Breeders' Cup By The Numbers

The Breeders’ Cup has now been run 27 times now. From the inaugural running at Hollywood Park in 1984 to the 2011 version next week (Nov. 4-5) at Churchill Downs, the Breeders’ Cup builds what all great sporting events have - history. And history means numbers. I don’t know if horse racing fans and bettors like numbers more than our baseball friends currently watching the World Series, but most of us thoroughbred fans like our numbers.

So we looked at the Breeders’ Cup and their history and came up with a few numbers that we thought may be of interest to you.

140,332,198 – The highest number of total dollars wagered on a single-day Breeders’ Cup event on Nov. 4, 2006 at Churchill Downs. Last year Churchill Downs handled the two-day record $173,857,697 for a Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 5-6.

10,246,800 – The record number of career dollars earned by a Breeders’ Cup starter. That was Curlin's bankroll going into the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita. That Classic was won by Raven's Pass at 13-to-1 odds while Curlin finished fourth as the 4-to-5 odds-on favorite. (Editor's Note: Thanks to reader Eddie D. who corrected me on this number. I previously published Skip Away and his $9,616,360 as the record holder as per the Breeders' Cup website.)

470 – The total number of foreign based starters in the Breeders’ Cup in the first 27 years. The first Breeders’ Cup had 11 foreign-based starters, of which six were in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. 1) including winner Lashkari. Last year at Churchill Downs, 25 horses came from overseas with Dangerous Midge winning the Turf and Goldikova (photo right) taking her third consecutive Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. 1). The most ever Foreign-based horses to start in a Breeders’ Cup came to Santa Anita in 2009 when 34 horses not based in the United States ran, of which a record six won.

349 – The number of starters in the Breeders’ Cup Mile during the previous 27 years making it the most popular Breeders’ Cup race among horsemen. The Sprint is second with 339 starters and the Juvenile is third with 324.

77 – The age of trainer Philip G. Johnson when he set the record as the oldest trainer to win a Breeders’ Cup race when Valponi won the 2002 Classic.

56 – The age of jockey Bill Shoemaker when he set the record as the oldest jockey to win a Breeders’ Cup race. Shoemaker was 56 when he won the 1987 Classic with Ferdinand.

52 – The number of Breeders’ Cup races won by horses breaking from post position two or four – 26 each and leading all other post positions in that category. Post number one is third with 24 winners.

14 – The number of Breeders’ Cup races that have finished with the official winning margin being a nose. Difficult to say which was the most dramatic, but Personal Ensign putting in that stretch run in the 1988 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (now Ladies Classic) on a dark on sloppy day at Churchill Downs to catch Winning Colors gets my vote. Ferdinand and Alysheba were so close at the wire of the 1987 Classic that their jockeys, Bill Shoemaker and Chris McCarron aboard respectively, both recalled asking each other who had won while galloping out just past the wire. What about Macho Uno holding off Point Given to win the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. For the record, Blame was a head in front of Zenyatta in the 2009 Classic. There are 17 Breeders’ Cup races with the official winning margin a head.


13-1/2 – The number of lengths that made up Inside Information’s record winning margin in the 1995 Distaff over Heavenly Prize. Second: Street Sense and his ten length victory over Circular Quay in the 2006 Juvenile with Pleasant Home having the third longest winning margin, defeating Society Selection in the 2005 Distaff.

13 – The number of Breeders’ Cup winners who have sired Breeders’ Cup winners. Awesome Again, winner of the 1998 Classic, leads the pack with four of his get winning Breeders’ Cup races. Awesome Again has sired Wilko, winner of the 2004 Juvenile; Ghostzapper (2004 Classic); Round Pond (2006 Distaff) and Ginger Punch (2007) Distaff.

3 – The number of mares that have produced two multiple Breeders’ Cup winners. Primal Force (by Blushing Groom) is the dam of Awesome Again (1998 Classic) and Macho Uno (2000 Juvenile). Sweet Catomine (2004 Juvenile Fillies) and Life is Sweet (2009 Distaff) are both out of the Kris S. mare Sweet Life; and the Kahyasi (IRE) mare Hasili (IRE) produced Banks Hill and Intercontinental, winners of the 2001 and 2005 Filly and Mare Turf.

1 – The number of horse who have won three Breeders’ Cup races. Goldikova returns this year to try for her four Breeders’ Cup Mile. Ouija Board won the Filly and Mare Turf in 2004 and 2006 and was second in that race in 2005 to 15-to-1 long shot Intercontinental.

Preakness Love

It is without doubt the least glamorous of the Triple Crown races. The Kentucky Derby presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) of course is the among America’s most classic sports events – the Run for the Roses – the most exciting two minutes in sports. The Belmont is the Test of Champions. All others things being equal, that moniker stands prominently, perhaps even more so than the Derby glamour, when championship ballots are cast at the end of the year. But the Preakness? Even its 1-13/16 miles distance is a bit non-conformist. The Preakness is... well... the Preakness is the second leg of the Triple Crown. And often misunderstood as not much more.

Yes the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland have plenty to offer Preakness fans. There is of course, the world class crab cakes and other blue crab delicacies, Fort McHenry, the chicken box, Orioles baseball, berger cookies and National Bohemian beer. But one has to leave all that and go to Pimlico Race Course for the Preakness. I’ve never been to Pimlico, but the reviews are not good. Nor have they been in quite some time. But the Preakness is bigger than it’s home and this is not about Pimlico or Magna Entertainment.

Quite the contrary in fact. Because this is what I love about the Preakness. Come on. It’s the middle child. Even though it is older than the Kentucky Derby by two years, let’s give the Preakness a little extra love.

I love the fact that the Preakness usually takes the great Kentucky Derby story and improves or solidifies them. The Preakness is the only race in the world after the Kentucky Derby that provides hopes for a Triple Crown winner. From Sir Barton in 1919 to Affirmed in ’78 and all nine Triple Crown winners in between, they all had to win the Preakness.

The Preakness can also be the first step in the healing process after suffering an upset loss in the Derby. It is kind of horse racing’s home to vindication. Bimelech at 2-5 odds, lost the 1940 Kentucky Derby to 35-1 long shot Gallahadian then cam back to win the Preakness and Belmont. Capot in 1949, Native Dancer (’53), Nashua (’55), Little Current (’74), Damascus (’77), Risen Star (’88), Tabasco Cat (’94) and Point Given in 2001 suffered the same paths of frustration to just short of history.

The Preakness can also be a part of an equally frustrating path for those who won the Derby and Preakness, but failed to take the Belmont Stakes. There have been twenty-one who have traveled that road with Burgoo King the first in 1932 and Big Brown the most recent in 2008. In those years, as well as in the eleven that produced Triple Crown winners, it is the Belmont Stakes that gets all the eventual attention. But it is the Preakness that makes the heads begin to turn. Somehow it seems, the middle jewel just doesn’t get the deserved credit again.

Also in the Preakness, rivalries sometimes get closer and the intensity rises. Affirmed defeated Alydar by a 1-1/2 lengths at Churchill Downs, but only by a neck two weeks later in the Preakness. Sunday Silence defeated Easy Goer by 2-1/2 in the Derby but only by a nose in the Preakness after a legendary stretch-long battle. (photo above left)

One of the best Preakness battles gets lost in history as the Derby tension between jockey Gary Stevens and Pat Day spilled over to the Preakness of 1988. Stevens had won the Derby, going wire-to-wire with the filly Winning Colors. But jockey Pat Day, who rode Derby second-place finisher Forty Niner, vowed that the filly would not get such an easy trip in the Preakness. Day succeeded in his plan as he raced Forty Niner to the lead in the Preakness and got inside position on Winning Colors and Stevens. Day carried Stevens wide in the first turn, wide down the backstretch and wide around the first turn. That’s when Day’s plan was exposed by jockey Eddie Delahoussaye on Risen Star, who turn the inside path and raced by the two leaders who had bumped each other more than once before then. Risen Star drew clear and won the Preakness ahead of a closing Brian’s Time in second. Winning Colors was third and Forty Niner and Pat Day were out of the money.

Then there is the 1981 Preakness when Angel Cordero aboard Codex, carried Derby winning filly Genuine Risk wide coming out of the final turn. Codex would cross the finish line first, but Genuine Risk jockey Jacinto Vasquez called foul. ABC Sports analyst and Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Arcaro told the national TV audience he felt Codex should be disqualified and placed second after the ABC replay of the race seemed to confirm that Cordero had even struck Genuine Risk with his whip.

But the track stewards upheld the order of finish and a national reaction ensued as the Pimilco switch board immediately flooded with calls and truck loads of mail from upset fans followed.

Because the Preakness only allows a maximum of 14 starters and many times feature eight to ten runners, the race is run more true to form – not to mention safer on equine and human alike. In fact, it has been six years since the Preakness featured a full gate of 14 starters. Because of that, there are fewer collisions, bumps and checks in the Preakness. It’s unlike the first 600 yards in the Derby where a wave of horse and human battle for the rail and good position going into the first turn. Field size alone allows a horse a greater chance to run to their potential in the Preakness.

The pace is more honest in the Preakness. Because the Kentucky Derby has such a large field, there are often an unusually large number of speed horses. With so many runners fighting for their comfort zone on the lead, the Derby pace is often out of control fast. Shackleford’s slow pace this year in the Derby was an anomaly of the greatest sorts.

Don’t forget about the Preakness trophy either. Valued at $1 million the 140-year-old Woodlawn Vase (photo above right) was made by Tiffany and Company and is the most valuable trophy in American Sports. Painting the colors on the winning owner on the weather vane immediately after the race is also a wonderful tradition.

Yes the Preakness does not have the glamour, prestige or championship credentials of the Kentucky Derby or the Belmont. Yes the Preakness does not come from the best home and it is even shorter than the other two. Forget the fact that the Preakness fouled up an apparent track record for Secretariat. It deserves more recognition than it sometimes gets. The winning owners, trainers and jockeys are elated to win the Preakness each year and probably appreciate the significance than most sports fans. But like other events, athletes and teams that go on over shadowed, there’s still plenty to love about the little race.

Rachel, Ruffian and the Amazon Roan

With the retirement of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra (photo left), I found it interesting to compare and contrast her to other great fillies of our time – Ruffian and Winning Colors. For several reasons – not the least of which is simplicity – I restricted the comparisons to the two and three-year-old campaigns of each. Although Ruffian was by far the biggest star at two, it is their sophomore campaigns in which each filly seemed to shine the brightest, whether by popularity, fate, performance, or in the case of Ruffian, fatality.

Ruffian of course, ended her 3-year-old campaign tragically in 1975, crushing her right front sesamoids in a fatal match race against Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure before 50,000 fans at Belmont Park and a July 4 national television audience. Both Winning Colors and Rachel Alexandra had forgettable 4-year-old campaigns and did not race at five. But all three gave us brilliance epitiomized, none perfected but worthy of greatness, history and glamour by any standard.

Ruffian (photo right) was the youngest to catch the eye of the national racing public, winning all of her five races as a juvenile of which four were graded stakes. Her last race of her juvenile season she won the grade 1 Spinaway at Saratoga by 12-1/2 lengths and was the landslide winner as Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of 1974. Winning Colors was undefeated in three starts as a 2-year-old, but her biggest win that year came in the restricted Las Centinela Stakes at Santa Anita. Rachel Alexandra finished sixth, beaten eight lengths in her first start as a 2-year-old and ended the year winning the grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs. With only three wins in six starts, Rachel Alexandra was promising, but far beneath the national radar. Winning Colors had much the same anonymity nationally before she turned three. But before the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and across the Southern California-Mexico border, winter bets were being wagered with her name and the Kentucky Derby on the ticket.

At three, trainer Frank Whitely sent Ruffian through easy wins in an allowance race and the grade 3 Comely Stakes at Aqueduct to start the year. Rachel Alexandra began to turn local heads early winning the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park by eight lengths before taking the grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks in New Orleans in March. Rachel Alexandra next won the grade 2 Fantasy back at Oaklawn Park and by the time she got to the Kentucky Oaks (gr. 1), she was the odds-on favorite for the fourth time in four starts that year. Winning Colors had the slowest start of the three, running second in the Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita behind another heralded filly in Southern California, Goodbye Halo.

It is difficult to say that Ruffian had any type of breakout race as a 3-year-old because she had been so dominant from the time she stepped on the track as a juvenile filly. Her grade 1 victories in the Acorn at Aqueduct and the Mother Goose and Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont seemed nothing more than technicalities. Lucien Laurin, the trainer of Secretariat, once said to the press of Ruffian, "As God as my witness, she may even be better than Secretariat." Ruffian was never headed by any horse at any point of call at any time during her career until the match race. She won her five races during her 3-year-old year by a combined 37 lengths or by about 7-1/2 lengths a race. Ruffian set a new stakes record in each of the eight stakes she won and equaled two track records as well.

Although Winning Colors (bottom photo) started a bit slower, she breezed through the Santa Anita Oaks (gr. 1) winning by 8 lengths and seemed to handle the boys just as easily, winning the Santa Anita Derby (gr. 1) by 7-1/2 easy lengths. She was not the betting favorite in the Kentucky Derby, but stayed popular among a stellar Derby field that included Forty Niner, Risen Star, Seeking the Gold and Private Terms. But she would have nothing to do with any of them and promptly left them in her wake, taking the Kentucky Derby in wire-to-wire fashion while holding off the late charging Forty Niner at the wire. In the Preakness, jockey Pat Day aboard Forty Niner would not let Winning Colors get alone on the lead as she had in the Derby and the two cleared the path for a stalking victory by Risen Star. Winning Colors would run sixth in the Belmont and then came back to run second against older mares in the Maskette (gr. 1) at Belmont and fourth in the Spinster (gr. 1) at Keeneland. Her final race as a 3-year-old came against the undefeated Personal Ensign in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The race was at Churchill Downs, the site of her greatest triumph, and trainer D. Wayne Lukas, and jockey Gary Stevens had every intention of taking advantage of that. Again Winning Colors sped around the Churchill Downs oval in apparent control until the final second of the Distaff, when Personal Ensign edged Winning Colors at the wire in one of the closest and most dramatic races in Breeders’ Cup history.

The day before the 2009 Kentucky Derby, Rachel Alexandra introduced herself to racing fans around the country with a dazzling 20-length victory in the Kentucky Oaks. Days later she was purchased by a group headed by Jess Jackson who summarily announced they were heading to the Preakness to take on the boys. Holding off the late rally of Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, Rachel Alexandra became the first filly since Nellie Morse in 1924 to win the second leg of the Triple Crown since 1926. She returned to her division in the Mother Goose, and again clobbered her female rivals by nearly 20 lengths. She stomped the sophomore boys again the $1 million Haskell Invitational before stepping up another level to take on holder horses in the grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga.

In a race in which her competition threw everything but the kitchen sink at Rachel Alexandra, she eventually fought off Bullsbay in deep stretch and held off Macho Again by a head becoming the only female to win the prestigious Woodward and the only 3-year-old filly to defeat older males in a grade 1 rounte race in New York since Lady Primrose won the Manhattan in 1887.

Rachel Alexandra was the only one of the three honored as the Horse of the Year but all three were named the Champion Three Year Old Filly respectively. Ruffian was the only Champion as a 2-year-old but titles seem almost trivial when remembering these three great female thoroughbreds. Ruffian almost black, Rachel a glistening bay and Winning Colors the Amazon roan.

It seems almost pointless to say which may have been bigger or faster or more attractive. All three were stunning individuals who came to the paddock as a queen would address her court. Both Ruffian and Winning Colors are in the Hall of Fame and Rachel Alexandra is destined there as well – likely in the first year of her eligibility.

I’m just glad to be counted among their subjects.