Breeders' Cup may expand further by 2010

The Breeders' Cup could be a 16-race, two-day meeting by 2010 with purses totaling $30 million, a top Cup official said Thursday in Dubai at the 31st Asian Racing Conference.

Speaking at the "Marketing of Racing Carnivals" session, Greg Avioli, CEO of Breeders' Cup Ltd. and chief executive of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, made it clear that he would be unstinting in seeking to take the Breeders' Cup program to new heights.

"We want to make it the greatest meeting in the world," he said. "We haven't outlined the extra races, but a turf sprint is an obvious one, especially having heard people's thoughts here in Dubai this week."

Earlier this month, Cup officials announced the addition of three new races for this year's Breeders' Cup at Monmouth Park: the Juvenile Turf, the Filly and Mare Sprint, and the Dirt Mile. The new, improved Cup card has also been expanded to two days, with the three new races scheduled for Friday, Oct. 26, and the eight established Cup races slated for Saturday, Oct. 27.

The first running of the Breeders' Cup at Hollywood Park in 1984 consisted of seven races worth $10 million. The card was expanded to eight races in 1999 with the inaugural Filly and Mare Turf at Gulfstream Park. Last year's Cup at Churchill Downs, which had total prize money of $20 million, was the first at which all of the Cup races were worth at least $2 million. The 11 races at the 2007 Breeders' Cup will carry total purse money of $23 million, a figure that will surpass this year's total of $21 million for the six-race Dubai World Cup card.

Speculation will surely swirl concerning the five new races that Breeders' Cup Ltd. may be considering for 2010. In addition to Avioli's proposition of a turf sprint as part of the expanded card, new races could include the three races that Cup officials have added to the undercard of this year's Friday Breeders' Cup program. They are a one-mile turf race for 2-year-old fillies, a six-furlong dirt race for 2-year-olds, and a 1 1/16-mile race on dirt for 3-year-old fillies. Europeans, meanwhile, will surely be lobbying for a 1 1/4-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and up.