Breeders' Cup Classic, Turf get purse boosts of $1 million apiece

The purses for the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Breeders’ Cup Turf have each been raised by $1 million, Breeders’ Cup Ltd. announced Saturday through its broadcast partner, NBC.

The increase will make the Classic worth $6 million, and the Turf worth $4 million. The Classic is currently the richest race in the U.S., but earlier this year, The Stronach Group announced that it plans to hold a race with a $12 million purse early next year at its Gulfstream Park in Florida. The purse for that race, the Pegasus World Cup, will be provided entirely by shareholders who have bought 12 rights to start a horse in the race for $1 million each.

Breeders’ Cup said that the boosts to the Classic and Turf purses are the first increases for any of its individual races since 2006. Since then, the Breeders’ Cup event has been expanded to two days, with the addition of a handful of races carrying the Breeders’ Cup name.

This year’s Breeders’ Cup is scheduled for Nov. 4-5 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif.