Breeders' Cup sending representative to Europe

Breeders’ Cup has assigned its director of racing and nominations to work in Europe for six months this year, the organization announced on Friday, underlining its efforts to drum up participation from overseas horsemen and seek new growth in foreign betting markets.

The director, Joshua Christian, will spend April through October at racetracks, training centers, and Thoroughbred auctions in England, Ireland, France, and Germany, the major European horseracing countries, the Breeders’ Cup said. Christian will promote both the Breeders’ Cup’s two-day year-end event and the organization’s European nomination system.

Jim Gluckson, a spokesperson for Breeders’ Cup, said that in previous years various Breeders’ Cup officials had spent approximately 30 to 40 days in Europe to promote the organization. Breeders’ Cup relies on nomination fees for a large portion of its revenues, and it has aggressively promoted betting on the year-end event in overseas countries over the past decade.