Breeders' Cup offers starting-fee incentives for dirt races through prep series

Breeders’ Cup has created an incentive program to encourage participation in six of the dirt races that are part of its two-day event, the organization announced on Thursday.

For the program, Breeders’ Cup has designated 12 stakes races scheduled in the months prior to its event that will award credits to the owners of the top three finishers in each race. The credits can be applied to entry fees for the races, Breeders’ Cup said.

Two stakes races each will award the credits for the $2 million Distaff, $2 million Sprint, $2 million Juvenile, $2 million Juvenile Fillies, $1 million Filly and Mare Sprint, and $1 million Dirt Mile. The only dirt race that is not part of the program is the $6 million Classic.

The credits are awarded based on two tiers, with higher credits being awarded in the races that lead in to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup races. For the $2 million races, the financial credits in the designated stakes will be $30,000 for first, $15,000 for second, and $7,500 for third. For the $1 million races, the financial credits will be $15,000 for first, $7,500 for second, and $3,750 for third.

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It costs $60,000 to enter and start a horse in a Breeders’ Cup race with a $2 million purse. It costs $30,000 to enter and start in a race worth $1 million.

The first stakes race in the incentive program, the Derby City Distaff, was run on May 7 at Churchill Downs, and will offer credits to the Filly and Mare Sprint. That race was won by Obligatory. The other 11 stakes are the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar and the Kelso Stakes at Belmont (Dirt Mile); the Fleur de Lis at Churchill and the Zenyatta at Santa Anita (Distaff); the Rancho Bernardo at Del Mar (Filly and Mare Sprint); the Del Mar Futurity and the Iroquois at Churchill (Juvenile); the Spinaway at Saratoga and the Pocahontas at Churchill (Juvenile Fillies); and the Smile Handicap at Gulfstream and the Santa Anita Sprint Championship (Sprint).

The seven dirt races for the two-day event last year at Del Mar in California drew a total of 58 horses, for an average of 8.2 horses per race. In contrast, the seven turf races drew 90 horses, for an average of 12.8. In 2020, at Keeneland in Kentucky, the average field for the dirt races was 10.7, while the average for the turf races was 13.4.

This year’s Breeders’ Cup is scheduled for Nov. 4-5 at Keeneland.