Breeders' Cup Ltd. revenue hit records in 2006

Breeders' Cup Ltd. posted record revenue totals from both nomination fees and its eight-race event at Churchill Downs in 2006, according to financial statements released by the company on Thursday.

Nomination fees, which are collected from both breeders and stallion owners, totaled $22.5 million in 2006, an increase of 34.7 percent over 2005. For 2006, Breeders' Cup implemented a new fee structure that required owners of stallions who breed more than 50 mares to pay higher nomination fees.

Total revenue from the Breeders' Cup event on Nov. 4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., was $22.9 million, according to the statements. In 2005, revenue from the Breeders' Cup event at Belmont Park in New York was $17.6 million.

Breeders' Cup does not report net income.

In 2006, according to the statements, the net change in assets was a positive $7.3 million, compared with a net change of negative $361,000 in 2005. Net change in cash or cash equivalents was a positive $324,000 in 2006, compared with a negative change of $2.2 million in 2005.

In an annual report accompanying the financial results, Breeders' Cup said that Oak Tree at Santa Anita, which will host the 2008 Breeders' Cup, has guaranteed that the event will generate at least $5 million in revenue. The report said that the guarantee was the largest that the Breeders' Cup had secured in its 25-year history as part of its host-site contracts.