than eighth, the organization said.

“These purse increases reflect the Breeders’ Cup’s mission to conduct the [event] at the highest levels of quality and to keep our races competitive on the international stage,” said Drew Fleming, the chief executive of the organization. “Our decision to increase purse payouts to 10th place in all our races is a tribute to the loyal participation of our owners and trainers who support the [event] each year.”

The Breeders’ Cup board also approved a motion to implement six reforms to its veterinary evaluation protocols. Those reforms were recommended by Dr. Larry Bramlage in a report issued last year examining the death of Mongolian Groom, who broke down in the final stages of the Classic last year at Santa Anita Park and was euthanized.

Those recommendations included giving veterinarians employed by Breeders’ Cup or the state the power to examine diagnostic images of a horse or mandate that those images be produced. In addition, the recommendations called for the establishment of an area to conduct evaluations of a horse while jogging in a circle, along with greater scrutiny of records prior to the event that may indicate which horses should be subjected to additional oversight in the lead-up to the races.

Along those lines, the board approved a measure that will require tracks that host Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In races to pledge to pursue policies that were identified by an organization formed late last year called the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition. The release from Breeders’ Cup said that tracks that had not yet joined the TSC “must demonstrate a good-faith effort in implementing those reforms” in order to host a Win and You’re In race this year.

The policies include several that will require buy-in from multiple racing constituencies, and, in some cases, regulatory reform, which can often be a long, drawn-out process. Breeders’ Cup typically identifies the Win and You’re In races within its Challenge series in early spring.

“The Breeders’ Cup board decided that Breeders’ Cup Challenge races must be awarded to tracks that practice the highest standards in safety, security, and integrity,” Breeders’ Cup said in a statement issued in response to a request for clarification from DRF about the enforcement of the measure. “The Breeders’ Cup has provided these tracks with a list of medical, operational, and organizational reforms for best practices. Breeders’ Cup understands that these reforms may need to work through the regulatory process, and provided the track agrees to the terms of the contract and demonstrates good faith in advocating for those reforms, the track will be awarded a Challenge race in 2020.”

Breeders’ Cup is a member of the coalition, along with Churchill Downs Inc., the New York Racing Association, The Stronach Group, Keeneland, and Del Mar. Those companies operate racetracks that host the vast majority of Win and You’re In races, and no Breeders’ Cup event has been held at a racetrack that is not operated by those companies since 2007, when the event was held at Monmouth Park in New Jersey.

The Win and You’re In races award the winner an automatic berth in one of Breeders’ Cup’s 14 races. The winners also have their entry fees to the races waived and get a travel allowance, provided that they are nominated to the Breeders’ Cup.