185 horses were entered in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup, 13 championship races at Santa Anita. (Photo credit: Breeders’ Cup Ltd. ).
There are 185 horses that were pre-entered for the Breeders’ Cup World Championship (2016). This international field of horses might stir a few voices when you realize that the list isn’t nearly as extensive as presumed from looking at the Breeders’ Cup Live Odds.
The Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be held between the 4th and 5th of November this year, with the event being situated at the Santa Anita Park in Calif. The Breeders’ Cup Championship from last year had a list of pre-entrants constituting 200 thoroughbreds.
In other words, this year’s list of pre-entrants will fall short of that mark by more than a dozen horses. Last year’ Breeders’ Cup was the first to be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, and that list of pre-entrants wasn’t the most extensive either if that is what you are presuming.
The award for most pre-entries would obviously go to the Breeders’ Cup of 2014, held at Santa Anita, during which 201 horses were pre-entered; of course, the margin between the 2014 list and 2015 list isn’t exactly large, so the 2014 cup has nothing to boast about.
This year’s Breeders’ Cup Championship will be held at Santa Anita Park for the ninth time; it will be the 33rd such event and fans can look forward to more than a dozen Grade 1 races.
The purses will total $28 million. The first day of the event will feature Four Races. The other nine races not held on Friday will be scheduled for the next day, though, the only race most fans are going to care about will most likely be the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Spectators of the Classic can look forward to seeing fourteen contenders step up to the plate. The three-year-olds (and up) will contest a 1 1/4 –mile race that will start after 8PM.
California Chrome is the heavy favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) after his win in the Awesome Again (G1) at Santa Anita.(Photo credit: © Cheryl Quigley | Dreamstime.com)
Once the Classic Field kicks off, everyone’s eyes will zero in on California Chrome. The North American all-time leading Money earner will head the race, though he won’t be the only big name around.
The chances are high that every other contender will struggle to climb out from under the shadow of Nyquist, a highly popular 2016 Kentucky Derby winner; no one could have missed Nyquist when he was pre-entered.
The Breeders’ Cup Classic is going to be big this year, not only because of some of the names taking part but the fact that the purse will be much larger than what was seen last year (by an estimated $1 million).
Curious fans can catch the Classic on NBC where it will be televised live. The NBC Sports Network will also televise the other dozen Breeders’ Cup Races.
California Chrome is going into the event with a lot of hype, the five-year-old having remained largely undefeated this year. Chrome has won every one of his 6 races this year rather dominantly, exceeding expectations and breaking records by raking in $13.4 million and becoming North America’s biggest money earner.
Arrogate (Bob Baffert) will probably pose the biggest threat to Chrome. Baffert just might take home his third consecutive Breeders Cup Classic victory if all goes according to plan.
Arrogate VS Chrome should make for quite the epic showdown. Both Arrogate and Chrome have nothing to prove, but they have every reason to try and overcome one another.
